“USA 🇺🇸 Florida ~Beautiful Florida Keys and the Old Historic Town with Ernest Hemingway House and Museum”

• December 1, 2023
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

If you ever get down to the Florida Keys, go all the way to the end of the driving road and spend some time in the Historic Key West. You will be glad you did!

We drove down to this Historic area a couple of times, as it was only about a 30-minute trip from Sugarloaf Key where we were staying.

Right away, driving through Old Town Key West, we noticed there are Chickens and Roosters wandering around; all over…right along with the tourists. I actually heard the Roosters crowing, before I saw any of the feathered critters. We were not expecting to see such a sight; definitely not something you see every day, in a bustling town.

Driving Jonah around was a bit stressful, because there are so many people, cars, bikes, trolleys, and mopeds, all vying for a spot on the narrow roadway. Our second trip in, we parked the Bug and walked around, especially on Duval Street, which is the main part.

It became super humid, because as we entered in to our last few days in the Keys, the wind finally began to calm down. Yay! This meant we could rent a boat and go out and play, before we had to leave the Keys!

I will also say, I have never dealt with the “No See Ums,” like we did down here. Mosquitos were not a problem, but those No See Ums were vicious!

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum ⬇️

There is no argument that Hemingway was a prolific writer, and as a troubled alcoholic, he was also very dogmatic and defiantly put himself out there as a “take me or leave me” kind of person. Hemingway admittedly failed at being a husband and father, but he apparently had successful relations with cats. He liked Cats. Cats liked him.

To this day, like the days when Hemingway lived here, the grounds and the home are filled with what are now referred to, as “Feral Cats.” Signs are posted that petting is allowed (at your own risk), but picking them up was not allowed.

We paid our admittance fee ($18 pp) and self-toured the house and the grounds. We expected wild cats. Ha! The cats are so sweet, friendly, lazy, and defiantly comfortable with the hundreds of tourists who come and go, everyday at “their” home.

After several years of visiting Key West, Florida, Pauline and Ernest acquired a home there. The house was a gift from Pauline’s uncle, Gus Pfeiffer, who remained a financial benefactor throughout their marriage…..

At the time, the house was in foreclosure and was in deep disrepair. However, after recognizing its potential, she (future wife of Hemingway) convinced her wealthy Uncle Gus to purchase this home for $8,000, for her and Ernest as a wedding present. Ernest appreciated the seclusion that the 1.5-acre lot would offer him, while writing his works.

The Ernest Hemingway House was the residence of American writer Ernest Hemingway in the 1930s. The home was built in 1851 in the Spanish Colonial style and was constructed of native rock hewn from the grounds.

The house is situated on the island of Key West, Florida. It is at 907 Whitehead Street, across from the Key West Lighthouse, close to the southern coast of the island. 

⬆️ The Cat-ery is behind the home. Not all of the felines wanted to be in the house, since they have their own. You 

⬆️ No estate is really complete, without a swimming pool!

The Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum is home to approximately 60 polydactyl (six-toed) cats. Cats normally have five front toes and four back toes.

Hemingway also owned a home in Cuba. We both want to visit that home as well, when we travel there.

After Hemingway’s death, his last wife, Mary Hemingway deeded the home in Cuba, complete with furnishings and library, to the Cuban government, which in turn, made it into a museum, devoted to the author.

“The Old Man and the Sea” is often regarded as Hemingway’s most remarkable novel. It was composed in Cuba in 1951 and released the following year. It was Hemingway’s final major fiction work, released during his lifetime. The plot revolves around a brief moment in the life of Santiago; a Cuban fisherman.

Hemingway was known for his many quotes.

My personal favorite:

“Never go on trips with anybody you do not love.”

Hemingway’s literary career began in Pairs. He did sideline writing for periodicals while serving as corespondent for the Toronto Star. They were collected in 1923, for his first book, “Three Stories and Ten Poems.”

Several of Heminway’s most successful novels were made into motion pictures, including “Farewell to Arms,” starring Rock Hudson and Jennifer Jones (1957), “The Sun Also Rises,” starring Tyrone Power and Ava Gardner (1957), and “The Old Man and the Sea,” starring Spencer Tracy (1958).

His “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” which was also made into a motion picture and received wide acclaim, won for Hemingway in 1941 a gold medal from the Limited Editions Club. The medal cited his work as the book published in the three previous years that was most likely to become a classic.

Ernest Hemingway died in his home in Idaho, at the age of 61, in July of 1961, of an apparent self-inflicted gun shot wound. Many circumstances contributed to his eventual demise.

https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/knowledge-of-men/why-ernest-hemingway-committed-suicide/

Other Photos From Our Time in Old Town Key West ⬇️

⬆️ We stopped in for some Lobster Rolls and Plantain Chips

Michael Mabrity, a mariner and harbor pilot from St. Augustine, Florida, was appointed temporary lighthouse keeper and his wife, Barbara, his assistant.

At dusk, January 13, 1826, the Mabritys adjusted the 15-inch diameter silvered reflectors and lit the 15 whale-oil-fueled Argand lamps for the first time. Four days later, President John Quincy Adams signed the formal papers officially appointing Mabrity as keeper. It was a primitive light, and keeping it was labor intensive. The lamp wicks needed to be trimmed four times a night. Because the lamps emitted so much soot, the Lanthorn Glass also had to be cleaned every four hours.

When Mabrity succumbed to yellow fever, a common disease, in the summer of 1832, William Adee Whitehead, the Collector of Customs, appointed Barbara Mabrity to succeed him. Not only was she well qualified, Whitehead said, but also she needed the modest salary to support her six fatherless children.

⬆️ (not my aerial photo) 

⬆️ ⬇️ We stepped out of the heat to cool down with iced coffee and some Key Lime Pie Creme Brûlée. It is not uncommon for the Chickens to enter shops and eateries, too.

The 113 miles of roadway from Key Largo to Key West, incorporates an astonishing 42 bridges!  It’s called The Overseas Highway; Florida Keys.