Logging My Favorites......

This is the sixth installment of a ongoing log of my favorite things. Once a month I will post a favorite. It might be a person, or a place, or even a event. Hopefully it will help you get to know me a little better. I'd love your comments and I hope to make some connections through our mutual enjoyment of these treasures.

Key West, Florida

 

I love Architecture; Key West is home to one of the largest collections of intact 18th century homes. The Key West historic district, with quaint tree lined lanes and stately mansions, is a national treasure to be savored.

I love history and culture; The Island has superb museums as evidenced by the Lighthouse Museum, the Harry S. Truman Little White House, the Ernest Hemingway Home and Mel Fisher's Treasure Museum. I even love the annual Ernest Hemingway lookalike contest and the friendly cats at the Hemingway House.

I love to people watch; Key West was once a landing spot for rum-runners from Cuba during the prohibition era. Even after all these years it has maintained its persona as the perfect place to party and Duval Street is at the hub of it all. Duval Street is one mile of the most fascinating array of great places to dine, fashionable shops and art galleries, nightclubs, Ghost Tours, street performers and exotic animals. It's a people-watching paradise and you'll be entertained for hours!

I love breakfast; At the Blue Heaven Cafe it is especially pleasant sitting outside under the shade of the banyan trees enjoying the banana pancakes with maple syrup.  Key West's free ranging chickens are welcome at Blue Heaven. In fact, they feel right at home. In this supremely laid-back restaurant in old Bahama Village, cocks, hens and chicks roam along the dirt-floored patio pecking for bugs or the occasional scrap of pancake offered by a diner. It’s not unheard of for a particularly bold rooster to hop onto the back of an unoccupied chair at YOUR table and crow to wake you up in the morning; works better than a triple espresso.

And last but certainly not least, I love Key Lime Pie; Key West is renowned for many things, not the least of which is Key Lime pie. Story has it that William Curry's cook, known as Aunt Sally, first created the pie in the late 1800's. The lack of refrigeration on the island led local cooks to develop their own way of doing things, and condensed milk "cooked" by the acids in key lime juice produced a very tasty pie. Although Aunt Sally is given a lot of credit, many believe she merely perfected a recipe that had been knocking around among area fisher folk for years. 

There are many other reasons why I love Key West; the tropical setting, the gardens, the locals, the artsy feel of the community, the seafood, etc...etc...! Too many to list.  I Love Key West!