Today started out with a couple calamities… Paul’s scuba trip was cancelled due to the other participants cancelling, lost $50 somewhere along the line and I discovered when I took my spill on the bike, I may have lost my prescription sunglasses! Well, you just have to roll with it! Paul rescheduled the diving for tomorrow, didn’t find the money or sunglasses yet but I do have a back up pair. Good thing I got them on a deal at Walmart!!
We decided to do a few tourist-like things today and go to the Southernmost Point in the Continental US. If you will note in the picture, it is another beautiful blue skied day in Paradise. 
We then walked a million miles (well half a mile) to the Hemingway House where Ernest Hemingway lived for 9 years and did the majority of his famous writing there. The tour guide was great, obviously had a passion for the property he worked on and kept us enthralled with his information and humor. There were several movies filmed at the Hemingway House (James Bond, time to kill) and a new one coming out in July called “Leisure Seeker” in which our tour guide played a tour guide (didn’t see that one coming, eh?) in the film. He was very knowledgeable and entertaining. I would recommend it if you are here and have the time.
Next to the Hemingway House, there was “Six-Toed Cat” Restaurant (Hemingway had six-toed cats on his property – 53 at this writing) and had a delicious lunch outside, watching the people go by. Two lovely older ladies buzzed by on electric wheelchair scooters, did a u turn on the sidewalk, almost hitting the tree where we were sitting. Cute ladies, I hope they were not drinking while driving, but I suspect they were!
We moseyed along to the Key West Winery – not Paul’s cup of tea (or wine). Apparently they don’t use grapes to make their wine and make wine from other fruit so even the ‘dry’ wines were too sweet for him. I was OK with it so we shared a tasting and brought Mango Mama wine home to make some slushies. We had some time to kill so we walked to the pier and spotted a 500 pound Goliath Grouper – that ain’t no fish story either… It was mammoth! Walking back to the car, we ran into the little ladies with the wheelchair scooters, trying to turn into a sidewalk dive eatery/bar and running into the walls trying to navigate the doorway – fortunately, they had an ambulatory male friend who seemed able to guide them into the place.
We made it to the sunset cruise and enjoyed the evening watching the sunset over the water. Apparently there is a phenomenon called the “Green Flash” where, just as the sun is disappearing beyond the horizon, there is a green flash as the water catches the reflection of the setting sun. It did appear as if the sun was turning green tonight but it was flashless…the captain of the boat said he saw the green sun as well – maybe hoping for a better tip??
Off to a hidden treasure for dinner – Hogfish Grill on Stock Island, off to the east as you are coming out of Key West. Someone told Paul about this place and it was another spot WELL off the beaten path. More like a local bar and grill type place right on the water. Of course we had to try the Hogfish so I had Hogfish sliders with lime remoulade and Paul had the Hogfish with blackened scallops, both really good. I had to top the day off with Key Lime Pie, naturally – what else do you eat for dessert in Key West?
