Day 122 - January 31, 2013: A day in Key West

Our plan was to cruise to Marathon and explore the adjacent Keys by car, so this morning we rented a car and drove 50 miles down to see Key West. It turns out this was a good plan, since we found ourselves weathered in for several days.

Key West has a long history of importance due to its strategic location in controlling the entrance between the Atlantic and the Gulf. The U.S. Navy had a presence here starting in 1823, and it played a strong role during the Civil War, WWII, and the Cuban Missile Crisis. By 1889, the salt production and salvaging of the many ship wrecks on these shallow keys made Key West the largest and wealthiest city in Florida. Today, Key West is primarily a busy cruise ship port, fishing and vacation area.

We stopped first at the home of one of its most famous residents, Ernest Hemingway. He lived there with his second wife for nine years starting in 1931. More than half of all his writings were produced in the loft over the original carriage house. He loved to fish and owned the famous boat "Pilar."

Ernest Hemingway's Home in Key West

The loft where Hemingway wrote over half his works

A polydactyl cat is one that has a genetic mutation that causes it to be born with more than the normal four toes on the hind and five toes on the front feet. These cats are especially good at climbing and hunting and were valued on ships by captains that also believed they brought good luck. Hemingway was given one by a captain, and eventually there were 45 living at the house. Some of the subsequent generations are still there and fascinating to see.

A polydactyl cat with 6 toes on the front feet

We then visited the Harry S. Truman Little White House. Built by the Navy in 1890 for the commander's residence, this house became a favorite place for Truman for both vacations and as a functioning White House from 1946 to 1952. Since then John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton all spent time there as well. It is still occasionally used as a location for high-level government meetings.

The Harry S. Truman Little White House