February 15, 2010

Key West medical advisory......Prevent Scurvy - Eat Key Lime Pie!

The temperatures were subnormal for Key West but we basked in the thought that there was snow across the rest of the country. Our stay included tours of the Mel Fisher Museum and Ernest Hemingway's Home. The museum (www.melfisher.org) contained a sampling of the treasure which took 16 years to find on the bottom of the ocean off of Key West - including many eating utensils, coins, cannon, gold jewelry and a 37-karat emerald.

Hemingway's home is the only one on the island with a full basement and has the largest outdoor pool. It was built over a stone quarry which he converted to a huge wine cellar. His study, where he wrote approximately 3/4 of his works, remains intact. Perhaps the most well-known aspect of the home, however, are the polydactyl cats which still roam at will
(www.hemingwayhome.com/HTML/our_cats.htm).

We also drove to Big Pine Key to have lunch at the famous "No Name" bar. This unusual setting featured dollar bills which completely covered the walls and hung down from every inch of the ceiling - easily 40,000 more or so. The food was good and plentiful but as I looked around, I couldn't help but wonder - do they dust?

Now we're in Fort Myers - visiting Jack and Cindy Weigel. They have a great home in the beautiful Pelican Preserve community - which offers activities for everyone. They seem to be constantly on the go - walking every day, taking dance lessons, working on mosaic projects, and helping out at church. They have trotted us out to a movie, the local flea market, shops and the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve. This free park is best visited in the late afternoon when birds fly in from all over to roost for the evening. Sitting areas along the boardwalk offered us a good view of hundreds of birds - including egrets, herons and anhingas. Alligators are often present but of course, I didn't see any. I'd love to go back and hope we'll have time to do that.

I also conned Chuck into going to the Shell Factory on Hwy. 41 - that I'm sure I visited with my Aunt Florence and Uncle Mac when I was a teen. I didn't buy anything but it was fun to think about have been there so many years ago. Chuck's favorite thing was the cherry fudge he bought to celebrate Valentine's Day.

HV from C and V!

February 2, 2010

I didn't want to miss going for an airboat ride through the Everglades so we searched the internet when we hit Ft. Lauderdale. I found an outfitter that would take two people out on a private tour for two hours - to the less traveled areas. $350. Gulp. Chuck said we could do it but I just couldn't see it, so we opted for the $20 each trip at Sawmill park. After we were seated in the boat, they told us that it was a "bad alligator day," as it was too cool. Of course the $350 folks never mentioned that. Chuck caught a quick glimpse of one; as per usual, I saw nothing. I did, however, thoroughly enjoy skimming over the water - thinking land lay ahead - and then seeing the sawmill grass part as we forged forward. The noon day sun glinted on the water, and an occasional Osprey would wing past. A little hard on the ears but overall a very pleasant experience. When I was doing laundry yesterday, a woman who arrived in Key West when we did said that they saw 100 alligators off of Highway 41 - just along the roadside. Well - there you go!

I love Key West. To me, there is a bit of a foreign feeling here except that it's clean. Small white houses and buildings are crowded together....and you hear the crow of an occasional rooster. We are parked at the Naval Air Station which accommodates hundreds of RVs. The only problem is that there is a 4-5 week wait for sites with electrical and dump hook ups, so we are "dry camping." $12 a day but every two days we have to bring in the slide and drive over to the dump site. Showers are short but the worst part is that the rules require that all generators be turned off between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. What that means is no air con at night.

We have had good cell phone coverage with our cellular booster. I was a little concerned about how they would work because we had a court appearance by phone in our case against Lang Jewelry store of San Francisco. We were very pleased that the judge ruled in our favor and will retain jurisdiction of the case in Wisconsin. During the call, I started hearing a rooster crowing. At first I thought it was coming from our farm in Farmville but it turned out to be one of the five roosters (and one hen) that wander the RV park. They are actually protected here and we were told that you can get in big trouble if you endanger them in any way.

We plan on being here until the 10th, when we will head for Ft. Meyers to visit Jack and Cindy Weigel.

Our best to all - Vicki and Chuck