On Monday we were awakened by roosters crowing. I had forgotten that
Key West
is renowned for the feral chickens that inhabit the island. And there are not just a few.
Nancy
went for a morning run and I took a morning walk. There were chickens in every block, chickens on the roofs, chickens in the open air restaurants, chickens on the courthouse lawn, chickens scratching in dumpsters and even one rooster crowing at his reflection at the front door of a bank. Oddly the roosters outnumber the
hens by about ten to one. There are more chickens in
Key West
than there are in western
North Carolina
!! Supposedly they were introduced by sailors, then used are revered rather than hated. This brought back memories of the chickens we had when we first moved to
North Carolina
. We’d still have them if the dogs didn’t want to eat them.
That morning we played tourist and visited the Hemingway House. This was quite the mansion for
Key West
in the 1920s even without the $20,000 swimming pool which adjusted for inflation would be $250,000 today. Hemingway supposedly placed a penny in the wet concrete saying “here, you might as well take the last penny.” The grounds are
lushly tropical and cats abound, many with six toes. These are descendants of a cat left by a Hemingway guest. The felines are well cared for, given popular names like Frank Sinatra, and buried in the cat cemetery on the property.
We then toured the Key West Lighthouse & Keeper’s
Quarters
Museum
across the street. We climbed the 90 foot spiral staircase to get a bird’s eye view of
Key West
. Adjacent to the lighthouse is the Keeper’s Quarters with relics dating from the 1800s.
Back on the streets we encountered more roosters and a unique business, Kavanaugh’s Pub. On the gate was a sign that read CLOTHING OPTIONAL. Too bad the GONE FISHING sign was hanging
on the gate. We’d be too embarrassed to take part in such exhibitions anyway.
Just down the street was an abandoned house that appeared ready to fall in. There is a rate of growth ordinance which makes new construction difficult in the Keys. We didn’t see much new construction anywhere. One would think that all existing buildings would be of great value under those circumstances.
Across the street is the lighthouse and Lighthouse Keeper’s Museum. We climbed the winding stairs for a great view of the island, harbor, and Hemingway’s property. The house itself has many relics from the past 200 years of keepers.
The trees of Key West are a tourist attraction in themselves. This subtropical climate is perfect for all kinds of palms which abound
naturally. There are huge banyan trees with sinews hanging from the limbs and reaching the earth to form more trunks. The kapok tree on Whitehall is interesting, but much smaller than one on the Lake Trail in Palm Beach. Thin palm trees twisted by the winds of many storms reach at strange angles for the sky. Our bed and breakfast yard was nearly overgrown with blooming vines, coconut trees, and banana trees teeming with fruit. And in addition to the roosters the accommodations hosted wild rabbits, large lizards, butterflies, several cats, and a couple of caged cockatiels.
We decided to eat lunch at the El Meson de Pepe Cuban Restaurant at
Mallory Square
. We ordered a sampler with rice, black beans, yucca and plantain. It was pricey, but good. An appetizer of bread with two spicy
dips was excellent. A couple of strong Cuban coffees had us raring to go.
We had planned to take one of the snorkeling trips, but the weather was getting pretty bad with gusty winds. We heard that one boat had cancelled its trips for the days and another said that the morning trip had been rough and the afternoon one would be worse. We decided it might be better to take a motorcycle tour.
Back on two wheels we found the airport where we were scheduled to take a seaplane to
Fort
Jefferson
in the
Dry Tortugas
in the morning. We also found the mechanical rooster honoring the many fowl on the island. We also found another six pack of beer for the evening.
Having had such a good dinner at Crabby Dicks the night before we returned for fried snapper on Monday night. Must have been a different chef because the fish was over done. It was still good and we enjoyed the street show once again.
Back at the B and B we took a plunge in the large hot pool and then turned in. We had an early flight to the
Dry Tortugas
at
7:30 am
in the morning.
SUMMARY: Less than 10 miles of riding today
TOTAL DISTANCE: 10 miles riding, 10 miles walking
TOTAL TIME: Dawn to night.
HIGHLIGHTS: Not having to ride for another 250 plus miles
Playing the tourist and walking the back roads
Good seafood for dinner
A hot dip in the pool to soothe the aches
