Dad had the idea the night before to ask a couple staying in the other room if they would like to join us for an early morning walk in the Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge. We left a note on the counter before dinner adventures and received a positive reply by the time we returned, so the game was afoot!
Dad set his alarm for 6:15 (!!omg&ajhlk!!)
It was actually a pretty cool walk. I grouched a little in the car by sleeping on the ten minute drive over to the park. Andy and Margaret followed us. Andy is an ardent bird-watcher but we all know that the main attraction was seeing alligators, and see alligators we did!
We also saw iguanas and plenty of birds, which appeased Andy. The adolescent alligator we saw most clearly came right up to the viewing dock and sat like a puppy the entire time we were there, obviously expecting hand-outs. We did not indulge him because a.) dumb idea and b.) it leads the gators to become aggressive which leads to their execution if they get too aggressive and c.) $10,000 fine for doing so.
After baby gator we split ways and da and I ventured over to Big Pine again. It was not as good the second time around.
Our kayaking and snorkeling trips were pushed back to the weekend because it was too windy during the week. Thus, our Friday was open so we returned to Key West for another bike tour of the colorful city. Our first stop was Lizzy's house again. This time, when we walked up to the gate, which bore a tiny sign identifying the house as a historical spot, we saw the front door was open so we walked up to the door. Luckily this was ok and a friendly brittish fellow came out from his office to chat with us (more detail in the Wednesday entry).
Our next stop was Hemmingway's house. He was obviously the more popular of of the two writers and around noon the place was crawling with tourists. Lucky for me it was also crawling with cats. They were all friendly (well, tolerant, but very very cute) except one and there were at least 15 cats lounging around this house-palace, being waited on by staff. Hemmingway's house was extravagant and we heard many funny stories about Hemmingway and his four wives from the tour groups we drifted in and out of. The funniest was the dispute over the lavish swimming in front of his writing studio. Wife Mary built it while he was away for the Spanish Civil War. She built it in the place of his beloved boxing ring and it cost an absurd amount (largest residential in-ground pool in key West in its day). When he returned and saw it he threw a penny at her feet and said, "well Mary, you've spent all my money, you might as well have my last cent." Or something to that effect. The penny is still cemented to that spot and in a little glass case.
Lunch at The Café (stuffed bell pepper for Fi, dad had salad) then more bicycling. We biked through the avenues in the cemetary. Saw roosters, iguanas cemetary appartment complexes and very extravagant mauseleums. The brittish renter at 624 White St. Directed us to the public library so we could ask about the second house bishop lived in in Key West - on Olivia St. We biked there but the Florida historian was not in that day so we didn't find anything further.
Lunch at The Café (stuffed bell pepper for Fi, dad had salad) then more bicycling. We biked through the avenues in the cemetary. Saw roosters, iguanas cemetary appartment complexes and very extravagant mauseleums. The brittish renter at 624 White St. Directed us to the public library so we could ask about the second house bishop lived in in Key West - on Olivia St. We biked there but the Florida historian was not in that day so we didn't find anything further.
Emily suggested stopping by an art store called the Funky Chicken so we bicycled over to Duvall to check it out. Cute statues - everything chicken related.
Afterwards we returned our bikes and drove over to Fort Zachary Taylor Beach. We lounged on the beach, dad swam, then went for a hike around the outside of Fort Zachary. Saw more coco lobo trees and a cool moat around the Civil war-era fort. Otherwise it looked very restored and modern.
We dawdled in town to see the sunset from the docks. It was slightly crowded and very noisy because of some parakeets a lady was showing off, but otherwise pretty.
Then we had one of our funnest dinner adventures yet. We drove on some side roads back to Sugarloaf key in search of the fabled Hogfish Bar and Grill. We were disheartened by all the people waiting for a seat but it was already pretty late and this place was way off the beaten track so we decided to stick it out. This proved to be a good decision because it was a very cool local experience. We were seated after about 15 minutes with a couple at a large bench table. Both claimed to be locals but we soon found found out that the woman, Lucy, was from Ukraine. We had a lively conversation with them throughout dinner about the Ukrainian revolution and the guy's stories about Key West. he told us the story about the Square Grouper restaraunt we tried to get into the night before: the name is a reference to bales of pot that were thrown overboard from boats when the coast guard was approaching. They would say it was grouper, but were not fooling anyone.
Then we had one of our funnest dinner adventures yet. We drove on some side roads back to Sugarloaf key in search of the fabled Hogfish Bar and Grill. We were disheartened by all the people waiting for a seat but it was already pretty late and this place was way off the beaten track so we decided to stick it out. This proved to be a good decision because it was a very cool local experience. We were seated after about 15 minutes with a couple at a large bench table. Both claimed to be locals but we soon found found out that the woman, Lucy, was from Ukraine. We had a lively conversation with them throughout dinner about the Ukrainian revolution and the guy's stories about Key West. he told us the story about the Square Grouper restaraunt we tried to get into the night before: the name is a reference to bales of pot that were thrown overboard from boats when the coast guard was approaching. They would say it was grouper, but were not fooling anyone.
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