Wednesday in Key West

The rain didn't dampen our spirits, as Mom, Dad and I went to Old Town for a little sightseeing on St. Patty's Day.

Mom and Dad got to my place around 10:30am on tuesday. We went out to lunch and enjoyed the pool at my rental. Later that evening, we had a fabulous seafood dinner at a great little place called "The Square Grouper". We all had some sort of seafood. Dad had blackened Mahi which is dolphin, the fish variety...not Flipper. Mom had coconut shrimp. I had seared tuna, rare, which is as close to sushi as I want to get. It had a little wasabi drizzled on it. I was dunking it in soy and chasing it with some sort of seaweed. This dish is fast becoming one of my all-time favorites. BTW, do you know what a grouper is? Yes, it's a fish...that was easy. Do you know what a square grouper is? Apparently, it's slang for a bale of marijuana. I guess it's a joke in the Carribbean about people fishing for square grouper in the ocean, once the pot is dropped out of a plane. Cool name, but nothing to do at all with the restaurant. It was first class and a great dining experience.

Now back to Key West. The rain was fairly steady, but we enjoyed getting out of the rain by visiting Ernest Hemingway's home. One of the pics shows Hemingway's bed, with two descendants of some of his beloved cats. Most of the cats have an extra toe on each paw. Some cats have this trait in their genes and some get this trait from breeding within their families. These cats didn't even move when we petted them, but they were definitely real. I believe I remember the orange one from last year. I hope to have more on the Hemingway House for you in a later visit. From there, we went across the street to the Key West Lighthouse. Funny stories say when Hemingway came stumbling home drunk, he just looked for the lighthouse to guide him home. We all climbed up 88 steps to reach the observation deck. The tight, winding staircase gets to be a challenge, as you get closer to the top. It's the highest point in Key West. I was proud of my folks for doing so. My one picture from the lighthouse shows Hemingway's House to the right of the photo, draped in lush, green foliage. There is also a cruise ship in port, to the top of the photo. Dad and I are standing on the porch of the Keeper's House, in another pic. We had lunch at the Hard Rock, as the sun chased the rain away. We allowed Mom to enjoy some shopping, before returning home to relax before dinner.

It was sad to see them go on thursday morning. I'm happy to say that they are now home safely. How fun it was to hang out with them in the Keys, just as we did back in the 70s.