Oldest House in Key West (and southern Florida)(1828)

Sugarloaf Key: A beautiful, sunny morning—but cool. So we decided to work on planning our summer trip. Fired up the Delorme road atlas program and put in our criteria. We’re going to the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Custer Battlefield, and Yellowstone plus points of interest on the way. Still have to plan how we want to return. Went to Boondocks for the “pig pickin” and sat with a couple we met there last week. They live on Big Pine Key. Nice couple. Got really windy and cool while we were there. Glad I had on warm clothing. Back home to continue making reservations.

Tropic Cinema--Old Town Key West

Former Admiral's Home--Truman Annex, Old Town Key West

Sugarloaf Key: Another iffy day, so we decided to head to Key West and see a movie. Stopped at Sugarloaf Lodge for lunch on the way, which is only about 2 miles from us. Sat outside on the deck overlooking a lagoon full of fish—a bunch of snapper and a goliath grouper (which can grow to 8-10 ft. long and 600 to 800 lbs. There used to be a dolphin in there but she died. She hung out there for years. The lagoon is open to the Gulf so she could come and go but she liked it in the lagoon I guess. Into Key West and found a parking spot on the street right across from the Tropic Cinema. Had some time before the movie started so we went through the oldest home in Key West (actually it’s the oldest in southern Florida)—built in 1828. Owned by a sea captain who had 9 daughters (poor guy). After checking out the house we went to see Juno which was a cute movie. After the movie we walked around old town and stopped at another historic home and toured it. This one was owned by the Dr. Porter family. He was a physician that discovered a cure for yellow fever. Robert Frost rented a cottage on the property for 16 years (winters only). A lot of well known people were entertained in this place. They let me play the piano (bought in 1844). Walked around some more and ended up stopping at a barbeque place next to the Green Parrot and had a couple of drinks and some appetizers. Back home. A fun day.

Sugarloaf Key: A beautiful day. But I had an upset stomach most of the day. Not even alcohol related. Mike did the grocery shopping. I defrosted the freezer. That was the highlight of our day.

Sugarloaf Key: Another crappy day, so we headed into Key West to see a movie and do the laundry. On the way in we saw an “open house” sign at the entrance to Shark Key—which is a very upscale residential area. Our favorite. It has about 3 lagoons in the complex and on one there is a small swimming beach with a floating swim dock. The first house we looked at was a two-story with a beautiful curving wood staircase, a gourmet kitchen (wasted on me) with all Viking stainless steel appliances. The second house was all on one floor with an in-ground swimming pool, beautiful landscaping, and overlooking the mangroves on the Gulf side. They were both for sale for $2.6 million. Not bad really. We saw “Atonement” at the Tropic Cinema in Key West. After that we did the laundry and then headed home just in time for dinner at the clubhouse. Played Jokers after dinner.

Sugarloaf Key

Sugarloaf Key: Wind still bad this morning. There was a high wind advisory all night long. Locals tell us they close the 7-mile bridge to high profile vehicles at times during high winds. Our little lake had white caps and rollers yesterday! We were all warm and comfy last night watching football and really didn’t want to go to the theater, but we did. And it was so good. Except for two performers, they were all local—mostly men. And they were excellent. They were accompanied by the Key West Pops Orchestra who were also good. It’s amazing how much talent there is in the Key West area. More locals there than tourists—probably because the tickets were $100 each. And lots of gay couples there. It was like the crème de la crème of Key West. And after the performance there was a reception, a huge buffet and cash bar. We were outside talking with this very expensively dressed woman (a real character) who it turns out was from St. Louis originally. She went to a very exclusive high school and then on to Vassar. Her companion was a theater critic. And then all the performers were mingling. Everyone knew everyone. We were definitely out of place. Another function they’re having (fund raiser) is a pajama party at a local couple’s home. It’s also $100 each. But what fun THAT would be. Mike played shoes this afternoon. I vegged most of the day.

The Cottage that Tennessee Williams lived in for 13 years in Key West (he wrote most of his plays when he lived here)

Sugarloaf Key: Cool and blustery this morning. Laid there in bed listening to the wind whipping the palm fronds and it sounds like it’s raining, but it isn’t. Nobody out and about this morning. I backed up stuff on the computer. Played spades for a while—waiting for football to start. Really looking forward to the 7:00 p.m. game between Green Bay and the Giants. Going to be extremely cold there tonight. We’ll have to tape it since we’re going to see Guys and Dolls at the Tennessee Williams Theater tonight. The New England/San Diego game starts at 3:00. Good day for football.

Naval Administration Building, Key West

Sugarloaf Key: Out to Captain Crossbones for breakfast this morning. Then over to the flea market. After that we explored around Big Pine Key for a while. Found one of the estates on our home and garden tour last year—the one with the salt water pool under the house. My favorite. Found some good places to ride our bikes. A beautiful day—80s. On the way back we stopped at Mangrove Mama’s for a drink. A favorite place to go with people in the park. It’s at mile marker 20… we’re at mile marker 19.5. We could walk there. A lot of people go over in their golf carts. A little dangerous since they have to cross Highway 1. One of the guys in the park rode his bike over there and on his way back (after several drinks) fell off his bike and got a black eye. Pretty funny. A bunch of people going over to Boondocks tonight. Mile Marker 24 is playing there tonight. We would have gone except that I had a headache from our drinks at Mangrove Mama’s (sigh). I have got to toughen up.