In all of the gardens we saw, so far there have only been two roses. I spotted this China rose, then I noticed the rooster beside it ... there are feral chickens all over this island.
I talked to the man who had this unknown tea rose growing in his front yard. He said that roses grow year-round down here ... of course.
These little lizards are all over the place. This particular one almost met an unfortunate end, because I didn't notice him on the sidewalk and nearly stepped on him. I wish he would have let me put a dime next to him, so you could see just how tiny he really was. Nose to tail, he was only as long as my pinkie finger.
We began our day at the end of the world ... Mile Zero of US Route 1. Route 1 runs down the entire length of the East Coast, through the center of Fredericksburg (where we live) and it was neat to be at the spot where the road begins. (I was having flashes of 'Wizard of Oz' ... "Follow the Yellow Brick Road".)
Our next stop was the Hemingway house. Built in 1851 by Asa Tift, a wealthy Key West salvager, it was bought by Ernest Hemingway in 1931 for $8,000 in back taxes.
I loved the relaxed atmosphere of the house!
Living Room, looking onto the front porch.
Kitchen.
Master bedroom.
Studio, view 1
Studio, view 2
The crazy cat woman that I am, I most wanted to meet some of the famous polydactyl cats at the Hemingway house. It's been a running joke among us that I would need to be frisked as I left the property, because they were afraid I was going to try to smuggle one home. (the sign beside the window at the ticket booth by the front gate warned me that this was probably not a good idea.)
The cats have the run of the property, and are kept inside with a special fence that extends over the brick wall that surrounds the property. They wander inside and outside, lounging on the porch, or the furniture ... the center of attention.
These two know exactly who has the bag of cat treats in his pocket. (This is our tour guide describing the items and telling stories in the dining room.)
This one snuggled between the pillows on the bed in the master bedroom, and was taking a long, leasurely bath.
More cats ... outside this time.
The cat cemetery is a lovely, peaceful spot.
When we finished at the Hemingway house, it was lunchtime ... so we made our way to Louie's Backyard to eat lunch overlooking the ocean beside the island's dog beach.
After lunch, and some more wandering through the town, headed to Kermit's for pie. Imagine a slice of key lime pie, frozen on a stick, dipped in dark chocolate.
Our day ended with a sunset cruise aboard a catamaran, with food, drink, live music, and beautiful tropical breezes and scenery.
This was our sister ship, but ours wasn't as crowded.
Here is our whole group.
We don't get scenery like this at home.
This was my best sunset photo. Clouds gathered as the sun got lower in the sky, and the sunset itself was a non-event.
I am totally loving our time hanging out in the tropics this week, and there's a lot more left for us to do.