Key West, FL ~ part 9

Our first morning in Key West Mike ran to Home Depot and Bradly was doing his laundry, Lucky and I sat relaxing in the RV. The sky was looking a bit dark. Didn't think much of it. The rain came and the wind started blowing pretty hard. Turns out, it was 75 mile per hour wind. 74 mile an hour wind is considered a level 1 hurricane.

Major hurricanes have rarely hit the Keys. The chance is always there. It is easy to understand why the locals stay and risk it.

Some appear to have come on vacation in 1976, only to have never left...

It's all about searching for your lost shaker of salt...

Captain Tony's is a Key West landmark. Legend has it that the tree was once used as a hanging tree and the chains where used to shackle and torture people. I seriously doubt that Captain Tony was involved with this sort of wrong doing, this would have happened before the building was made into a drinking establishment. Ernest Hemingway is said to have spent much time sipping rum in this bar and deep sea fishing with Captain Tony. Captain Tony died this year at the age of 91.

Another landmark is Sloppy Joe's... The same cast of characters is involved along with some guy named Joe.

Lucky felt in tune with the island wildlife...

Street performers can be entertaining, until they involve you in their act...

It is an exciting and colorful island with a lot of Cuban influence. Cuba is 90 miles away. Really 98, but they say 90.

Tourism is huge...

Ernest Hemingway's home has turned into a museum. The property is stunning.

His writing studio is located above the garage...

There is over 50 cats living at the estate. Some are actual descendants of Ernest's beloved felines.

Many of the cats are polydactyl, which means they have extra toes. Lucky tried out some of his comedy routine on them. He's a funny kid.

Another note worthy resident is Robert the Doll. Please read for yourself ... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_the_Doll
And, YES we did flirt with Robert and asked for his permission before we took his picture. There is a 33 hour drive ahead of us.

"Robert did it."

A letter from the White House... (by the way, you can click on any of the pictures for a closer look.)

This is Robert's house on Eaton Street...

There is a wonderful aquarium that has regular shark feedings. They feel like sandpaper. This is the same shark that was in the water while we were snorkeling. Even though nurse sharks are docile creatures, the babies have the strenght and the ability to bite off a human arm.

B.O.'s Fish Wagon is a great little outdoor hang out. Shel Silverstein drank many of beers here. He spent a lot of time in Key West and died here at his home in 1999 of a massive heart attack.

Most of all Brad wanted to go deep sea fishig. He had been talking about chartering a boat in Key West since Maine. But, the choppy waters never calmed and Captain Al said, "No go".

Guess the picture with the fake fish will have to do, until another time...

It took these 4 kids from Minnesota 92 days to reach the southern most point of the continental United States. Here we are. We made it, we did it...

Now, it's time to turn around and go home.