Dry Torgugas/Fort Jefferson

My husband's stepfather Ed has a National Park passport book. If you've never seen one, it's like a passport, but instead of countries, you get a date and time cancellation stamp for visiting National Parks. (And a cool optional color stamp you can purchase separately) Ed takes his passport book very seriously. I've watched him labor over maps, planning trips for he and his patient wife Geneva, that ensured the highest ratio of National Parks to miles driven. He once told me, there were two parks he'd probably never get to. One was a remote spot in Alaska and the other was the Dry Tortugas. The very same Dry Tortugas that are a scant 70 miles, as the crow flies, from Key West. Guess who's coming to visit?

It's windy at the front of the ferry

There are two ways to get to the Dry Tortugas. A Seaplane, will run you $295 per adult for a half day rate and $515 for the full day rate. Their website boasts views of 2 shipwrecks and a wide variety of sea creatures; sharks, dolphins, turtles, and more.  The big plus is that if you take the first plane in the morning or the last plane in the afternoon, you'll have the island pretty much to yourself because it takes the ferry 2 hours each way. It will either be headed to the Tortugas or back to Key West.

The other way to get to the Dry Tortugas is by ferry. Yankee Freedom offers a once a day round trip leaving at 8am and returning at 5. (check-in is at 7am) It's $170 per adult and $125 for children. They offer student and active military rates as well. Tours are limited to 150 passengers, so plan on making a reservation.  The boat is pretty big. There's plenty of padded seating inside the main cabin or out on the decks. If you're adventuresome, head to the front of the boat and practice your, I'm king of the World impersonation as the catamaran speeds along at 30 mph. I spotted a sea turtle on a trip last July, so spent a little time watching the water. Breakfast and lunch are included, so no need to bring food. The menu is basic and family friendly.

Bring sea sickness pills. The day we went, the waters were very rough and it made the 2 hour trip feel like an eternity. If you are in town for several days, and it looks like bad weather on your chosen day, you can always try rescheduling. Mark's brother and his wife came down over the 4th of July weekend and we were able to get next day reservations. In cases of extreme weather, the ferry will cancel that day's trip.

Once the boat arrives at the Dry Tortugas, you pick up your complimentary snorkeling equipment.  If you want to swim with the fishes, head up the path towards the fort, and follow the brick pathway out to the front. (I'm standing on the path in the photo. Please excuse my horrible posture) The waters in front of the fort are packed with thick schools of reef fish along with a few 50 pound Tarpon who wind their way through the fish and snorkelers. I am extremely claustrophobic. The idea of being in the middle of all of those fish made the back of my knees go numb. Instead, I chose to stroll along the brick walkway and chat with Bob and Sophie, who were bravely snorkeling.



You could easily spend the whole afternoon in the water or playing on the white sand beach. Don't! Give yourself some time to explore Fort Jefferson. This is one of the largest coastal forts every built. There are guides and pamphlets for self guided tours.





If you forgot to buy your National Parks Passport Book before you left, don't fret, you can buy one at the visitor's center. Don't forget to time stamp your visit. There's also a special stamp for those who make the trek up inside the lighthouse.

When Ed and Geneva visit, I'm looking forward to hearing the guided tour. There's only so much info you can gleam from a pamphlet. I will also be getting another time stamp. I was in a bit of a hurry last time and I used the lighthouse stamp, not the time stamp. This time, I'll be more careful.

The Dry Tortugas is the first stamp in my National Parks Passport book. I'm not sure I'll ever become as intense about it as Ed, but in case I do, I have one of the hard to reach spots already crossed off the list.  58 parks to go.

Hemingway House Museum

One of the six toed cats at the Hemingway House

Oh the cats. That's the first thing you'll notice. There are a lot of them at the Hemingway House, somewhere between forty and fifty. But these aren't just any old cats. They're polydactyl cats, which means, they can have extra toes on each foot. Four to Seven additional digits is common.

The first was Snowball. A gift to Hemingway, from a friend, who was a sea captain. According to legend, if you're a sailor, it's good luck to have a six toed cat on your ship. Today, not all of the feline residence have extra toes, but each carries the gene that causes the mutation.

The Hemingway House and Museum is open daily from 9-5 and is one block off Duval and Olivia at 907 Whitehead Street. Admission is $13 for adults and $6 for children. Group rates of 12 or more are available, call to check on rates: 305-294-1136. Set aside at least 90 minutes for your visit.

If you drive past, watch out for pedestrians. Getting that perfect shot of the entrance, often requires stepping out into traffic. Add in jaywalkers and a few bikes and scooters and navigation can be tricky.

Once you're safely inside the brick walled estate, go directly to the front porch and check to see when the next 30 minute guided tour is scheduled. If one has already started, wait. Go check out the gardens, and come back for the next tour. The well trained guides will regale you with stories and insight into a man many consider to be one of the world's greatest writers.  It's definitely worth a short wait.

Howard Hughes, a 7 toed cat. 

Highlights, on your tour, will include Pauline's pool and Papa's revenge, the cat cemetery out back, and Hemingway's typewriter in his office over the carriage house. There's oh so much more, but I don't want to spoil it for you.

There is a small gift shop, in the carriage house, where you can buy Hemingway's novels, poems, short stories and biographies. They carry a nice variety of souvenirs too.

The grounds are beautiful, so take a few minutes to wander. If you're looking for an unusual wedding spot, you can get married here. You can even get a Hemingway look-a-like to perform the ceremony.

Chuckie Lives!

Well...sort of...
I'm sure most of you are familiar with the movies about Chucky the Haunted Doll.  They were inspired by a true story from right here in Key West. Why don't you lean back for a minute and let ole Mark tell you about it.

Robert Eugene "Gene" Otto was the son of a wealthy family on the island in the early days of the 20th century.  They lived in a gorgeous house near Duval Street. (Now knwn as "The Artist's House," it's part of the various Ghost of Key West Tours.)

The family wasn't always kind to it's servants, including a lady of Bahamian descent who was rumored to have background in voodoo.  Robert didn't have a lot of friends so the maid crafted a 3-foot doll to keep him company.  Gene named him Robert, after himself, and they were immediately inseparable.  Gene carried Robert everywhere. They could be seen throughout town dressed in matching sailors suits.

After an episode where Robert's mother, reportedly, locked her in her room for three days, the maid quit - cursing the family as she huffed off.  Go figure! The early 1900s were a time when superstition was common and the neighbors and family took due notice of this unfortunate circumstance.  Soon after, people began claiming to see the doll moving around through the windows or watching the kids play in the street.

Eventually, the youngster realized that it was quite convenient to blame Robert whenever he got into trouble.  His parents and the neighbors would casually accept that explanation but insist that he make Robert behave better. The idea of Robert as a living being got so far advanced that Robert even had a chair at the dinner table. Even after he got into his late teens and early 20's Gene carried Robert with him around town and continued to use him as a scapegoat.  (I guess the town just rolled with it.)
Eventually, his family thought it wise to send him to Europe for awhile to develop his artistic skills.  When he returned with a fiancee, Anne, they were thrilled.  Clearly Gene was growing up. The couple was soon married and the family gave them the house as a wedding gift. In short order, Anne and Gene announced they would be parents.  Certainly fatherhood would push Eugene to become a fully mature man.

Soon, he was disappearing into the upper floors of the house with wood and tools and he could be distinctly heard building furniture.  Anne waited anxiously for Eugene to ask her upstairs to unveil his surprise nursery.  When she finally couldn't stand the suspense, she snuck upstairs for a peak.  Shockingly, Gene wasn't in the baby's room - but she could still hear hammering.  She followed the noise into the attic and found her husband feverishly building a room for the doll, instead - complete with miniature furniture.

When Robert Eugene Otto, died in 1974, the doll was left in the house until it was purchased by a new family with a 10-year old girl.  She began to wake up screaming in the night claiming the doll was attacking her.  The donated the doll to the Key West Art and Historical Society and Robert now resides at East Martello Museum, near the airport.  It's said that, if you take his picture without asking permission first, bad things will happen.  Robert is forgiving, though.  You can always write a letter ans ask him to lift the hex.  They say it works.

Here is a picture of Robert today.  His life is a lot more casual now but he's about 100 years old so that was to be expected. These days he just sits in his chair and poses for tourists.

You gotta be impressed with the workmanship. That maid stitched him by hand.

It's said, that if you take Robert's picture without asking his permission, bad things will happen.  Melissa made me ask.  :)

Take a few minutes and go see him for yourself.  He likes visitors.

Key West Custom House: Art and History Museum

Mark here.  Want to hear about a place we should have checked out a long time ago? The Custom House, on the northwest corner of Key West, near Mallory Square, is definitely one of the most striking buildings on the island.  The 3-story, red brick structure is gorgeous and it's entrance is graced by a 40-foot sculpture of two ballroom dancers. Inside, it houses the Key West Art and History Museum.

Either before or after you go inside, take the time to walk around the outside of the building. The grounds are gleefully populated with a bunch of marvelous sculptures of people enjoying life.  The artist, Seward Johnson did a terrific job of capturing folks enjoying simple pleasures and some more formal or exotic ones, as well.  Many of the statures are positively lifelike. I'm not going to post pictures of the statues. I want you to have the full delight of seeing each one fresh.

The historical exhibits focus on the early days of Key West and the building of the Overseas Railroad. Building that railroad was a fantastic engineering feat and they have several displays that really show just how fantastic. They also have several great displays illustrating what life was like in the Lower Keys during the days of Hemingway and earlier. I think a lot of us are closet history buffs so I think that stuff is cool.

They also have several exhibits of artwork from local artists and, hands down, my favorite exhibits are the bas relief wood sculptures by Mario Sanchez.

He was the son of a cigar maker and a local folk artist who depicted everyday life on the island.  He worked outside under a tree using simple wood chisels and dime store brushes. For me, that adds to it's charm. I love their light-hearted tone and simplicity.

Mario based many of his characters on actual local folks and the museum does a nice job of sharing some of the back stories of the people in the works. If you look carefully, you'll notice many of these people as recurring subjects. You may also notice that the atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance in Key West goes back at least 100 years.  It's evident in many of his pieces.

We waited over a year to visit the Custom House but, once we got there, I was delighted. It's definitely worth the time.