A Key West Trip High Point...Meow!

Our visit to the Hemingway home in Key West was truly a high point for me. And in more ways than one. During the course of the tour we found out Hemingway's home is built on the highest point in Key West. It's a whopping 16 feet above sea level. That's pretty high. Well it is for Key West, anyway.

Right inside the gate I saw a sign asking visitors to alert staff if any kittens are seen wandering close to the gate that opens to the street. The cats must be trained NOT to exit the grounds. (I'm truly impressed by this fact since I've never been able to train Bogey not to bolt out the door).

Here's the Hemingway house and some of it's more interesting rooms.

The house is surrounded by palm trees and tropical plants. They provide shade, help keep the inside cool, and form an inviting oasis.

This is the living room found right off the entry foyer. The furniture is just as lovely now as it was then. I wish I had those gorgeous windows in my house.

Upstairs, the master bedroom features a hand carved headboard. Beautiful and intricate.

The bedroom has doors leading out to a full length deck that overlooks the grounds. Nice view, huh?

This upstairs bathroom featured the first bathroom in Key West with running water. A rooftop tank gathered rainwater that could be funneled into the tub and toilet. At the time, such an arrangement must have seemed the height of luxury.

Next to the house stands Hemingway's studio. Years ago, a walkway connected the upstairs studio to the upper balcony of the home. That meant Hemingway only had a short and scenic stroll to the office each day.

We weren't allowed to get any closer than this to Hemingway's desk and typewriter. I could almost sense the ghost of his muse in the room.

Hemingway's wife in Key West, Pauline, surprised him by building a beautiful state-of-the art swimming pool.

But alas, Hemingway was not happy. He dug a penny from his pocket and handed it to her, grousing that since she'd spent so much of his money to build the pool, she might as well take his last penny, too.

Pauline, having a wicked sense of humor, embedded the penny in concrete right next to the pool as a tongue-in-cheek reminder.

Legend has it that Hemingway was given a six-toed cat (poly-dactyl, or extra toes) as a gift. Sea faring men saw poly-dactyls as good luck. The cat found a true friend in Hemingway. Its descendants roam the grounds to this day. Currently 52 cats, all reported to be descendants of the original cat, are on the property. About half of them are poly-dactyl. They have free run, going in and out of the house as they wish. Of course there's an awful lot of nifty places for them to hang out on the grounds, too.

Over the years, kitties have come and then gone on to the Rainbow Bridge. This lovely little cemetery tells the story.

I got to meet several of the feline residents. This one posed to show off his extra toe. Looks like he's wearing a mitten, doesn't it?

Several of the youngsters were quite rambunctious. They pounced on the leaves I rustled for their entertainment. One paw smacked my hand and nearly drew blood. I didn't care. Who else can say they got scratched by a descendant of Hemingway's cat?

The property also has a gift shop. The cats get to hang out wherever they want there, too.

If you're a writer, history buff, or cat lover and travel to Key West, be sure to stop by Hemingway's home for a visit. And do tell the kitties I sent you!

Your Tour Guide Returns

Have you ever dreamed of discovering sunken treasure? If so, the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum would be right up your alley. Long ago, the waters around the Keys presented difficult navigating for ships. As a result, it wasn't unusual for wrecks to occur, taking lives and other precious cargo to the bottom of the sea. To this day, underwater archaeologists look for mysterious sunken treasures from long ago.

One of the most famous of these hunters was Mel Fisher. His dream of finding treasure began as a child when he read Robert Louis Stevenson's, Treasure Island. He and his crew were successful in discovering many lucrative shipwrecks, but Fisher had his cap set to find the Spanish galleon Nuestra Senora de Atocha which he had read about in Potter's Treasure Diver's Guide. It was a royal guard galleon with 40 tons of gold and silver aboard which sank in a devastating hurricane along with other ships in 1622.

For 16 years he told his crew every morning, "Today's the day", until finally it happened. They found the ship. Thousands of artifacts were discovered worth many, many millions of dollars. It was considered the richest treasure find since the discovery of King Tut's tomb. Mel Fisher was truly an example of what can happen when you never, ever give up.

We saw gold and silver, emeralds and goblets, jewelry and pirate muskets.

This small sampling shows the beauty and detail of the artifacts found by Mel Fischer.

And we we saw something else that widened our eyes. For those of you who recall me writing about our local sculptor friend, Don Wiegand, upon entering the museum the first thing we saw was a bronze sculpture Don did of Mel Fisher.

Talk about finding a touch of home in Florida!

If you get a chance, I strongly recommend you visit the museum. You won't regret it.

Next time I'll show you one of the highlights of our trip...the home of Ernest Hemingway and the fabulous felines that live there.

Just Call Me Your Travel Guide

A few weeks ago, Hubby and I traveled with Son and Daughter-In-Law to spend a few days in a tropical paradise. And we didn't even need to leave the United States to do it.

On a dreary, chilly St. Louis Thursday morning, we hopped on a plane and flew to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Then we took off our jackets and rented a car, driving 3 and one half hours to arrive at our destination...Key West. At first I wasn't thrilled about such a long ride from the airport to our hotel, but then I realized the obvious. We were driving through the beautiful Florida Keys! A tough job, but we soldiered through it anyway.

What a place. Our hotel was a stone's throw from the ocean. It had stunning views with palm trees everywhere, a long boardwalk from which to view the sights, and best of all it was totally pet friendly. Each day an artist sculpted something interesting from sand for the guests to enjoy. This guy was my favorite:

Speaking of pet friendly, I think it's fair to say that pretty much all of Key West is pet friendly. People brought their pups to restaurants, bars, and shopping. In one restaurant I saw a cat napping in a comfy chair while the bartender's dog sat politely next to a bar stool and a customer's pup lounged beneath his table, perhaps waiting for a handout.

How about these cute boxer pups I discovered sitting outside a bar on Duval Street?

Nothing like a puppy fix to make a good day even better. But wait, there's more. Key West has chickens that roam pretty much wherever they want. Apparently the chickens belong to no one in particular, but everyone seems to love them. Unfortunately the chickens are a wee bit camera shy. You can see them fleeing from the photographer (aka me) below.

A huge boat race was going on that weekend and one night some of the enormous million-dollar boats were lined up on Duval Street for the fans to take a look. The streets were packed with people. I pointed out a man carrying a parrot and cockatoo. The next thing I knew...

What can I say? Proof that anything can happen.

This is your travel guide signing off until next time when I'll bring you more salty tales of Key West.

Hemingway House

Gertrude Stein, resident at Hemingway's home.

Ernest Hemingway spent much of his time in Key West, where his home still stands. It is now a museum, and open for tour. As the story goes, Hemingway would write in the mornings when the temperature was most comfortable, then explore the island in the afternoon. He became acquainted with a sea captain, who gifted Hemingway with an unusual cat. It had an extra toe on each front paw. The extra toe made the cat look as though it wore mittens (another nickname for the phenomena).

You can see the descendents of this original polydactyl cat at Hemingway's Key West home. Approximately sixty cats reside on the grounds, about half of whom are polydactyls. The felines are carefully monitored, allowing only enough kittens to be born each year to maintain the population. Each one is typically named for an author, actor, or artist.

Hemingway has become so closely linked with polydactyl cats that animal shelters often nickname polydactyls, "Hemingways".

If I ever make it to Key West, the Hemingway Home is on my list of must-sees. After all, if it inspired him...