Gallivanting Grandma

Friday, April 22, 2011

We checked out of the hotel in Key Largo relatively early and drove south on the Overseas Highway to Key West.  We had a reservation for one of the last rooms at a Marriott on the edge of the city.  It was Easter Weekend and there were very few decent hotel rooms available at reasonable rates.  The drive in brilliant sunshine between Key Largo and Key West took two and a half hours.  The water on both sides of the highway was multi-colored green and blue.  It was a beautiful “summer” day!  It was hard to believe that it was only April!

The Beach Behind the Hotel

The Marriott Hotel had a similar lay-out to the Hotel in Key Largo, but the lobby was more modern and we had a direct entrance to the back walkway to the bay. There was a beautiful view of the water across the parking lot from our first-floor room, but it too smelled musty.  Oh well, last minute holiday reservations; live and learn.  It was just a clean place to sleep.  I have to remember second floors in tropical places.

Traditional Key West Architecture

We drove to the center of the historic district near the harbor and found a parking lot for the car.  We noticed that there were several places for cars and a wide range of fees.  We wanted to explore Duval Street, so we walked in that direction.

Interesting Antique Shop

The streets have girl’s names like Elizabeth, Caroline, Margaret, etc. and I wondered who they were named for.  The names of the streets were written vertically on cement posts on some corners, so relying on street signs was difficult.  Many streets didn’t have names written on the poles and some streets didn’t have poles, so visitors really had to rely on landmarks or memorize their locations.

Key Lime Pie Shop

First we went to the famous monument which looks like a multi-colored buoy, marking the southern most point in the continental United States.  Groups of people were lined up waiting their turns to take their own photos with the monument.  It was cute the way people would ask the people behind them to take a group shot of their families.  The line was long, so I took a quick photo of the marker alone between families.

Southern-Most Point in the United States

Down the street from the monument is the Southern-Most Hotel in the U.S. near the Southern-Most Public Beach, across the street from the Southern-Most House, etc.  You get the idea….  Further south down the street, I noticed a plaque on the wall of another house which read: The Southern-Most Southern House in the United States.

The Southern-Most House in the U.S.

I wanted to see Ernest Hemingway’s house which I had read was nearby.  We walked down Duval Street away from the touristy harbor.  It was lunch time and we stopped by a small sandwich shop called the Six-Toed Cat.  It had interesting paintings of cats on the walls and excellent limeade.  Although the restaurant had tables outside, we ate in the cool of the air conditioned room.  Outside, it was about 87 degrees, humid, and away from the water there was no breeze.

The Six-Toed Cat Cafe

Hemingway’s house is just down the street.  It has a brick wall surrounding the house and grounds.  We paid the admission fee of $12.50 each and walked up the stairs and were greeted by an older Southern gentleman who wore a seaman’s cap, bright patterned Hawaiian shirt and shorts.  He directed us to the parlor and said the tour would begin in four minutes.

Ernest Hemingway’s House

I don’t know why or how, but I was an Ernest Hemingway fan in high school.  I had read several of his books, and enjoyed reading the book and Spencer Tracy’s portrayal in the movie, The Old Man and The Sea.  It was an incongruent match for a young, naive New York City high-school girl and the hard-drinking, hunting, deep-sea fishing outdoorsman.  Nonetheless, I thought it would be interesting to visit his house.

Hemingway’s Dining Room

The Southern greeter conducted the tour and told our small group many amusing stories about Hemingway’s life and loves.  There are 44 six-toed cats living on the grounds which are descended from Hemingway’s cat named Snowball.  As visitors walk around the beautiful tropical grounds, there are cats sleeping everywhere!  It was an interesting tour and our guide was a good story-teller.  His deep Missouri drawl and pauses, enhanced each tale.  The visitors all had a good laugh when he pulled a small flask out of his pocket during the tour and drank a toast to the old Cuban fisherman who was the inspiration for Hemingway’s book, The Old Man and the Sea.

Hemingway’s Study

We learned that “Ernest Hemingway worked every morning for four hours or 700 words, which ever came first”, then went fishing in the afternoon, and ended every day in Sloppy Joe’s Bar in town.  We saw Hemingway’s library/study on the second floor of a guest house, where he wrote nine of his most famous books.  We were told that there had been a “cat walk” over the garden, between the study and his second-floor bedroom, which Hemingway walked across every day to write.  (This entry, to this point is about 700 words.  It doesn’t seem like much!)

One of the 44 Six-Toed Cats

Jeff had read about several of the famous (and infamous) bars and wanted to visit them, so we walked back up Duval Street.  We peeked into all the best-known watering holes: Sloppy Joe’s, Hog’s Breath Saloon, Rick’s Bar, and Captain Tony’s Saloon.

Local Entertainment

Yes, all the bars were full of noisy people on this Friday afternoon at 3:30.  Live music pulsated out onto the sidewalks.  Bars line both sides of Duval and the side streets for many blocks.  We decided that Key West must be a wild place at night!

Duval Street with Tourists

I wanted to buy a couple of tee-shirts at the Hog’s Breath so we walked through the saloon to the shop at the rear.  Afterward, we were getting tired from walking and the heat and we found a relatively quiet place that sold soft drinks.  We sat in the shade and sipped our Cokes and felt a bit refreshed.  Then we walked back to the car along a street near the harbor where it was a little cooler.

We drove back to the hotel to rest and take showers to cool off.  A couple of hours later we hopped on the hotel shuttle which took us to the center of Key West.  This was a nice perk of our hotel.  The hot sun was setting and it was a lot cooler.  We checked out the action on the boardwalk.  Lots of people and lots of noise and lots of music.

Boat Rentals on the Docks

We had planned to eat dinner at the Conch Republic, but Jeff had read good reviews about a restaurant called Pepe’s Cafe on Caroline Street.  We walked past the old colorful BO’s Fish Wagon and walked into Pepe’s.  The atmosphere is cozy and we both had really good dinners of steak and fresh grouper.  Pepe’s bills itself as the “Eldest Eating House in the Florida Keys”.

Pepe’s Cafe

We walked back to the boardwalk and looked at the harbor at night and waited for the shuttle back to the hotel.  It had been a full day and we were very tired.  Key West is really a “happening place” and a lot of fun to visit!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

We checked out of the Marriott Residence Inn in Delray Beach about 10 o’clock.  It was a beautiful bright sunny day.  The temperature was already 83 degrees with a nice breeze blowing off the ocean.  We drove west along Atlantic Avenue for our final cruise up the avenue.  I mentally said goodbye to Atlantic Avenue and Delray Beach and I hope to return soon.

Delray Beach Looking South

We drove to Route 95 and aimed the car south.  We whizzed by Hillsdale, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, Hollywood, and Miami at 65 miles per hour.  It was interesting to see the tall buildings of the city of Miami in the distance.  We came to the end of the highway and drove through a residential neighborhood before Interstate 95 ended and became Route 1.

The traffic was heavy as we approached a sign which warned us that there was a dollar toll ahead.  I was driving so Jeff prepared the toll money.  We passed signs for a Sun Pass or “Plate Photos”.  After toll booths didn’t appear, we realized that overhead cameras took photographs of my license plate and I would receive a bill for the toll plus “administration fees” sometime in the future!

We passed through five similar toll booths which took photos of my car’s license plate. Will they all have additional fees added to the 75 cent or one dollar tolls we wondered?  And how much??  Bummer!  I’ll find out soon…

We continued on Route 1 southbound to Florida City, the last city on the mainland.  It was about 12:30 and we decided to stop for lunch at a Cracker Barrel, then continue on to Key Largo.  We had made a reservation at the Hampton Inn there and drove south on the Overseas Highway/Route 1 to find it.

After we checked in, we explored the hotel.  The exterior of the building was ordinary, but the lobby and breakfast area were very nicely decorated.  Our room was on the first floor with a private patio near the parking lot.  The hotel resembled an old fashioned motel.  Although the room was nicely decorated in a tropical motif, there was a musty smell in the room.  Thank goodness for air conditioning!  Perhaps rooms on the second floor were better, but we could not change because it was Easter weekend and rooms on The Keys were at a premium.

We walked down to the water and the shore was amazing!  The bay was directly in front of the hotel.  The water glistened a wonderful shade of sea green.  There was a short sandy beach with lounge chairs and tropical plantings.  There was a pool behind the beach, along a narrow canal.

I overheard a woman telling her young sons who were swimming that manatees had been sighted nearby and to be on the lookout.  The grounds had beautiful tropical plants and trees. Small geckos scurried across the walkways.  What a beautiful place!  It would be a nice beach to relax and do nothing.

We wanted to see the rest of The Keys, so we left our luggage at the hotel and continued south on Route 1.  Believe it or not, it took us three hours to reach Key West!  The distance was about a 100 miles, but there was a lot of holiday traffic and the speed limit ranged between 35 mph to 55 mph.  Just to keep everyone honest, there were many police radar-traps along the road.

The Overseas Highway is an amazing feat of civil engineering.  We had learned in St. Augustine that the road had been built over Henry Flagler’s railroad tracks after a severe hurricane had destroyed parts of the track.  Now driving on the highway, we could appreciate Flagler’s contribution to South Florida.

The highway essentially connects several of the islands in the archipelago at the end of the Florida Everglades.  The islands were formed from fossilized coral and sand bars.  Bridges connect the islands and the longest bridge is appropriately called The New Seven Mile Bridge.  All the islands are inhabited and have colorful names like: Islamorada, Plantation Key, Tavernier, Upper and Lower Matecumbe Key, Long Key, Conch Key, Duck Key, Grass Key, Ramrod, Cudjoe, and Bahia Honda.

The city of Key West is a well populated town with a Naval Air base.  It’s nickname is the “Conch Republic” and it is the southern most city of the continental United States.  According to Wikipedia, Key West has a population of about 26,000 in less than six square miles.

We arrived at the end of Route 1 and luckily found a parking garage for the car.  It was about 5:00 o’clock, and we still had a couple of hours of daylight to explore Key West.  Now we were sorry that we had not made reservations to stay here, because we had to drive back to the hotel tonight and we felt it was getting late.

We walked to the shore to see the harbor.  There were many private yachts and many head-boats for hire.  There were serious fishing boats, sail boats, catamarans, you-name-it boats!  We walked along the famous board walk along the shore.  There were boats on our right and bars on our left with lots of people, noise, and music.

As the sun set, there was a breeze and the air cooled off a little.  We sat in one of the bars for a cold non-alcoholic drink and watched the crowd. Then walked around some more.

Key West was definitely a happening place!  There were lots of people, lots of activity, lots of noise, lots of music!  We drove back to Key Largo in the dark and planned our return to Key West the next day.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

We arrived in Delray Beach, Florida on April 9th and stayed in the area for about two weeks.  It was fun visiting with my brother and sister-in-law and mother.  There are many interesting things to do in South Florida, not including the beach and numerous pools.  During our entire stay, the temperatures were in the mid 80s and it was bright and sunny every day.  At home in New York, it was still cool and raining.

Palm Beach is a couple of towns north of Delray and we bumped into Henry Morrison Flagler again.  While he was developing St. Augustine, and expanding his railroad, and opening the state of Florida, Flagler also built his winter mansion in Palm Beach and also built another hotel across the road calling it “The Breakers”.

Flagler’s Palm Beach Home

Flagler’s house is now a museum, and after seeing Flagler’s influence in St. Augustine, we had to visit it. We easily found the house because The Breakers is visible for miles around Palm Beach.  We parked in one of the parking lots and walked up the path lined with royal palm trees, to the front of the mansion.

Left Side of the Entrance Foyer

After we paid the rather expensive admission fee, we opted for the self-guided tour and happily discovered that photography was allowed without flash.  That means that I took lots of unnecessary pictures, and have many visual keepsakes.  Of course, the house is huge and parts of the interior reminded me of European castles.   Other parts of the house look like an old Victorian hotel.

The Ball Room

On the first floor, there was a billiards room with two pool tables and a large music room complete with a pipe organ.  The center courtyard provided light and cool breezes to the rooms during a time which preceded air conditioning in the hot climate.

Center Courtyard

There was a maze of over-sized rooms on the first floor which were designed for entertainment.  The house was “homey” in an overstated gilded sort of way.

Ladies’ Lounge

We took our time walking through the rooms.  It wasn’t crowded and there weren’t many visitors.  We walked up the wide marble stairs to the second floor.  There were many smallish bedrooms which were attributed to people who had, I imagine, donated money to restore and furnish the room.

The Master Bedroom

All the bedrooms were tastefully decorated in a variety of styles and colors and fabrics.  There were also several turn of the century bathrooms complete with 100 year old state-of-the-art plumbing.

A Floral Bedroom

The colorfully decorated bedrooms contrasted with the monochromatic servants’ rooms which were also available to view.  Beyond the servants’ rooms were several rooms for exhibit space.  There was an interesting display of the drawings and furniture designed by the artist, Joseph Urban.  He was an illustrator, theater set designer, and architect who lived from 1872 – 1933.  Urban designed productions for Ziegfeld Follies and the Metropolitan Opera in NYC.

The Carriage House

Back outside in the brilliant sunshine, we walked across a small courtyard to what would have been Henry Flagler’s carriage house.  Light streamed in through gigantic windows and soft classical music was playing.  On one side, tables were set for light lunch or high tea.  On the other side of the space was the Flagler’s private railroad car.

Railcar Number 91

The green railroad car was built in 1886 by the Jackson & Sharp Company for Henry Flagler.  It was acquired by the museum in 1959 and restored.  After seeing the rail cars of the Root family in Daytona Beach, it was fun to be able to go inside this car.

Interior of Railcar No. 91

The interior wood was amazing!  Beautiful hand-crafted wooden walls and built-in cabinetry were in every part of the car.  Special imported wood had been used and was restored to like-new condition.  You could just imagine the degree of wealth during the Gilded Age.

Palm Beach From The Flagler Museum

We stopped at the gift shop before walking back out into the beautiful Florida sunshine.  We learned more about Henry Flagler than we knew in St. Augustine.  He must have been an amazing person.

Monday – April 11, 2011 Boynton Beach, Florida

I love to discover new “things” and to have serendipitous experiences!!  Today was one of those days!  :-)  I’ll start from the beginning:

This morning I wanted to go to the Morikami Japanese Garden in Delray Beach, Florida, but it is closed on Mondays.  I soon discovered that all the museums in the two surrounding counties are closed on Mondays!  I searched all the event pages on the Internet for interesting activities and events nearby without much luck.  Finally Jeff found the Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum and it was open!

Front of the Museum

I might be the only woman in the world who likes cars.  Ever since I was a kid, I enjoyed “automobilia”, or everything that had to do with cars.  In eighth grade science I learned how the combustion engine works, and the difference between gas and diesel engines!  It was fascinating.

I enjoyed looking at cars and remember being excited about the new models every year during the ’50s and ’60s.  I love sports cars; especially the Ferrari – Testarossa, my favorite car!

Most of all I love driving cars!  One year, my car was totalled during the night when it was parked across the street from the house.  I was so depressed and upset not to have “wheels” for a few weeks.  If I had to choose between my car and a place to live, I would choose the car!

Also, I have owned and driven RED cars since 1978, most of them stick-shifts. To me, the car represents “Freedom”, in every sense of the word, and independence and happiness.  Whenever I’m sad or depressed or upset, I get into MY car and drive.  Drive on a high-way.  Drive on a free-way.  Drive in wide open spaces and go….

It was a wonderful idea to go to the Antique Car Museum today!  What I didn’t know was that all the cars were Packards.  According to Wikipedia, Packards were luxury cars built in Detroit, Michigan between 1899 to 1958.  The Packard brothers thought they could build a better horseless carriage.  Packard automobiles were the first to have modern steering wheels and they built the first production 12-cylinder engine.  Packards were sold to wealthy clients at prices starting at $2600, at a time when simple roadsters sold for $375.

We drove South to Fort Lauderdale on Route 95 and found the Antique Car Museum on SW 1st Avenue behind the Broward County Hospital.  The museum was in a non-descript building on a commercial street surrounded by vacant lots and train tracks.  We hesitated, but then a young woman opened the door and gave us a cheery welcome.  We paid the senior admission fee of $5.00 each, turned around, walked into the huge room, and our jaws dropped.  “Wow!”  We both said out loud.  We couldn’t believe our eyes.

All around the perimeter of the room were the most beautiful antique Packard automobiles anyone could imagine. They were all in like-new condition from top to bottom.  The bodies of the cars gleamed; the chrome glistened, and each car was in perfect condition.  The room looked like a new-car dealership.  Even the tires were clean!

As we walked around the cars we noticed that the walls were covered with a variety of Packard and automobile parts.  There were also beautiful oak cabinets filled with more automobile accessories.  There were collections of: headlights, cigarette lighters, carburetors,  radiator covers, hub caps, hood ornaments, toy cars, flower vases, oil cans, gasoline signs, door handles, etc., etc…..  It was an unbelievable collection of cars and car parts.

On three sides of the room there were the self-driven roadsters and chauffer-driven special cars.  On the other side there was a bright red Packard delivery truck and a “paddy wagon” police truck.

Then we discovered a second room filled with more antique Packards!  These were newer cars from the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s.  These was also a tow-truck and a fire engine.  What an unbelievable collection.  Further on there were two more rooms.

One room had more car parts and a small theater showing a video of the history of the Packard company.  The last room was a memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and exhibited FDR memorabilia.

We noticed that the two mechanics were working on several cars.  Their job was to keep all the cars in running order.  Unbelievable!

A Packard “Woody”

We watched them start one of the cars.  It actually took both of them to accomplish the task and about 10 minutes: one depressing the clutch pedal and playing with the choke while the other sprayed ether into the engine.  After a few false starts, they got it running and backed the magnificent red Packard out into the sun shine.  We followed to take pictures.

Then the mechanic driving the car asked the other mechanic, “Would they like to come for a ride?”  “Holy Moly!  Would I?!!”  I thought.  It was a two-seater up front, so we had to take turns.  Jeff went first, (I took photos of him in the car) and then it was my turn!  It was just once around the block, but WOW! I felt like a kid on a joy ride!!  I looked at the old dials on the dashboard and watched the driver double-clutch to switch gears.  It had three speeds and reverse.

It was a quick run-around the block and we were at the back door again.  WOW!!  Was that fun!!!  I was afraid to touch anything on the door.  It had a double red leather hinge and chrome door handle.  Amazing!  I felt like a giggling school kid!! That was FUN!!

I thanked the mechanics and we stood by to watch them drive the car into the showroom of the museum.  The second mechanic moved a flat metal pan in position under the car to catch the oil dripping from the engine.

I Rode in This Car!!!

He pointed to one of the cars and said that Albert Einstein rode in it.  Another car belonged to Grover Cleveland.  One of the other cars had just 25,000 miles on the odometer.  The museum had the original bill of sale for that car.  In front of each car was a small stand with a loose leaf book which described the history of the model and personal history of that particular car.  What an amazing museum.  Highly recommended!

A Rare Hood Ornament & Antenna