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KW is a fascinating small town, lots of surprises. Very tropical, with huge orchids, banyan trees, palms everywhere. Temps in the 80s, with high humidity and searing sun.
We visited the Little White House, from which Hary Truman ran the government for the winters of 1947-1951. Pleasant building on the former navy base, situated among multi-million dollar condo conversions from Navy buildings. Hemingway's 1930s house is a few blocks away, the tour is quite interesting, although I found the political slant a bit heavy. Many pictures of Hemingway during the period, translated copies of his books in many languages, and lots of original furniture. Very well stocked bookstore in his studio, with a complete range of his published works. The studio, upstairs, looks very accomodating. Big room, windows on all four sides, with pleny of room for maps, notes, etc.
The property is over run with the descendants of his cats, known for their sixth claw. There are thirty at last count, with the oldest believed to be 22 years. The cats get weekly vet treatment, no word on whether they're neutered.
Hemingway drank in a bar called Sloppy Louie's. The original location, now called Captain Ted's (?) is about four blocks away from the house, just off Duval Street. The current incarnation of Sloppy Louie's is on Duval. Both look suitably seedy, and beers cost $4.
Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville chain has location number 1 down the street from Sloppy Louie's. We had cheeseburgers in this tropical paradise, with a blue margarita and a beer. Good burgers, properly cooked to medium rare, good fries, fair price of $35 all in. (I was surprised to learn the next day that singer Buffett and investor Warren Buffett are good friends, and that Jimmy bought a few shares of Berkshire in the 1980s. The stock has done well, and Outback Steakhouses is a joint owner of the Margaritaville chain.)
Mangoes is an informal restaurant on Duval. Dee had a crab salad, I had a pulled pork sandwich. Spectacular fries, pork was more on the sweet side than I like.
Among other places we dined was Nine One Five, which offered interesting takes on old favorites. I had a scoop of Dungeness crab, with chopped apples and a finely chopped red pepper, wrapped in a slice of ahi. The tuna was lightly brushed with a ponzu, creating a wide range of tastes. This resto was typical of how I perceived Key West: patrons ranged from people with babies and $400 strollers to several young couples, to a few laid back, mellowed out hippies. An older gentleman stopped by, selling coconut water at the gate. He would expertly lop off the top, hack the surface and insert the straw. The chef bought a few pineapples from him.
The vibe was very agreeable. Lots of political, sexual and religious content T-shirts being worn, musicians on many street corners, many clubs open at 11 pm, very apparent local interest in environmental sensitivity. There was also a sense that "live and let live" pervaded a lot of the local interactions.
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ADD: Another fascinating place is the Butterfly Conservatory, located on the far south end of Duval Street, maybe in the 1500 block.
This structure is a huge glass conservatory, with an interior, artificial rain forest. Dozens of different butterfly varieties flutter about, prob hundreds of thousands of butterflies. A few lucky birds also dwell in the several thousand square foot gallery. Occasionally something will happen and a cloud of Monarchs will rise from the branches as a mist of blue.
This post has been edited by Rail Paul: 05 May 2005 - 01:43 AM
