The old 7-mile bridge

Historic Pidgeon Key

Pidgeon Key--we're going to snorkel here

Sugarloaf Key: Put the bikes on the truck and headed up to Marathon Key. Stopped at the Stuffed Pig on Marathon for breakfast. I had a tomato and spinach benedict and Mike had steak and eggs. Really good. Drove over to a little shopping center on Highway 1 and got the bikes off and biked down a bike path through a residential area to Sombrero Beach. A really nice beach and park. Saw some dolphins. Started getting cloudy and really windy. Wanted to bike the old 7-mile bridge over to Pidgeon Key, but not sure with the wind. Figured we’d at least start and if it was too windy we could turn around. Started out and it was really nice. The sky had cleared by then and the water was beautiful. The last time we biked here we saw lots of rays and other fish, but nothing today. Pidgeon Key was used to house the workers on the overseas railway (circa 1910) and then later when they were building the overseas highway. The whole key is now a museum. Most of the buildings are still there. When they built the highway, they built it on the old rail bed. And on the bridges they removed the old rails and used them as guardrails. The old road is really narrow and is hard to imagine two cars being able to fit. Almost all the old bridges are still there and being used for walking, biking and fishing. On the bike over it was great—wind was at our back. Coming back was a different story. Had to REALLY work. We’re going to take our wet suits and snorkels and snorkel out there next time. Had an early dinner at Porky’s and then back home. Staying in tonight.

Hemmingway Home

This home was built by a man named Tift in the 1800s. He owned a salvage operation in Key West and made lots of money. It's the only home in the Keys to have a basement. The rock quarried was used to build the house.

Hemmingway's Studio/Office

This used to be the carriage house on the Hemmingway property. He had the upper level (hay loft) turned into his office.

Hemmingway's Studio/Office

This is where Hemmingway did his writing. He used to tell his publisher that the Royal typewriter he used made more spelling mistakes than any other.

The Hemmingway Pool

The pool cost $22,000 to build because it had to be dug by hand. The Keys are all granite and fossil coral. Pauline (his second wife) couldn't get a dynamite permit, so it had to be dug by hand. To put this in perspective, the house only cost $8,000. Ernest was not very happy since Pauline had it built while he was in Spain for 6 months or so. And she had it built where his boxing ring used to be.

Sugarloaf Key: Slept late this morning. No hangover though. A cloudy morning. So we decided to drive into Key West and go back to the Hemmingway home. We were there a couple of years ago, but it’s always fun to go back. I bought “A Farewell to Arms” to read. Have never read anything of Hemmingway’s. I have lots of interesting books to read. After leaving the Hemmingway home we stopped at Meteor for a couple of drinks and then drove back. Ran into Floyd and Terry on the way to our site and decided the four of us would go to Little Palm Island next Sunday. Should be fun. Baked some tilapia fillets for dinner. Staying in tonight.

Cosgrove House--Old Town Key West

Sugarloaf Key: Started out cloudy and cool. Mike started getting things together to put back in the storage area. I went for a walk and when I got back vacuumed the storage area and then we put everything away—finally. So now our site is back to normal. Decided to take mimosas to the clubhouse to have with dinner tonight, so we headed to the grocery store on Big Pine Key to buy some champagne and orange juice and after shopping went to Pizza Works for pizza. Came back, put everything away and then kicked back. I read my book and Mike got on the computer. At 5:30 we headed over for dinner. After dinner we played jokers with a bunch of people. Craig brought over his stereo and a bunch of CDs from the 50s and 60s. A fun night.

Doors of Key West--Truman Annex, Old Town Key West

Sugarloaf Key: A beautiful, sunny, but cool day. Mike went off to the RV dealer on Cudjoe Key and they had the fitting he needed for the hot water heater. He installs the new fitting, turns the water back on—and it’s still leaking! So, back he goes to the RV dealer and set up an appointment to have someone come here and fix it. He was told it would be two days or more. Jeeze. So he then called the service department where we bought our fifth wheel and they told him to check one of the straight, threaded fittings. He found the fitting, took it out and back to the RV dealer he goes. They had that part also and he came back, reinstalled it, refilled the tank and no more leak. YES! So we now have hot water again. In the meantime, everything from the storage area is sitting all over our site. We look like the Clampets. Mike played shoes this afternoon and I drove to Big Pine and got my hair cut. Hot shower tonight. Mike did such a good job.

First Pan Am Office; Old Town Key West

Sugarloaf Key: Not a good day today. Planned on doing a little cleaning and just kicking back. But, Mike discovered that the hot water tank is leaking all over our storage compartment. So he had to take everything out and set it around our site to dry—and then it started raining. Poor Mike is fit to be tied. Everything is wet and the storage compartment is wet. But, he found that one of the fittings is cracked and will take it to an RV dealer tomorrow to buy a replacement. In the meantime, the hot water is shut off. So, sponge baths tonight. And we can’t do dishes—so we’ll go out to eat (YES!). Hopefully everything will dry out by tomorrow, we’ll find the correct fitting, and all will be fine. Hopefully…

The Doors of Key West--Truman Annex

Sugarloaf Key: Got an early start this morning and headed to the art and craft show in Key West at the Truman Annex. Stopped at Sugarloaf Lodge and had breakfast. Fed the fish. A beautiful day. Supposed to be in the mid-70s. We parked just outside the Truman Annex at the old Navy docks. Race week in Key West is just finishing up and they’re using this area as a staging area for all these sleek, racing sail boats. There was also a beautiful yacht at the docks out of Newport. A beautiful thing—all wood—circa l935. About 100 feet long. Wished I’d had my camera with me. They had a crane at the docks to take out the sail boats and lift them onto their huge trailers. What a logistical nightmare. Walked through the Truman Annex to where the art and craft show was being held. The Truman Annex is what used to be a large Navy base—from 1823 to 1974. Some of the old, historic buildings (Marine Hospital) are still there. And the officers were housed there. Now it’s an upscale residential area. They had the most beautiful stuff at the craft show. People are so creative. I bought a pretty liquid soap dispenser, 5 acoustical guitar CDs, and some marbles for our jokers game. Would have bought a lot more, but we have no place to put them. My sister would have gone nuts. Stopped at an outdoor cafe and had a couple of drinks. Then we took all our stuff back to the truck and walked back to the Tropic Cinema and saw “The Walker”. Called Floyd and Terry before we headed back to see if they wanted to play cards or jokers. Guess we’re going to play cards. Another great day. We’re doing our bit for the economy.

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.