Ernest Hemingway Home, Key West - Part I

The highlight of the trip for me was a visit to Ernest Hemingway's home in Key West. Hemingway is, of course, a well-known American writer. He was born in Illinois. He lived in Paris, Cuba, and Key West (among other places). He drove an ambulance during World War II. He committed suicide in Idaho. Of course, the real reason I wanted to visit his home was to visit the descendants of his six-toed cats! You'll see lots of cat pictures!

The entrance

Having a conversation with a sleeping cat!

One of Hemingway's wives had this pool installed while he was away at a cost of 10 times more than the purchase price of the house. She soon ended up as an ex-wife and ended up with the house. He moved to Cuba with the next wife.

Sweet cat!

Watering fountain for the cat made from a urinal with a piece of pottery and decorative tile.

Key West - Trees

There were a lot of interesting trees in Key West. Here are a few.

Kapok Tree - close up view of the sign is next!

This tree hid the lighthouse!

Not sure what kind of tree this is. I couldn't identify the fruit or nut.

Key West - the tourist shots

Everyone needs a few touristy shots!

We were there!

Mile 0

Southernmost point in continental U.S.

We didn't eat here, but I think I spotted a lost shaker of salt!

Key West - near the harbor

We finally made it to Key West. Our first stop was near the harbor so that those who were going to snorkeling could get their reservations made.

While still on the bus, we saw this old house!

Florida Keys, Part III

Yet more pictures of the ride to Key West.

One of the Campgrounds on the Keys. The bus' "emergency exit" sign provides additional amusement.

Love the water colors on the Caribbean side.

Old Bridge on Caribbean side.

Florida Keys, Part II

More pictures of the bus ride to Key West.

Colorful Sailboat

Part of 7 Mile Bridge with Old Bridge on the Gulf Side

Most folks get around by boat out on the Keys.

Florida Keys, Part I

We took a day trip by bus to Key West. Along the route, I took a number of pictures from the bus. My seat was an aisle seat so it was not ideal for picture taking, but I'm going to share a few pictures that I took along the route. Occasionally parts of the bus obstruct the view I would have liked to have taken, but from my seat it was unavoidable.

A bicycle is a very useful thing to have when you are surrounded by water!

One of the Keys

Termination Dust by Sue Henry (Book Review)

Henry, Sue. Termination Dust. New York: Avon, 1996.

Although Termination Dust is in the Jessie Arnold series, she's a relatively minor character in this installment until the end. Her boyfriend Alex Jensen is assisting Inspector Charles Delafosse of the Royal Mounted Canadian Police in the Yukon Territory with a crime that is crossing the international border. When a body is found at a camp site along the Yukon River, the chief suspect is American so Delafosse invites Alex to remain to assist in the investigation. It's approved by Alex's superiors. Something doesn't quite ring true about the whole investigation. The evidence seems to point to Jim Hampton, the suspect found at the camp site, but there are enough inconsistencies that they keep investigating. Hampton had found a diary from the 1897 Gold Rush, and Hampton and Jensen are both intrigued by it. While the installment got off to a slow start, it picked up pace and kept me wanting to find "whodunit." There were several red herrings to keep the reader second guessing themselves. The diary is printed at the end of the book. (3.5 of 5 stars)

Miami City Cemetery

One of the stops that my friend and I made on our trip to south Florida was the Miami City Cemetery. Her great grandmother was buried there. Her father had actually never met his grandmother so this line had been somewhat of a mystery to her. She has recently uncovered additional fascinating information about the mother of the ancestor buried here.

Marker describing the cemetery's history.

This is one side of the cemetery.

The tombstone we sought was near the gated Jewish portion of the cemetery.

Jewish Section, Old Miami Cemetery

The city can be seen over the royal poinciana trees.

A tribute to the cemetery's sextons.

Palm tree. It is Florida!

Borrower of the Night by Elizabeth Peters (Book Review)

Peters, Elizabeth. Borrower of the Night. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1990, c1973.

Vicky Bliss and several others head to a German castle to try to locate a missing piece of art dating to the Renaissance. There are all the things you would expect in a castle such as suits of armor, secret passages, and ghosts. It wasn't the most captivating mystery. This book could have used a glossary for the German words in the text that were unexplained. I refused to go track down my German dictionary so I hope I was able to figure out what most of them meant by their context. I have a low tolerance for Occultic themes in books, and there was too much of a presence in this one for me. (2 of 5 stars)

King-Cromarte House in Fort Lauderdale

Another of the older homes in the Old Fort Lauderdale Village is one which was moved there from what is now Smoker Park in the city. It is the King-Cromarte House which was built in 1907. It was the home of a contractor named King whose daughter married a man with the surname Cromarte. The second floor was added in 1911.

Classified as Murder by Miranda James (Book Review)

James, Miranda. Classified as Murder. Waterville, Me.: Wheeler Pub., 2011.
Note: This is the large print edition.

James Delacorte hires librarian Charlie Harris to inventory his rare book collection because he believes members of his family are stealing from him. The work barely begins when Delacorte is found murdered at his own desk. Charlie's son Sean has left his job as an attorney in Texas and assists his dad with the inventory which Chief Deputy Kalesha insists that he complete. She also wants him in the house to make observations on the somewhat nutty family. Diesel the cat plays a big part in the book as well. The characters are endearing, and Athena is a charming town with a very good chief deputy. Time to add book three to my to be read list! (3.5 of 5 stars)

School House in Fort Lauderdale

Sometimes the original buildings don't survive. Such was the case of the 1899 school in Fort Lauderdale. A replica of the building was made in the 1970s to sit in the Old Fort Lauderdale Village.

Trophy Hunt by C. J. Box (Book Review)

Box, C. J. Trophy Hunt. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2004.

It all starts with the body of a mutilated bull moose that Joe Pickett, game warden, finds when on an outing with his daughters. Soon cattle are found mutilated in a similar fashion. It isn't long until human corpses are found murdered in a similar fashion. Joe is the representative game warden on the governor's task force which includes local law enforcement and the FBI. It's a quite puzzling and disturbing read for most of the book. The ending wasn't quite as tidy as I would have liked, but I suspect that there are often a few ends that aren't completely wrapped up that the investigating officers would love to see resolved but for which those in charge of budgets do not allow them to continue to investigate.   (4 of 5 stars)

Philemon Nathaniel Bryan House in Fort Lauderdale

Another building in the Old Fort Lauderdale Village is the Philemon Nathaniel Bryan House which was built in 1905. It was used during World War II as a boarding house. Today it houses the administrative offices for the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society.

Twain's Feast by Andrew Beahrs (Book Review)

Beahrs, Andrew. Twain's Feast: Searching for America's Lost Foods in the Footsteps of Samuel Clemens. New York: Penguin Group USA, 2011.

Author Andrew Beahrs scoured Twain's books for food references. He then set out to investigate the foods as they came to be part of the American landscape of eating, how they were in Twain's era, and how they are in today's landscape if they still exist or why they are not as important if they are gone or less significant. He includes recipes from 19th century cookbooks as well. The book had an interesting premise, and the author did a good job in parts of the narrative. In other parts, he droned on a bit too long and failed to keep the reader interested. No numbered or asterisked citations were given but there were end notes with page numbers, a few words from the line, and references. This did not follow any acceptable method of citation. I found it totally unacceptable and lowered my rating by 1/2 star to reflect this major flaw. (2.5 of 5 stars)