Mia Ammisione! or My Big Confession

As we nears summer's dogdays, (and while I realize that parts of Central U.S. are suffering under a heatwave, and not to be insensensitve, but...) I must say, I loathe to see it's end.

But perhaps I should explain or rather confess...

We're off on our Blog Vacation!!!! WOOHOOO!!

I've discovered that the cheapest way to get to Key West is to fly into Fort Lauderdale and then rent a car and drive down to Key West-- at least if there are more than two of you going and since there are several of us, we definitely want to take the cheapest route! Besides, the drive down is spectacular (if driven at the right time of day- preferably early in the morning before the day trippers hit the road!) BUT....
We'll need a few things in order to make it a truly memorable drive: Snacks, a good book, and some Music!
In the first group I will have a good stash of the most important food group: Chocolate!!! Lindt Chocolate to be more specific and for dessert we can splurge on white chocolate truffles. Recognizing that you might tire of chocolate (what???? that's blasphemy!) what are your favorite road food treats?
Now book. Currently I am reading The Pale King penned by the late, great David Foster Wallace. Unfortunately this will just not do for beach reading or even passenger seat reading (you are taking a turn at the wheel aren't you?!?! It's about a 5 hour drive and with stops we might make it a full day...) So, I think I will take the fluffiest of fluffs this year and bring the Harlequin Romance Christmas in Key West. Cheesy but how can I go wrong reading a book that contains such phrases like "The warm tropical breeze that she suddenly longed to feel every day of her life washed over her." while sitting on a the beach in Key West? So what are you bringing?

And as for music...This one is important. At least for me. I grew up with music all around me. I was a singer most of my adult life (I was born to play 'Hello Dolly!'- no... REALLY, I was!) and the background music we drive to is important. Sooo... I'll choose one, then you choose! But let's hit the road, then I'll get the music going...

Oops! Maybe I shouldn't take pictures whilst driving! Little crooked... but the effect isn't lost. All right now! Mood music!

The air is so warm and lovely! 

Thanks for driving! 

Sorry to reach over--- but the skies and water are breathtaking! I just had to get this shot! 

In all there are about 4500 keys that extend from the southernmost tip of Florida south and west down to the Dry Tortugas. Some, like the ones we are driving on (and Key West), are large enough to inhabit. Others we simply passover and others, like the one we see above, are merely mangroves that have grown up in shallow waters*.

I was thinking we might stop in at the Dolphin Research Center. What do you think? I've not been before and it could be fun...

*Wikipedia

Vacationland...

Being a city employee, I find myself with plenty of lovely vacation time and none of the necessities that having a vacation requires (that being $$$) and with lots of not so fun other things going on in my life I decided to plan a blog vacation... but where to go? where to go?
Hmmmmm...

As chance would have it, I went to a local pub after work and overheard this guy in a bar talking... he was talking quite loudly as drinkers will. Said something about wanting to go to Florida... to Key West. I was not impressed. Then he mumbled something about being a writer. A writer! What's this? That's when I perked up! Then he really got dramatic and stood up talking about his terrible childhood, how he was a gearhead and how his uncle would have beaten him up if he knew he read Shakespeare. It sounded pretty terrible so I wasn't surprised that he wanted to get away. He went on "All my life I dreamed about going to Key West-- down where all the great writers were...Don't you get it? Writers write from their spinal chord not their brain. It's the electricity that counts! You gotta plug in. You gotta hot wire. You gotta go straight to the source. Ernest Hemingway walked down those very streets!" I got it! And I was sold! I wanted to jump up and ask him if he'd take me along. Alas, he'd already left the bar and I never saw him again. But I vowed to take a trip of my own--- even if only for vacation...
I began checking on the island and found beautiful blue skies and a few pretty passable beaches...

 One that is a bit more rugged but is less crowded (don't forget water shoes!)

and has the added attraction of being home to the yearly Key West "art" festival - or at least a segment of it.

(please don't ask me what this is-- it's made of flowers and is dog shaped) 

The beaches are not only wonderful to tan on and lovely warm waters to swim in...

Snorkeling is also an option even with makeshift swimming speed goggles! There is tons of sea-life to watch right out in the main swimming areas.

If you want to head out to the gulf, you can fill your days and nights with fishing, viewing dolphins and underwater sea life, canoeing, snorkeling by the coral reef and...  

a Sunset cruise that seems to carry you right to the edge of the world with a golden view and champagne at hand! 

The island itself is historically rich. Homes that were built in the early settling of the island are still about... as was this home (the second home on the island) built by the British Captain George Carey in 1834 first as a two bedroom and then later enlarged as a gift to his wife. 

This Octagon home is a uniquely North American architecturally styled home that was briefly popular in Canada and the US in the 1850s. This particular home was built by Richard Peacon but is more popularly famous because Calvin Klein bought it and owned it for one year then quickly sold it apparently having become bored with the 2x4 mile island. 

And lest we forget the reason the reason we're planning this trip in the first place...

Papa Hemingway's home! The house was built by marine architect and salvage wrecker Asa Tift in 1851. Hemingway's second wife's uncle purchased the property for the couple in a much dilapidated state in 1931whereupon Pauline set about on a major redo that is, even by today's standards, quite stunning. We'll have to have a closer look at this famous landmark, make no mistake! I think the trip will be grand! 

Are you in??? 

Eye Candy Blogfest!

It's sunrise at the place made famous by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall...

Key Largo!

(Thanks to Vikki at Rambles & Randomness for hosting the Eye Candy Blogfest!) 

Drinking Key West

 There is drinking in Key West and then there is drinking in Key West. My friend and fellow blogger Conchscooter is a dispatcher of the Southernmost police department and has the fun job of taking calls during the night and most of those calls concern bar brawls, drunks sleeping on porches (not their own), domestic quarrels and other night life  (un)pleasantness. 

Key West has a vivid and active nightlife which we avoid at all costs.

That does not mean we do not enjoy drinking at the Southernmost end of the Contiguous part of the United States (which is actually an inaccurate description as Key West is an actual island- but we'll save that discussion for another post or you can read about it on my KeyWestTV tumblr blog- link in my blog roll) Our first act of initiation on the island is to rush here-- Blue Heaven-- and have a drink to celebrate our arrival on the island. It is a time honored tradition that should be celebrated with a toast. Maybe next time we are on the island, we'll have a second toast to celebrate our tradition!   

In addition to that we found that our favorite drink of choice was offered at the local Winn Dixie and with a hot tub on our deck we were set. With chilled glasses in hand we went out into the palm tree canopied night and poured ourselves glasses of champagne and enjoyed the gulf breeze as it cooled us ever so slightly even in the August days of summer. We reminisced about our prior trips or dream of the type of house we'd live in if we lived here. We watched the stars sprinkling the night-sky and marveled at how many we can see in a sky unfettered by light pollution. 

That was at the end of the day...

Pepe's Cafe, we have long since discovered, has a bartender who has weathered many a storm on the island and squeezes the orange juice right into the champagne, and serves a delicious breakfast to boot. It's a GRRRREAT way to start the day. Tony the Tiger has a few things to learn yet about what really is GRRREAAT. 

The bartender is not pictured as he wouldn't let me take his picture but he deserves some accolades here- not only for his delicious (and healthy! We can't forget the vitamin C that is in the fresh squeezed orange juice!) mimosas but the entertainment he provides every time. Generally we sit at the bar (on the left- this was our second visit and he wasn't there that day or we might have waited) and enjoy his company as well as recommendations for food. 

For drinks in the afternoon we head back to our favorite place--- (and just in case your ready to call for an intervention for me, this is not the same day. I have not yet become that successful a writer!)

to a place that has as much character as the island itself...

On yet another day when we were determined to set our hands to pen and paper, read a bit and taste a bit of the island (Key Lime Pie!) It was a lovely way to while away an afternoon in a place that innervates the creative energies. 

Some may choose the wild party life of the Southernmost City but I can't think of a better way to have a vacation. Come to think of it-- I can't think of a better way to live. Time to head out and get a bottle of champagne! 

Cheers!

Onward ho!

In the wee hours of the morning...
while the honeymooners were yet sleeping, we headed (in our NON Cube car!) down the Florida coast on Highway 95 toward Ft. Lauderdale and The Florida Keys. 

With pedal to the metal, as they say, (too bad I don't have the ability to add a cheesy soundtrack right here-- some Steppenwolf "Born to be Wild" would really set the proper tone, I think.) we sped down the highway hoping to make it to the Mile Marker 0 of Highway 1 by  noon. Sorry no time for MacDonalds!

Finally, we are taking the exit to Highway One which is the only way to the Florida Keys and Key West.

Phillipe Cousteau on oil spill

The Florida Keys, third longest barrier reef in the world, is a dead zone. Ninety percent of the big fish, the tuna, the sharks, and other things, are already gone in the oceans. There's a dead zone in the Gulf Of Mexico every summer the size of New Jersey, where there's not enough oxygen for things to live. So it's not a question of 'Can the oceans take any more?' The oceans can't take any more. They couldn't take any more fifty years ago. The question is, when are we going to stop?