The beaches are from crushed white limestone and it is hard on the feet, so best to wear water shoes into the warm waters. There's a few sandy beaches open to the public in Key West such as Smathers Beach, Higg’s Beach, and Ft. Zachary State Park. As a matter of fact, all of the keys are made from limestone and an ancient coral reef giving this area its tropical setting. Even Hemingway’s home is made from limestone. The first owner excavated limestone from the very spot the house was built. This gave the house a basement area and the first pool on the island.
Of course, we had to visit Hemingway’s home and all the cats. Hemingway had not planned on living in Key West. He and his wife, Pauline stopped in Key West to pick up a Roadster to drive to their final destination, but the car was not delivered for 7 weeks. By the time the car was delivered Key West had worked its magic on Hemingway and he decided to stay. Well, for at least the next 10 years, then he moved to Havana, Cuba after his divorce.
A sea captain gave Hemingway his first 6-toed cat and that cat apparently did a lot of tomcatting for many years based on the number of 6-toed cats on the estate. There are quite a few cat houses, food dishes, and water dishes throughout the grounds. One special drinking fountain for the cats has an old urinal catching water from a Spanish olive jar. The urinal came from Joe Russell’s “Sloppy Joe’s” place. Pauline disguised it with tiles. Pictures of the Hemingway Estate are in a separate album.We bicycled all around the island one day. There are bike trails and designated bike lanes all over the island. Drivers learn very fast to keep an eye out for Jay-walkers, scooters, and bike riders so we felt safe riding our bikes on the narrow main streets in the downtown area. We were able to see more on our bikes than when we are in the car, not to mention that we got a lot of exercise. It is just over over 12 miles to ride around the island of Key West. We will probably do it again since it is easier to park a bike than to find a parking space for our car without paying.
Last week, we went to Casa Marina Resort for a Pet Masquerade during the week of Fanasy Fest. Some owners were more dressed up than the pets. It was still a lot of fun and we took quite a few pictures. Many of the pets were enjoying the attention as much as their people. We swear that many of them were actually posing for the camera. After the pet show, we walked downtown to check out Fantasy Fest and the sunset celebration at Mallory Square with the blowing of the conchs. We cannot post many pictures of Fantasy Fest as it is a bit wild and not PC. No nudity is allowed, but body paint and scraps of cloth constitute suitable clothing for some in the main blocks of the fest. The theme this year was Habitat for Insanity.
Even grocery shopping is a different experience. We came across frozen bags of yucca and plantains. We tried the fried plantains at a restaurant and they were very good. We will have to try the yucca sometime in the near future.
We try to either walk, bicycle, or kayak each day. Dan has a new case for his small digital camera, so will try and get some on the water kayak pictures posted soon.
When we are here at the motorhome in the evening, we go outside to watch the sun set. We have added more pictures to our Sunset album. A few of the campers blow on conch shells signaling the setting of the sun. It is so peaceful and so beautiful that it is hard to believe such a place actually exists. Pinch me!
Key West Sunsets/Sunrise
Key West Critters
Key West Week #1
