Follow us on our journey across America: If life gives you limes...

*Written 12/30/14*

...make margaritas! -Jimmy Buffett

So our days have been filled with great boating adventures and sight-seeing.

Sunday morning, we rented a boat which we have conveniently docked in the canal in front of the house.

As I sit writing this post, I have an excellent view of the boat as it lazily glides the length of the tether. Palm trees sway overhead.

Hibiscus blooms catch the sun's rays while displaying colors of vibrant coral and hot pink. Will fishes the canal from the yard. Mac awaits the next catch.

Penny observes from her perch:

It's a hard life.

So, we loaded our rented boat with a radio, snorkeling gear, fishing poles and snacks and headed out of the canal.

The water in the canal, by the way, is a beautiful vibrant blue-green and is clear. You can easily see the bottom- 6 feet below.

It is definitely not the dark, murky canals to which we are accustomed (and live upon).

Along the route, we spotted a countless number of iguanas, sun-bathing at the canal's edge.

Why?

Apparently, iguanas are NOT native to the Florida Keys.

Over time, people who have kept iguanas as pets have either lost iguanas or intentionally released them here. Of course, the weather here is perfect for iguanas and they have thrived in this environment. The problem, however, is that the iguanas are ruining the natural habitat. They are eating massive amounts of the native vegetation.

Barbecued iguana, anyone?

Once we made it out of the canal, we spent our day basking in the sun, fishing for exotic Florida fish and snorkeling around while filming with our fancy new GoPro

(thanks to my parents; I mean, Santa).

After a long day of boating, we decided that the dogs needed a day of rest. So, the following day, we took the opportunity to leave them at the house while we headed south for Key West.

Key West is a beautiful island that hovers around a balmy 80 degrees all year long.

As you can imagine, a place such as this boasts a rich history.

Prior to Europeans, Key West was inhabited by the Calusa natives.

In 1521, the first Europeans set foot in Key West and it became a Spanish colony.

It remained a Spanish colony until around the early 1800s when, after Florida became US territory, an
ownership quest for the Florida Keys ensued.

In 1822, the US finally laid official claim to the Florida Keys including Key West.

The Conchs

During the 1830s, a large number of European Bahamians migrated from the Bahamas to Key West. These people became known as the Conchs--the folks who made Key West what it is today.

The Conchs are responsible for the current layout of the city along with the beautiful Victorian architecture and modern development.

Key West residents continue to refer to themselves as Conchs.

For those who were not fortunate enough to have been born in Key West but have transplanted there and remained for at least seven years, supposedly the term "Freshwater Conch" applies.

Key West offers many touring sites--almost too many to visit in a day.

But we tried...

Of course, our first order of business was to visit the famous Duval Street.

Next we traveled to the southernmost point in the continental U.S.

90 miles to Cuba

We greeted the ubiquitous Key West chickens.

We gawked at the giant red shoe which was set to drop on New Year's Eve. A drag queen by the name of Sushi would be riding it down.

We got lost in the ghetto.

"In the ghetto..." -Elvis (and Will)

Yes. Key West has a ghetto. And this is what the ghetto looks like in Key West.

...not exactly Chowan Court.

We envied this sweet ride.

We saw a few pet parrots.

People have pet parrots in the Keys instead of the normal cats and dogs.
The guy from whom we rented our boat kept a pet parrot on his shoulder.
Seriously.

We toured the Hemingway house.

Ernest Hemingway and his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer (then editor of Vogue magazine), received this house as a wedding gift from her uncle.

In the last photo above, you can see the ornate headboard. The couple purchased this headboard while in Spain. Prior to serving as a headboard, it was actually a gate at a monastery.
The chandelier was handpicked by Pauline. She maintained a chandelier in every room of the house and was known to hang them from the trees outside for her lavish parties.
Each chandelier was crafted of hand-blown Venetian glass.

Together, Pauline and Ernest had two children.

Ernest lived in this house for nine years before Pauline kicked him out for running out on her with his soon-to-be third wife.

While in Spain with said soon-to-be third wife, Pauline had a pool installed.
At the time, private residences did not commonly boast pools.
And, of course, it was no ordinary pool.
It cost the Hemingways 25,000 big ones to install.
To put that into perspective, the house only cost her uncle $8,000 and the pool would cost $300,000 in today's money.

Upon his return from Spain, Ernest walked out into the backyard--where Pauline was entertaining guests--and became irate.
The guests scattered.
It is said that he reached into his pockets, pulled out the only penny he had on him, and threw it in Pauline's general direction.
He missed Pauline but made the pool.
Pauline, in full garb, jumped into the pool, rescued the penny, and planted it into the wet concrete.

For years to come, Pauline would tell the story, point out the penny, and emphatically say, "I took him for his last red cent!"

Overlooking the pool, stands the studio where Hemingway completed 70 percent of his total body of work.

Pauline left the room exactly how Hemingway had left it...

unchanged for 70+ years.

Before leaving the property, of course, we had to pet one of the famous polydactyl cats.

Ernest and Pauline received the first polydactyl cat as a gift and offering of good luck (they are believed to bring good luck).

They named the cat Snowball.

All of the 40-plus polydactyl cats which roam the property today are documented descendants of Snowball. And the Hemingway house has an entire staff dedicated to their care.

This is Humphrey Bogart.

He let us pet him for good luck.

And this is where Humphrey and his 40-plus cousins/brothers and sisters like to hang out.

Following the Hemingway house, we walked across the street to climb the Key West lighthouse.

This is the second lighthouse to be erected in Key West. The original lighthouse was destroyed in a hurricane.

As it happened, the lighthouse keeper, upon realizing the seas were rising dangerously during the storm, ordered his wife and daughters to seek shelter further inland at a friend's home. He and their sons remained in the lighthouse to keep it going during the storm.

The keeper and his sons drowned during the storm and the lighthouse was swept out to sea.

The current lighthouse was erected in 1848 -directly following the storm- and the lighthouse keeper's wife continued to maintain the light and structure well into her 80's.

Pretty amazing.

As you all know, I am a little skittish of heights.

But the views were worth the fears.

And we even took the opportunity to cheese it for the camera.

The lighthouse left us a little parched so we abandoned the lighthouse for the parrothead mecca to quench our thirst and share a couple of cheeseburgers in paradise (of the turkey and veggie varieties, of course).