Ernest Hemmingway's House and his 6-toed Cats!!

Barb and Lance toured Ernest Hemmingway's House and saw a few of the museum's 45 cats, all direct decendents from the Hemmingway 6-toed cats.

Harry S. Truman's "Little White House"

Lance and Barb toured the "Little White House" in Key West, which served as the functioning White House and a Presidential retreat for six US Presidents.

Dry Tortuga Island

Lance and Barb went to "Dry Tortugas National Park" a 2 1/2 hour boat ride (68 nautical miles) out in the ocean. The island is called "dry" because it doesn't have any fresh water source. The island is actually closer to Cuba than it is to the American mainland. The structure on the island is Fort Jefferson, a fort built before the Civil War by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It was discovered in 1513 by Ponce de Leon and in 1832 was visited by John Audubon who observed the bird and marine life in the Dry Tortugas. During the Civil War, the island was under the control of the Union and the fort was a prison for Union deserters. It was built by slave and prisoner labor but was never totally finished. Nearly 2,000 people lived at Ft. Jefferson.




It was a rough voyage over and many people got sea sick --- Lance included!! Luckily he gradually recovered when on land.

Key West Vacation 2010!!

Lance and I finally made it to Key West, despite missed or delayed flights, snow and fog in Billings and Minneapolis, an unplanned overnight layover in Atlanta (minus our luggage!). Although we were scheduled to fly into Key West on a Saturday night, we did land smoothly Sunday Morning and our luggage found us, too!



We an evening at the Key West "Sunset Festival". The locals and tourists gather each night along the waterfront to celebrate the sunset. There are vendors, crafts, and plenty of entertainment such as singers, jugglers, and our favorite - the cat man who had performing cats!