Saturday 10/18/2008

Hello
I knew it would be fast. Here we are on the 5th day of our holiday already!
Our flight on Tuesday went without a hitch. Our room in Ft. Lauderdale was very nice and had a great breakfast.
We are traveling in a Black Ford Explorer, so traveling is very comfortable for us all.
Wednesday we headed south. Our first stop was at Coopertown, where we boarded an air boat for a 45 min. tour through the river of grass that is the Everglades. Scooter, our guide, was a good ole down south boy. Lives out on an island in the Everglades. Prefers the company of the birds and gators to the human kind.
Saw several alligators. It is nesting time so the females are in hiding. Interesting fact, though we all were taught to color gators green, they are actually black! The water is higher than it has been in several years. Because of the fresh water and grass it is very sweet smelling air. We then drove a bit further into the Everglades to the National Park entrance and took a 2 hour tram nature tour of the Everglades. The birds are just returning from points north. They were just recently able to resume this tour because the high water had all the roads flooded. Back in the car we traveled down the Keys to Islamarado and the Ragged Edge Resort on the Atlantic side of the Keys. A real Keys type of lodging, with screened in verandah to have our wine and look out at the Atlantic. Went to dinner and had our first taste of a local fish called HOGFISH. Sooo good.
Thursday we drove the remaining 85 miles to Key West. Our hotel is a couple miles from downtown, overlooking the Atlantic and a lot more quiet than staying in town. Took the Conch Train tour of town to get our bearings, and to help us decide what we wanted to tour. The trade winds were gently blowing, so the weather was fairly pleasant. We decided to visit the Mel Fisher museum. Here you can see some of the gold bars, pieces of eight, emeralds and other booty that he found from the sunken Spanish galleon Atocha. Very Interesting, and you can even touch and lift a bar of gold. We then decided it was time for cocktails and dinner and Key Lime Pie(I even got the chef to give me his recipe). Key West is fairly uncrowded at this time, except for when a cruise ship is in town. We had the restaurant all to ourselves for most of the time.
Friday we headed out to the Hemingway house. He was in his 30's when he lived with his second wife in this house. There are 49 cats, all desended from his original cats. Some of them still carry the 6 toe gene.
Wife had all the ceiling fans ripped out cuz she thought they were tacky. She imported crystal chandeliers from Europe and even a Murano glass one (pretty tacky looking to me) from Italy. Wonder how often she regretted that decision? The house cost $8000, but the pool that was added cost $20,000. It took 6 months to dig through the limestone to make the pool.
Next up the "Little White House". President Harry Truman used this as his get away from the rigors and demands of his presidency.
Bob & I visited the Pirate museum, while Walt & Jan took a beer break. Today there are no trade winds, so it is quite warm and muggy.
Dinner out on Stock Island, which is one island north. Real locals kind of place, lots of bikers. Picnic tables and plastic ware. We had the famous Key West Pink Shrimp, unbelievably sweet; conch fritters; and the nights special, Crab crusted Hog Fish with Key lime hollandaise. I think hogfish is my new favorite fish. Too bad cuz I doubt we will ever get it in San Diego.
Friday night was the start of Goombay, a Cuban eating, drinking, and shopping celebration in the streets in Old town Key West. We ended the evening with an obligatory visit to Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville for what else, a Margarita!
Here it is Saturday already. We head back north to Fort Lauderdale and get ready for the cruise, which leaves Sunday at 5 pm.

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