Mrs. Conception

The third day of our honeymoon was when we finally made it to the highly touted Hemingway House.

It is, of course, famous for being the home of Ernest Hemingway in the 1930’s, but also for the sixty or so cats on the property. All are descendants of Hemingway’s cat, Snowball, and many are polydactyl (six-toed).

You can look around the house on your own for free, but we decided to take the tour because we didn’t really know what we were looking at. I hate to admit it, but I’m not really sure I ever read Hemingway. I think I was supposed to read Farewell to Arms once, in high school or in college, but I really am pretty sure I didn’t read it. I probably read the Cliff Notes. I am a pop-culture reader, a Stephen King kind of gal. I should be better, but I’m not. So we took the tour. It was $11 each and it was a really good tour.

We went through each room of the house, learning about Hemingway’s wives, his history, and his life in Key West. We also learned about the house itself, which had a second floor bathroom with running water (rare on the island at the time), and a very expensive swimming pool.

Mr. Andrews By The Pool

The Bathroom

There was also a drinking fountain for the cats made from a urinal taken from a local bar, as well as a cat cemetery!

It was all surprisingly interesting. After the guided tour, we were allowed to go individually to see Hemingway’s writing studio.

Overall, it was very cool. Highly recommended!

After all that education, we took a walk to find mile marker 0 on U.S. Highway 1. As roadtrippers, we are kind of highway nerds, and were very excited to see this sign. Can’t you tell?

We also got a picture of us both together at a sign at the courthouse across the street.

That night, we decided to have dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. One of the touristy things we do in different places is to eat at all the Hard Rocks we can find, and Mr. Andrews collects the pins. They actually had a marriage-themed pin there! So that was cool. Food was good, too.

Then, finally, it was onto the first activity we had actually scheduled before hand – a Key West Ghost Tour! I love ghosts and ghost stories (remember how I like Stephen King?) so I was really excited for this. There was a huge tour group, so it seems like a pretty popular event. Our fancy dressed guide was fun, and took us around town hunting for spirits.

 We went to a bunch of hotels and buildings rumored to be haunted, and heard stories of everything from a man who married a dead woman to a possessed doll named Robert. We took tons of photos looking for “orbs” but sadly, I didn’t get any. We did get to stand at the door of the building below, haunted by fire victims, and both Mr. Andrews and I felt the door shaking, and I saw a flash of light that may have been a ghost. Cool! I was so intrigued, I made Mr. Andrews go back there after the tour was over. We ate some ice cream on the sidewalk across the street, then stood against the door one more time. It vibrated again. Whoa.

Of course, afterwards I was so freaked out that I was afraid to go to sleep! But I still wanted to go back. I know I can see a ghost if I am persistant! Maybe next time…

We wrapped up the night at Captain Tony’s Saloon. They have yummy frozen rum drinks – mmm, Pirate Punch.

Day 3 was a huge success! Stay tuned for Day 4, when we take our trip to the Dolphin Playground and snorkel with the sharks!