314 Simonton St.

This is where Hemmingway lived (upstairs apartment) when he wrote "A Farewell to Arms".

Sugarloaf Key: Drove into Key West this morning and picked up the book, “Matecumbe” by James Michener (the lost Florida novel) and then went to Blue Heaven for breakfast. They have the best benedict dishes. I had tenderloin benedict this time. They also have lobster benedict, salmon benedict, and shrimp benedict. They’re all excellent. And they have fresh squeezed orange juice. Delicious. After breakfast we went to the Green Parrot bar and had a drink. Hey, it was after noon. This bar has an eclectic, local clientele and has been a fixture in Key West since 1890. Drove over to the Eco Center and checked out the new coral reef exhibit. This is a free venue, free parking, and it’s within walking distance of Mallory Square. Mote Laboratories has something to do with it…a sponsor or something. The guy in the motor home across from us works there. We ran into him while we were there. After leaving there we went over to Key West harbor. The water there is so beautiful. Had dinner at our favorite Cuban restaurant. Went home and crashed. Did a lot of walking.

Sugarloaf Key: Started out threatening this morning, but cleared off and turned into a beautiful morning. So, we went for a walk up to the Bow Channel bridge and back. Mike went over to the clubhouse later and played shoes and I stayed back and read. Went to Big Pine Key for dinner and actually saw a Key deer crossing the highway for the first time ever. A buck. Luckily he made it across ok. After dinner we drove down to the Blue Hole again—which is a small fresh water pond on Big Pine. Well, it used to be fresh water until the storm surge with the last hurricane. Now it’s brackish. There are a couple of gators in there. There was a woman there with her dog and her macaw, Goliath. He was beautiful and very tame. He let me hold him several times. Talked with her for an hour or so and then headed back. Ran into Debbie (motor home across from us) and Sally on her golf cart. They were both three sheets to the wind….on their way over to the laundry room. Debbie said they were going to light their outside gas fireplace and to come over. We’ll see.

Sugarloaf Key: Just hung out today. Mike went over and played shoes with a bunch of guys. Temps in the mid-70s. Another beautiful day in paradise.

Sat, 1/5/08

Sugarloaf Key: Mike put the awning back up this morning and everything is back to normal. Cleaned. Then we met Floyd and Betty over at the clubhouse and we played cards. We have a new neighbor, Sharon. She drives a big Prevost tour bus for a living. Actually, it’s some musical group’s tour bus. She’s here by herself. She left Nashville last night at 5:00 and drove all night. Guess she’s used to that. After playing cards, we played Jokers for a while. Went out for dinner and then drove down to the Blue Hole. Saw 8 Key deer. One was a doe with two yearlings. She looked very healthy—a good thing.

Fri, 1/4/08

Sugarloaf Key: Couldn’t sleep last night because of a headache. So felt like crap most of the day. Just laid around and read/dozed most of the day. It did clear off and was sunny, but still windy and chilly.

Sugarloaf Key: Key West hit a historic low this morning. Beat the 1898 record of 46. It went down to 45 this morning. It’s still really windy, but the sun is shining and the sky is clear. Highs only in the 60s today though. Add the wind and it’s not very pleasant. So we’re going to head into Key West and do our laundry and then see the new Tom Hanks movie.

Sugarloaf Key: The wind howled all night last night. Mike brought the awning in this morning before it got damaged. Needless to say, we stayed inside most of the day. Early afternoon we drove into Old Town Key West and went to the Tropic Cinema on Eaton just off Duval. Saw “No Country for Old Men”. As a friend put it, it was like Fargo on steroids. There was a lot of traffic going and coming. Must be a lot of vacationers here yet. Tonight is supposed to be the coldest night down in the Keys for several years. Supposed to be back in the upper 70s by Friday tho. On the walk back to the truck we found a bookstore on the corner of Simonton and Eaton and stopped in to see if they had the book “Matecumbe” which was written by Michener back in the 70s and just found. They didn’t have that one, but we bought a couple of books by a local writer. Stories take place down here in the Keys.