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!