Christmas in Key West

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder; and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

Dec. 25, 2017

Merry Christmas to our family and friends!  We're hoping your day is filled with joy and Christmas cheer.


Dec. 24, 2017
To start our Christmas Eve day, George and I went to the Key West Baptist Church.  It was a small church with a very welcoming pastor and congregation.  We came home for a quick lunch and then headed out on the hotel shuttle to go into Key West to walk through the city.  We went through a nice art gallery and several shops.  The locals tell us the crowds are down this year but between Christmas and New Years, there are usually shoulder-to-shoulder tourists.  

Merry Christmas!!

This week we took a trolley tour that stopped at most of the key sights on the island.  Our driver told us some interesting facts.  Key West, even though it has a tropical climate, doesn't get that much rainfall.  We haven't had a drop since we've been here.  And the temperature hardly ever goes above the mid 90's.  Key West is only 2 miles by 4 miles.  Key West is closer to Cuba than to the nearest Wal-Mart.

We toured the Ernest Hemingway house this week.  The house was built in 1851 and was abandoned for several years but was restored by Hemingway and his second wife, Pauline.  It is a beautiful Florida home.  Hemingway had quite a few cats and had one cat, Snowball, that had 6 toes.  There are still 6-toed cats living at the home today. 

Starting the day at Blue Heaven with classic eggs benedict with lime hollandaise 

This sleepy kitty must have had a late night because he was sound asleep between the pillows of Hemingway's bed during our tour.

This is the room where Hemingway wrote the following books:

A Farewell to Arms, Scribner's, 1929

Death in The Afternoon, Scribner's, 1932

Winner Take Nothing, Scribner's, 1933. Story collection

Green Hills of Africa, Scribner’s, 1935

To Have and Have Not, Scribner’s, 1937
The Fifth Column and the First Forty-nine Stories, Scribner's, 1938. A play about the Spanish Civil War and his collected stories.

Picture gallery in the Hemingway home

One of the bathrooms in the Hemingway home

The backyard pool Hemingway's second wife had built while Hemingway was away with his soon to be third wife

Custom made Cuban birthing chairs that Hemingway liked to use on his fishing boat

Second story porch with a view of the Key West Lighthouse in the background

One of the many cats in the cat cemetery at the Hemingway home

One of the 60+ cats on the Hemingway property

One of the famous cats of Key West

Kitchen in the Hemingway home

After touring the Hemingway home we walked across the street and climbed the Key West Lighthouse.

Stairway inside the Key West Lighthouse

Navy Missile Cruiser as view from the Key West Lighthouse

The Mel Fisher treasure museum was also on the list of must-see attractions found only in Key West.  We got the behind-the-scenes tour where we were able to see people in the painstaking process of recovering ancient relics hauled up from shipwrecks 100’s of years old.  

A meal of Oysters and Conch Fritters

We also toured Truman's Little White House in Key West.  After becoming president and going through all the stress that comes with that office, Truman was told by his doctor to get away for a relaxing trip to a warm climate.  He and his wife, Bess, came to Key West and fell in love with the area.  The Little White House became a place where he and his staff would work.

Me and Harry

George and I were downtown around sunset one afternoon, so we walked over to Mallory Square to see the entertainers and watch the sunset.  One act we were told not to miss was the Cat Man.  He sets up a mini circus" tiger" act and has his pet house cats jumping from one tall stool to another.  Then they would jump through his arms, and for the grand finale one cat jumped through a flaming hoop.  Cat Man wouldn't let us take pictures but wanted us to buy his DVD.  

The next act we watched was a young man on a very tall unicycle that juggled things such as knives and flaming sticks!

Unicycle Man

Anything with feathers is protected on the island of Key West.  Stiff penalties for bothering any kind of bird

 Cruise ships come every day at Mallory Square Docks

 One of the many colorful homes in neighborhoods all over the island 

 Ending the day at Only Wood Pizzeria

Getting Settled

The crew of Viridian will be docked in Key West for at least a month.  This is all new territory for us, and getting our heads wrapped around navigating the island will take a few days.   Walking around in the marina, we found a local art gallery and met the owner, Koz.  He was a wealth of information and had one good map of the area left which he gave to us.  Koz told us where all the free parking was and what places were a must to see.  Armed with a cartoon map of Key West and adjacent Stock Island, we now had to work out our transportation.  The choices were walking, taking a free shuttle bus from the hotel, taxi, Uber, bicycles or scooter.  Most of the places we wanted to see were across the canal onto the island of Key West.  Everyone here seemed to be using scooters to get around on.  They were everywhere.  We called one of the recommended scooter rentals and soon had our own scooter to launch our first expedition onto the islands.  

Our first scooter trip was to circumnavigate the island of Key West and get the big picture overview, then come back to Viridian and study the map to get oriented.  On the way, we stopped at several strip malls to pick up some supplies and cruised through neighborhoods on the Middle Island.  The next day we went to the far west end of Key West where the original Old Town section is.  The island of Key West is now three times the size it was originally; excavation for marinas yielded so much fill that the island was built east until it almost met Stock Island.  This area is called "New Town".

Saturday morning was boat-cleaning time.  We spent all morning washing and cleaning Viridian and applying protective polish to the Strataglass Bimini enclosure on the fly bridge.  For lunch, we ordered sandwiches from the nearby tiki hut and didn't need another meal that day.  After showers, we took the free shuttle bus to Publix to get a month's worth of provisions; after putting all that away, we caught the shuttle bus again and it took us deep into Old Town Key West.  We had two hours to find the best Key Lime Pie on the island before we had to catch the shuttle back to the marina at 8:30 PM.  This pie was found at Pepe's on Caroline St.

Sunday morning started off with the final stage of cracking into that coconut we found off Pine Island back up around Ft. Myers.  Later in the morning, the scuba diver boat bottom cleaner we hired showed up to scrub off the layer of slime we grew while docked in Ditto Landing all year.  He also replaced all the underwater zinc that was almost eaten away.  I asked him what he sees when he's down there cleaning boats in this marina.  He has seen sharks: hammerheads, bull sharks, lemon sharks, nurse sharks and others. He has seen rays, eels, barracuda and all manner of reef fish.  One day a manatee came up behind him and pulled his regulator out of his mouth thinking it was a fresh water hose. (They love to drink fresh water.) 

Once all this was completed, we took the scooter back into old town, parked in the free parking area, and started exploring Duval St.  Duval St. is like the main drag in Key West.  All the shops and many restaurants are located there.  We also walked down side roads checking out some old houses and neighborhoods in the area. 

It will take several more trips onto the island to visit as many attractions as we can during our short stay here.

That's the news, now here are some views.

Viridian in her Key West slip at Stock Island Marina, FL

One of our Island transportation options

Key Lime and Coconut Cream Pie at Pepe's 

New Harley Fat Boy

Christmas Tree for Viridian

Drop-off and pick-up location for the shuttle bus in old town

Back to the coconut.  Must use the proper tool to open.

Didn't spill a drop!  It actually tasted GOOD.

I noticed this fantastic schooner docked on the other side of the pier from Viridian.  After talking with some of the crew, I was stunned to discover that this was General George Patton's private yacht When And If.  He had planned to sail her around the world with his wife Bea when the war was over and if he survived.  Sadly, he was killed in a car accident in Germany before he could make that voyage.  Check out the live link above for more info on this beautiful vessel.

Marina Pool Area

 Jason prepares to go under and clean the bottom of Viridian and replace underwater zinc

Sunday Lunch on Viridian

Meg and the Sponge Man

Typical Island shop

The area is covered with shops like this

Springtime in December

What is this house's story?

Old Florida House

Typical Old Town House

Very little sign of hurricane Irma here

 Rest Break

Off the main drag down a side road

Nice porch for a nap

Episcopal Church in Old Town Key West

The oldest School House (old brass bell near the flag)

Another view of the church

A real "Dollar Store"

Taking a rest on the dock

Sunset dinghy ride through the harbor

Shrimp boats getting ready to go out at night