Feb. 2 - 16 - Key West

“Time flies when you’re having rum.”

That’s one of the bumper stickers in Key West, and the way we felt when we left, after two weeks.

During our first week, we were joined by Bob’s brother Ron and his wife Kathy, from near Charlotte, NC.  The second week, we were joined by our daughter Lisa, from Saranac Lake.  All of us were glad to be where it was warm and sunny – in the 70s and 80s every day.

We went to see Harry Truman’s “Little White House” with Ron and Kathy.  Truman spent dozens of days there during his presidency, working and relaxing, and playing card games with his buddies.  Other presidents who have stayed there include Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.  It is located on an old Navy base, where all the housing has now been converted into vacation cottages and homes.

We also went to the beach with Ron and Kathy, at a Navy facility called Truman Annex.  And, of course, we did some shopping both at the Navy PX and on the busy Duval Street in Old Town Key West.

We went out to eat at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, and at Sloppy Joe’s, which was one of writer Ernest Hemingway’s favorite bars, and at a nice restaurant on the harbor.

Ron and Kathy left Saturday, Feb. 9.  Lisa was scheduled to fly in that day, but her flight was cancelled due to Storm Nemo, until Sunday.  She flew into Fort Lauderdale airport, and we picked her up there.

Monday, I took her for a drive around the city.  Then all three of us went to the beach at Truman Annex.  That night, we ate at Sloppy Joe’s again.

Tuesday, Lisa and I drove to a Key West beach, and took a long walk, including through an old Civil War fort converted into beautiful gardens inside.  Then we all drove to the Navy base at Boca Chica, where Lisa and I rented kayaks ($6/hour) and went kayaking.  Then we enjoyed swimming at the beach for a while.

Wednesday, Bob and Lisa went deep-sea fishing.  They left at 10 a.m. and returned at 4 p.m.  Bob caught six fish, including grouper, yellow tail, corgie and grunts.  He had to throw the big grouper back in, because it was out of season.  One of the other passengers caught a little shark, but had to throw it back also for some reason.  Lisa did not catch anything, but since their boat had about a dozen old men on it, they very nicely let her pull in some of the fish they caught!  (Lisa said that, about halfway through the trip, she realized she was supposed to pull the fishing pole in hard whenever she felt a fish bite!  She had not been fishing since she went to elementary school …:)

When they returned to the harbor, a crew filleted the fish for whoever wanted them.  As the boat was tying up, a manatee swam under it!   Manatees are about five feet long and two feet wide, and are friendly.  Also greeting the boat upon its return were lots of hungry pelicans – so aggressive that they flocked around the dock, trying to snatch some of the fish out of the buckets and baskets!

We came home and Lisa cooked up the fish and we all ate some for dinner!

On Thursday, Lisa and I went to tour the Hemingway House, downtown on Whitehead Street.  It is where Hemingway wrote many of his books.  We were taken through all the rooms in the house, including the bedroom and his study.  We also got to see the house’s collection of six-toed cats!  The house has a beautiful pool, fountains – including one made from a urinal -- and gardens.  Lisa bought some souvenirs in the little bookstore there.  After the tour, we walked along Duval Street and did some more souvenir shopping.

Friday, Lisa and I went to the Eco Discovery Center, near Truman Annex.  They had a beautiful 3D movie of fish swimming, and a very nice movie featuring a diver swimming through schools of all kinds of fish. 

Saturday, we cleaned up, packed up, and drove Lisa to the airport in Fort Lauderdale.  It was in the 70s in Florida, and in the single digits in upstate New York.  Poor Lisa!!

Bob and I drove on to Patrick AFB in Melbourne.

Below are some of the photos from Key West:

THE FAMOUS "SOUTHERNMOST POINT" MARKER, WHERE TOURISTS LINE UP TO GET THEIR PICTURE TAKEN.  THE LINE IS VERY LONG WHEN CRUISE SHIPS COME IN!

THE OLD FLAGLER TRAIN STATION, NAMED FOR THE MAN WHO HAD A RAILROAD LINE CONSTRUCTED THROUGH THE FLORIDA KEYS TO KEY WEST.

KATHY, RON AND BOB OUTSIDE MARGARITAVILLE RESTAURANT.

CHIP WITH CUTOUT OF HARRY TRUMAN, AT THE LITTLE WHITE HOUSE.

RON, KATHY BOB OUTSIDE LITTLE WHITE HOUSE.

BOB AND KATHY ON THE BEACH AT NAVY'S TRUMAN ANNEX/PATIO BEACH.

A "PIRATE" SHIP SAILING BY THE BEACH.  TO ENTERTAIN THEIR PASSENGERS, THEY WOULD SHOOT OFF A FAKE CANON SHOT.  PEOPLE ON THE BEACH, NOT KNOWING WHAT WAS GOING ON, WOULD LOOK AROUND AND ASK, "ARE THEY SHOOTING AT US?"

CHIP AND KATHY, DURING A NIGHT ON THE TOWN.

LISA AT THE SOUTHERNMOST POINT BUOY MARKER.

LISA STANDS BY A PICKUP TRUCK LOAD OF COCONUTS.

LISA BY THE BAY.

LISA ON THE BEACH.

LISA ON THE BEACH.

LISA AND BOB OUTSIDE SLOPPY JOE'S, ONCE A FAVORITE BAR OF ERNEST HEMINGWAY'S.

LISA AND CHIP OUTSIDE SLOPPY JOE'S.  IN BACKGROUND ARE OTHER SHOPS AND BARS ON DUVAL STREET, THE BUSY SHOPPING AND DINING STREET IN KEY WEST.

A "SCHOOL" OF PELICANS, ALL LINED UP TO LEARN THEIR LESSONS!

LISA AND BOB RETURNING FROM THEIR DAY OF DEEP-SEA FISHING.

A MANATEE SWIMS UNDER THE BOAT.

ALL THE FISH CAUGHT BY THE PASSENGERS/FISHERS ON THE BOAT WITH BOB AND LISA.  BOB CAUGHT A BIG GROUPER, AND ANOTHER MAN CAUGHT A SMALL SHARK, BUT THEY HAD TO THROW THEM BACK IN BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT IN SEASON.

LISA LYING ABOUT THE FISH THAT GOT AWAY!

LISA COOKS UP SOME OF THE FISH SHE AND BOB CAUGHT.

PELICAN PERCHES ON A ROPE, WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO THROW HIM SOME FISH.

CLOSE-UP OF PELICAN.  THEY KEPT PESTERING THE FISHERMEN FOR SCRAPS OF FISH, AND HAD TO BE CHASED AWAY.  A CREW MEMBER SAID THEY SOMETIMES WOULD LAND ON HIS HEAD!

LISA ON BALCONY OF HEMINGWAY HOUSE, WITH GARDENS IN BACKGROUND.

KEY WEST LIGHTHOUSE, AS SEEN FROM HEMINGWAY HOUSE.  IT IS SAID THAT HEMINGWAY SOMETIMES USED THE LIGHTHOUSE AS A GUIDE, ON HIS WAY HOME FROM THE BARS AT NIGHT!

LISA IN FRONT OF HEMINGWAY HOUSE.