Del Tura (Fort Myer) to Key West

From the Golf Hall of Fame we had a long drive to Pam and Robin’s house in Del Tura near Fort Myer on the West coast of Florida and arrived close to midnight. The next day was for recovery and comprised a local tour and then drinks in the courtyard to watch the sun go down. 

The back overlooks the 1^st hole which rather epitomises this part of the world which since the coast South of Washington has been staggeringly flat. The car had an elevation reading and I cannot recall going above 20 metres anywhere and on more than one occasion was "up to" - 8 metres. 

The drive around included Fort Myers where there is the winter home that Edison designed and built for himself in 1885. He brought his new bride a year later and in 1916 his good mate Henry Ford also decided to build next door.

All the building materials were brought in from Maine as there are little but mangoes in the area. Also imported was this Banyon tree which was the first in the area and is about 140 years old.

Our first visit South as we headed off to the Keys was Naples. This is millionaires (+) strip. Some of the houses here were enormous with many half a block wide.

Pelican housing was a little more crowded with “hot post” often required.

Our Key West hotel overlooked the Gulf and had a wonderful bar with live music and Happy Hour from 4 until 7. Great Pina Coladas.

After which we had to make our way across the flamboyant suspension bridge over the resorts own quays to the restaurant.

We spent some time relaxing by the pool being entertained by the occasional goanna. There were security personnel around and we soon realised it was there job to chase of these beasts! One actually got up on a chair and helped himself to someone's lunch which gave rise to some panic, squeals and oaths!

The lively intrusion was in stark contrast to the view.

The Keys are a series of islands in a SW direction from the Florida peninsula. The Southernmost point is a mere 90 miles from Cuba. Some 46 of the islands are now joined by the “Overseas Highway”. This is an amazing construction that cost over 200 lives in 1935 when construction workers could not be evacuated in time before being hit by a category 5 hurricane.

The longest connection is called 7 Mile bridge (it really a little under that) and was preceded by a now abandoned railway bridge completed in 1910.

“Keys” is derived from the Spanish Cayo, which aligns with to our more usual Quays. Alligators abound and we saw this one at a viewing point on the way down.

At Key West we stayed at Chelsea B&B. This was a little different to any B&B I have been to with no sign of the owners, staff from Europe and South America and breakfast outside by the pool which is OK except when it rains.

We were around the corner from Hemingway’s house and from the balcony you could see the original light house. This is the high point of the area at some 3 metres.

Hemingway was at his most prolific here during his marriage to second wife Pauline. She purchased and provided the house and also built the pool. It cost more than the house as it had to be hand excavated. Hemingway reportedly tossed his last penny in the pool implying that its construction was frivolous and now he had nothing – a bit ironic being as he was supported by all his (4) wives. As a reaction he brought a urinal that was being thrown out from his local. It was integrated into the garden with the help of a large vase and can be seen in the bottom right of the photo.

He was cat mad and particularly liked those with 6 claws. Their (40 – 50) descendants still live on the premises and seem to find the additional appendage very tiring.

Interestingly they do have enough energy to reach across and drink from the water flowing over the side of the vase rather than from the old urinal.  

This at first glance may seem like blocks of flats but is in fact the cemetery built above ground due to the high water table and hard coral bedrock.

We decided on a sunset cruise on this party boat.

As is often the case cloud got in the was of a pure sunset but it was nonetheless colourful.

It was particularly pleasant on the lower deck at the front where the bow water could be heard over the caribbean party music of the upper deck. A wonderful evening with perfect temperature.

On the way back we were drawn into a Peter Lik gallery where Pam and Robin dispensed a few thousand dollars. Peter is an Australian and has some remarkable photos and developing techniques (worth googling).

Finally we ended up at a bar for a nightcap watching the Supremes. These ladies have been strutting their stuff for some 30 years and were very entertaining.