We ended up with eleven days in Key West or west of here and found we liked a lot in this town. Ilene was here in the late 70's and fondly remembered snorkeling on the reef a few miles south of the Island. We were told that, running from Miami to here and beyond, it is the third largest coral reef in the world with Australia's being first and I don't know about the second. And we have had remarkably little time in the water and no snorkeling since October due to coldness, dirtiness or windiness. We booked passage on the catamaran Sebago,
with its severely raked 70 foot mast. Captain Neil
took her out to his mooring near but not on the reef. Anchoring would destroy the coral. Neil is from Zimbabwe, married to a Kentucky girl and has lived in Key West for 18 years. I enjoyed talking with him during the ride out and back.
Sara was the cruise director who welcomed the 30 of us, took care of us and taught folks how to snorkel and poured the wine on the trip back. I regret I did not take her photo earlier, before her sweatshirt blocked the view of her lovely bikini.
The snorkeling was fun though not nearly as luxuriant of fish or corals as several sites in the Caribbean we have visited. I'm thinking that we saw about eight species of tropical fish including the brilliantly multi-colored parrotfish. And one more species. About 2.5 feet long, round in the body, about 4 inches in diameter and silver colored with a down turned mouth: yes, barracuda! First a pair and then a single one later.
I visited the old Custom House, near Mallory Square,
now the museum of art and history. The new Custom House is part of the "Post Office -- Customs house - Court House" which looks to have been built in the 1930s.
The museum had a lot about Hemingway and fishing, but I stayed with the history section in the little time I had available. For one thing, Flagler's railroad, now the bed of Route 1, operated only from 1912 until it was washed out by the hurricane of 1935. It being the depression, a lot of folks were put to work on rebuilding it as a roadway for cars and trucks, which was completed by 1938. Flagler, former partner of John D. Rockefeller, had to borrow money to complete his Railroad and never came to Key West again after the gala opening, dying at his mansion in Palm Springs a few years after that.
And the USS Maine
which was sunk after an explosion in Havana Harbor, had followed a familiar route: From New York, where she was commissioned in 1895, to Key West to her last port, Havana, in 1898. She was 324 feet long, with a beam of 27 feet and her maximum speed was only 17 knots. Hammerberg's figures were 306 in length, 30 wide and she could do 30 knots, albeit for only a minute, all out, with most everything shaking itself to bits. Only 91 of her 350 men survived, some of them in being nursed in hospitals in Key West.
Dinner at El Siboney, Cuban and named after a native American tribe. It was such a lovely evening to stroll back to our boat across half of the west end of this island; warm but not hot, groups of folks walking peaceably, music wafting out from bars and private homes. Our menu selection was a mistake, however. Or was it? Paella Valenciana. It was quite tasty but it required an order for two ($42), with an hour's advanced notice, was the most expensive item on the menu by far and is not Cuban. The problem was that they served enough for six people! So we had our next two dinners from doggie bags. Six can dine for $42; quite a bargain!
We took in the sunset at crowded Mallory Square and saw the schooner Hindu sailing out through the sunset.
This was followed by an inexpensive dinner at Caroline's, at Duval and Caroline Streets, a block from this landmark.
Amazing how many of the places have live music, blaring out into the streets.
I toured the USS Ingham, the most decorated Coast Guard cutter in history. Launched in 1936, she was not decommissioned until 1988, 52 years later. She was well served by her officers and crew, and better still -- lucky. The Maine was not lucky! Hammerberg (only very slightly smaller) lasted only about 20 years and was constructed very cheaply. I had not known this but Coast Guard cutters were used like destroyers on convoy duty in WWII. Ingram killed a German U-boat and was then reassigned to the Pacific. With her 5 inch 38 gun,
she also served off Vietnam and helped save lives during the Mariel exodus from Cuba. The familiar, pleasant, characteristic odor of a naval vessel remains in her, 79 years after her birth! She served as McArthur's flagship in the Philippines, which may account for her uncharacteristically large Captain's quarters.
I searched for the Sonar School I attended. I learned that it closed in the late sixties and its function transferred to San Diego. Only the air branch of the navy now occupies the island. The MP guard was very polite and interested in my story but no one is allowed on the base without active duty military ID. Later I learned that when the navy left, the building had been torn down.
My navy friend, Hugh, inspired by my burst of nostalgia, posted an article with photo on Facebook about how he and a sonarman won the Key West inter-service sailing regatta of 1967.
Walkng through town as we did daily we noticed a sign on St. Paul's church on Duval announcing that the Friends of the Library were having a speaker, David Garrard Lowe, on Dorothy Parker, the acid penned female member of the Algonquin Club between the world wars. I love that sort of thing and we went and enjoyed the lecture. "Every morning I brush my teeth and sharpen my tongue." Or maybe you will like this one better: " If all the women who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, it wouldn't surprise me a bit."
Next day we visited the Tennessee Williams Exhibit at the Gay and Lesbian Welcome Center. He was born in Mississippi, educated in the Midwest, traveled the world, died in New York and is buried in Missouri. But as an adult he made his primary home in Key West where he had a long standing relationship with a younger Italo-American man, who died shortly before Williams did.
So we ended up staying here eleven days and met Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker and Tennessee Williams. Lene was blah at first but ended up loving this two by four mile island.
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