Two Days in Key West – Day 2

Having slept well despite the dirty carpeting in the hotel room and with a room service breakfast filling my tummy, I was able to approach Thursday in a better mood. In addition to all of the above, Mark and I did some research to locate the historical and non-trashy places to see in Key West. I knew they had to be there; we just had to find them – and find them we did resulting in a perfectly wonderful second day in Key West.

Following breakfast, we spent a couple of hours at the pool relaxing and playing in water that is not salted. Then it was back to our room to freshen up and head back downtown. The two places we wanted to see the most were Ernest Hemingway’s home and President Truman’s Little White House. We also wanted to have lunch in a nice location that was not a bar. Our first stop was for lunch at the restaurant Sarabeth's that had great reviews. True to the reviews, our lunch at Sarabeth’s was fantastic and the ambiance delightful.



We both preferred our time spent walking in the non-touristy Old Town area of Key West. The homes, both private and ones that have been converted to commercial use, were charming and their gardens truly astounding.

We walked from Sarabeth’s to the Hemingway home. It is surrounded by a tall red brick fence but the house is rather unassuming considering his notoriety and wealth. The simplicity of the house and the laid back lifestyle it represented made me fall in love with the home immediately. The gardens and grounds are absolutely beautiful as well. The home/museum has been maintained in the same manner and with the same furnishings as it contained during Hemingway’s tenure in this house between the years of 1931 through 1939 while married to second wife Pauline. After divorcing Pauline in 1939, Papa Hemingway moved to Cuba and then to Idaho in 1959 following the Cuban revolution.

Being a cat person, I also fell in love with Hemingway’s love of cats – most notably the six-toed cats known as polydactyls. The sixth toe really looks like a thumb. These cats are said to provide good luck or be bearers of ill will depending upon which version of the legend one wishes to believe. Considering Hemingway’s success as well as his tragic life, one could conclude that maybe these cats represent both good and bad luck…All of the cats currently residing on the grounds are descended from Snowball, Ernest and Pauline’s original cat.

One story that the docent told that we especially liked was in regard to the Key West lighthouse. Located directly across the street from his home, Hemingway knew that he would never lose his way home after an evening of heavy socializing at Sloppy Joes if he just followed the beam of light to his street.

With the Key West Lighthouse just across the street, we had to visit it and walk to the top. It was 90 steps to the top and the view was spectacular. The lighthouse is not currently a working lighthouse but remains a well loved landmark.



From the lighthouse we walked to see Blue Heaven. Once the famous brothel depicted in Hemingway’s work, it is now a restaurant. As we continued walking to the Truman Little White House, we passed the end of US Route 1.



Just before reaching the Truman House, we saw one of the oldest and most magnificent Banyan tree that is located across the street from the Truman House. Unfortunately for us, we spent too much time at the Hemingway house and the Truman Little White House was closed by the time we arrived. However, we walked all around the grounds and we were able to capture of the essence of the location. What would be really fun would be to stay in one of the guest houses that are available for rent within the grounds of the Truman Little White House. Lolligag crew members Terry and Will have done so and they whole heartily recommend the experience.

Key West redeemed itself in my eyes by showing me Old Town and the wonderful experiences of my second day. I would return again but I would be very picky about where I went.