Key West in Jan.??

On Fri, 01 May 2009 08:34:10 -0400, Rosalie B.
wrote:

"BobandAmy" wrote:

"Surfer E2468" wrote in message
...
SUE:
Watch out for all the chickens that roam about freely in key west

cruise lover(~~~~~)


Is that what they call gay guys these days???

No it's what they call actual chickens. That's one of the endearing
(or infuriating depending on your POV) about Key West - there are
chickens running free everywhere. At one point they had an official
chicken catcher to catch them and ship them off to a farm somewhere.
But the chickens outwitted the chicken catcher and I don't think they
do that anymore.

Chickens are not as stupid as commonly thought.

Is it legal to catch, kill, and eat them? Can you take their eggs?

In article , Jack Hamilton
wrote:

Chickens are not as stupid as commonly thought.

Is it legal to catch, kill, and eat them? Can you take their eggs?

The chickens are protected, whatever that means. I found them to be
entertaining. They did not seem to be bothering anyone.

--
Charles

Sue Mullen wrote:

Note - the chickens in Key West won't bother you unless you are
staying there - the roosters crow at all hours and wake people up.
Also they are like any birds WRT droppings.

Charles wrote:
In article , Tom K
wrote:

No snorkeling. I'm not interested in cats (allergies).

I have not tried it but I was told there is snorkeling. Even if there
is no snorkeling there is a large discount dive shop with all kinds of
dive and snorkeling gear, Divers Direct which is worth a visit. And one
of the good Key Lime places is across the street. There is also deep
sea fishing although I doubt Sue would be interested. I am also
allergic to cats but I found the Hemingway house bearable. Also the
cats are not kept in the house.


I would go to the Key Lime place and we both want to see the Hemingway
house. If he could, Kevin would play with the cats but I could do with
our without them. You are right that deep sea fishing is not my thing.

I'm not that fond of Hemingway, and I have been there. I don't really
need to spend that amount of money to go again. Another place I
didn't go was the Truman White House. I remember the decor of the
late 40s and I don't need to pay $15 each to go look at what was
really a Navy base quarters.

The house wasn't really Hemingway's house In 1851, Asa Tift, a marine
architect and salvage wrecker built the house. It was bought for
Pauline and Ernest Hemingway by Pauline's rich uncle Gus in 1931.
Pauline was Ernest's 2nd wife. (Hemingway was married four times.)
When she divorced him in 1939, Hemingway moved to Cuba. Pauline died
in 1951. Only Patrick, one of her two sons is still living.

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2322...y-Key_West.jpg

You aren't supposed to bother the cats. The Ernest Hemingway Museum
is home to approximately sixty cats. Normal cats have five front toes
and four back toes. About half of the cats at the museum have extra
toes. Most cats have extra toes on their front feet and sometimes on
their back feet as well. Sometimes it looks as if they are wearing
mittens because they appear to have a thumb on their paw.

Ernest Hemingway was given a six-toed cat by a ship's captain and some
of the cats who live on the museum grounds are descendants of that
original cat. Hemingway made a cat drinking fountain. The top of the
fountain is an old Spanish olive jar that was brought from Cuba. The
trough at the base of the olive jar came from Papa's good friend Joe
Russell's joint "Sloppy Joe's." It is actually one of the bar's
urinals. Pauline added the decorative tile to disguise it.

The house has the first pool in Key West - it cost $20,000 in the late
30s. This price prompted Hemingway to take a penny from his pocket
and give it to Pauline and announce jokingly, "Here, take the last
penny I've got!" . Hemingway also built the brick wall around the
house in an effort to get some privacy from the crowds of tourists
peering in through the fence. . Hemingway still complained that the
lighthouse keeper had a view into his bedroom. That is partly true -
there is a picture I took from the top of the lighthouse that shows
the upstairs balcony.

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2322...y-Key_West.jpg

Hemingway had a lot of friends in Key West, and many of them appeared
as characters in his novel "To Have and Have Not" which is about Key
West during the depression. It wasn't considered one of his better
works.

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2322...y-Key_West.jpg

This picture was done by one of his friends - Mario Sanchez. The
figure in the middle that is twice the size of anyone else is
Hemingway. The clouds depict three of his novels - The Sun Also Rises,
The Old Man and the Sea, and For Whom the Bell Tolls

Mario is a local artist who was born on Duval Street (1211 Duval) on
October 7, 1908, of Cuban descent - the son of a cigar maker. As a
self-taught artist he began carving and painting in 1930. He is
considered the country's greatest living folk artist who has preserved
in wood and paint the detailed story of early 20th Century Key West.
Mario does his bas relief wood sculpture with three chisels and his
painting with dime store brushes. He mixes his own paints. Some of
the reproductions of his works were in the East Martello tower museum.

Charles wrote:
In article , Sue Mullen
wrote:

I would go to the Key Lime place and we both want to see the Hemingway
house. If he could, Kevin would play with the cats but I could do with
our without them. You are right that deep sea fishing is not my thing.

The house is worth seeing if you have any interest in Hemingway. It
cost $12 a person. I don't think that is overpriced. You actually get a
tour guide who takes you around and explains things, it is not just
admission to the house and grounds. The cats are worth seeing even if
one is allergic. They have six toes and there are descended from
Snowball, a cat given to Hemingway by a ships captain.

Sounds interesting to me.

For now we have decided to stay with our cruise that goes to Key West.
Maybe closeer to final payment we will change our minds, but since our
itin has been changed twice already, it could be changed again and
again. I have no idea why RCCL is changing and changing, but it will be
what it is.

sue

Jack Hamilton wrote:
On Fri, 01 May 2009 08:34:10 -0400, Rosalie B.
wrote:

"BobandAmy" wrote:
"Surfer E2468" wrote in message
...
SUE:
Watch out for all the chickens that roam about freely in key west
cruise lover(~~~~~)

Is that what they call gay guys these days???
No it's what they call actual chickens. That's one of the endearing
(or infuriating depending on your POV) about Key West - there are
chickens running free everywhere. At one point they had an official
chicken catcher to catch them and ship them off to a farm somewhere.
But the chickens outwitted the chicken catcher and I don't think they
do that anymore.

Chickens are not as stupid as commonly thought.

Is it legal to catch, kill, and eat them? Can you take their eggs?


I don't think they would let us take a chicken onto the ship, dead or
alive(VBG).

sue

Rosalie B. wrote:
Sue Mullen wrote:

Note - the chickens in Key West won't bother you unless you are
staying there - the roosters crow at all hours and wake people up.
Also they are like any birds WRT droppings.
Charles wrote:
In article , Tom K
wrote:

No snorkeling. I'm not interested in cats (allergies).
I have not tried it but I was told there is snorkeling. Even if there
is no snorkeling there is a large discount dive shop with all kinds of
dive and snorkeling gear, Divers Direct which is worth a visit. And one
of the good Key Lime places is across the street. There is also deep
sea fishing although I doubt Sue would be interested. I am also
allergic to cats but I found the Hemingway house bearable. Also the
cats are not kept in the house.

I would go to the Key Lime place and we both want to see the Hemingway
house. If he could, Kevin would play with the cats but I could do with
our without them. You are right that deep sea fishing is not my thing.

I'm not that fond of Hemingway, and I have been there. I don't really
need to spend that amount of money to go again. Another place I
didn't go was the Truman White House. I remember the decor of the
late 40s and I don't need to pay $15 each to go look at what was
really a Navy base quarters.

The house wasn't really Hemingway's house In 1851, Asa Tift, a marine
architect and salvage wrecker built the house. It was bought for
Pauline and Ernest Hemingway by Pauline's rich uncle Gus in 1931.
Pauline was Ernest's 2nd wife. (Hemingway was married four times.)
When she divorced him in 1939, Hemingway moved to Cuba. Pauline died
in 1951. Only Patrick, one of her two sons is still living.

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2322...y-Key_West.jpg

You aren't supposed to bother the cats. The Ernest Hemingway Museum
is home to approximately sixty cats. Normal cats have five front toes
and four back toes. About half of the cats at the museum have extra
toes. Most cats have extra toes on their front feet and sometimes on
their back feet as well. Sometimes it looks as if they are wearing
mittens because they appear to have a thumb on their paw.

Ernest Hemingway was given a six-toed cat by a ship's captain and some
of the cats who live on the museum grounds are descendants of that
original cat. Hemingway made a cat drinking fountain. The top of the
fountain is an old Spanish olive jar that was brought from Cuba. The
trough at the base of the olive jar came from Papa's good friend Joe
Russell's joint "Sloppy Joe's." It is actually one of the bar's
urinals. Pauline added the decorative tile to disguise it.

The house has the first pool in Key West - it cost $20,000 in the late
30s. This price prompted Hemingway to take a penny from his pocket
and give it to Pauline and announce jokingly, "Here, take the last
penny I've got!" . Hemingway also built the brick wall around the
house in an effort to get some privacy from the crowds of tourists
peering in through the fence. . Hemingway still complained that the
lighthouse keeper had a view into his bedroom. That is partly true -
there is a picture I took from the top of the lighthouse that shows
the upstairs balcony.

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2322...y-Key_West.jpg

Hemingway had a lot of friends in Key West, and many of them appeared
as characters in his novel "To Have and Have Not" which is about Key
West during the depression. It wasn't considered one of his better
works.

http://cache.virtualtourist.com/2322...y-Key_West.jpg

This picture was done by one of his friends - Mario Sanchez. The
figure in the middle that is twice the size of anyone else is
Hemingway. The clouds depict three of his novels - The Sun Also Rises,
The Old Man and the Sea, and For Whom the Bell Tolls

Mario is a local artist who was born on Duval Street (1211 Duval) on
October 7, 1908, of Cuban descent - the son of a cigar maker. As a
self-taught artist he began carving and painting in 1930. He is
considered the country's greatest living folk artist who has preserved
in wood and paint the detailed story of early 20th Century Key West.
Mario does his bas relief wood sculpture with three chisels and his
painting with dime store brushes. He mixes his own paints. Some of
the reproductions of his works were in the East Martello tower museum.


Thanks Rosalie, lots of interestng info here. The Old Man and the Sea is
one of my favorites and I think it is time to take it out and reread it.

sue

Sue Mullen wrote:
We are sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas in Jan. 2010 and they have
changed the itin. for the second time without telling us. We were
originally going to Progreso/Cozumel, then it was Costa Maya/Cozumel and
now I just found out we are going to Key West/Cozumel.

I know they can change the ports for no reason at all, but it would be
nice if they had let us know about the change.

My question to all of you who know Key West is what kind of weather can
we expect the end of Jan? We have been in Fort Lauderdale that time of
year and sometime it is pleasant, other times very windy and nasty. Key
West is further south, but near the gulf stream, so would that make it
better? I know the average temp that time of year is 70, could be good
or bad.

thanks,
sue



I have been there early Feb when it was windy and cold-ish! Had to buy
a long sleeve t-shirt in town to warm up! I think S Florida, Bahamas in
Jan Feb can be subject to cold-ish spells on occasion.

Sue Mullen wrote:


Tom K wrote:

We've been to Key West several times. It's actually one of my least
favorite ports. No nice beaches (I'd rate Smathers as a C- at best
compared to places like Trunk Bay or Princess Cay). No snorkeling.

We are not interested in the beaches in Key West, so no big deal here.



I like that one beach in Key West, at Zachary Taylor state park. Kind
of raw and a bit rocky, but have seen some very nice pelicans and swam
around there, and its usually locals!

Jeff

Jeff wrote:
Sue Mullen wrote:
We are sailing on the Grandeur of the Seas in Jan. 2010 and they have
changed the itin. for the second time without telling us. We were
originally going to Progreso/Cozumel, then it was Costa Maya/Cozumel
and now I just found out we are going to Key West/Cozumel.

I know they can change the ports for no reason at all, but it would be
nice if they had let us know about the change.

My question to all of you who know Key West is what kind of weather
can we expect the end of Jan? We have been in Fort Lauderdale that
time of year and sometime it is pleasant, other times very windy and
nasty. Key West is further south, but near the gulf stream, so would
that make it better? I know the average temp that time of year is 70,
could be good or bad.

thanks,
sue



I have been there early Feb when it was windy and cold-ish! Had to buy
a long sleeve t-shirt in town to warm up! I think S Florida, Bahamas in
Jan Feb can be subject to cold-ish spells on occasion.

This is what concerns me, but at least coming from a colder climate I
will have a coat or something with me. I can also check the weather a
few days ahead of time and pack something heavy if it is going to be
nasty. Of course there is another choice if the weather is nasty, stay
on the ship and enjoy the lovely solarium.

For now we are going to stay with this cruise, the date and everything
fits well with our plans to visit The Villages which we have to do.

sue

Jeff wrote:
Sue Mullen wrote:


Tom K wrote:

We've been to Key West several times. It's actually one of my least
favorite ports. No nice beaches (I'd rate Smathers as a C- at best
compared to places like Trunk Bay or Princess Cay). No snorkeling.

We are not interested in the beaches in Key West, so no big deal here.



I like that one beach in Key West, at Zachary Taylor state park. Kind
of raw and a bit rocky, but have seen some very nice pelicans and swam
around there, and its usually locals!

Sounds like the beach my nephew took us to in St Thomas, but there were
no pelicans or other wild life there.

sue