Journal Entries
Villa Vizcaya
Posted Aug 9, 2003
Okay, technically Vizcaya is not in Key West, but after only seven years, I thought a trip to Miami might be appropriate. My friend Mike and I loaded up the land yacht, and set out for the city of light last Sunday afternoon to spend some time with a friend who lives in Coconut Grove.
Back when Miami was primarily a mangrove swamp on the edge of the Everglades, a lady named Mrs. Brickell owned a very large quantity of the land that downtown Miami now rests on. In 1909, she sold about 175 acres of the land to a man named John Deering, heir to the International Harvester Company fortune. He built a 16th century style Italian villa on the shore of Biscayne Bay, complete with gardens, fountains, and everything else you could possibly want in a palatial residence, and used the remaining acreage as a farm to support the big house. Parcels of the land were sold off after his death, and those parcels became the current Coconut Grove. Nuff said.
The house itself is a fantasy work of art. Mr. Deering travelled extensively through Europe and brought back many mementos of his journey. Each room of the house is dedicated to a particular period or style of European history, and it has to be seen to be believed. From the entry foyer, with its statue of Bacchus/Dionysus from the ruins of Pompeii, to the hand-woven Flemish tapestries of the dining room, it is a wonder. I certainly believed the tour guide when she stated that the chairs in the house alone are valued at more than 14 million dollars.
Ceilings are not usually a strong decorative point for me, but at times, it felt as though we were in the Vatican or the Uffizi. Mr. Deering brought several complete ceilings home with him, and rooms were constructed around his acquisitions. The ceiling of the Versailles sitting room, while painted in Italy, fit quite comfortably with the Louis XV chairs and furnishings.
The gardens of the property form a perfect stage for the incredible house and its furnishings. Massive statuary from Rome, Greece and Egypt flank the main mall, and follies, grottoes and fountains complete the design. Strangely enough, the carefully manicured grounds run right up to mangroves on the shoreline of Biscayne Bay. It is hard to imagine how they manage to garden so beautifully right on the salt water. Canals representative of Venice criss-cross the gardens, and gondoliers once rowed the guests through the tree-lined property.
It is impossible to do justice in writing to this incredible piece of architecture, and to the imaginative use of design throughout. For some pictures that will give you a pale comparison to reality, check out Villa Vizcaya at www(.)VillaVizcaya(.)org. The site requires Flash.
Considering that this was my first trip to Miami, the next one is going to have to be a humdinger to compare with this one.
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Latest reply: Aug 9, 2003
World's Largest Pride Flag
Posted Jul 4, 2003
Key West was the site for the unfurling of the World's Largest Pride Flag on June 15, 2003. The city's motto of "One Human Family" was backed up when 2,000 residents and visitors carried one and a quarter miles of nylon sewn into the rainbow stripes of the pride flag for the entire length of Duval Street, literally reaching from the Atlantic Ocean on the South side of the island to Gulf of Mexico on the North.
Thousands watched as the length of the flag was unfurled from a tractor-trailer truck on Green Street, proceeding South. The flag weighed over 3,500 pounds, and the wind rippled it continously during the record-breaking event.
Chase helicopters followed the progress of the flag down Duval Street, filming from overhead as volunteers, friends and visitors laughed, hooted and celebrated the enormous happening. Once the flag was completely open, the creator, Gilbert Baker, ceremoniously dipped the end in the Gulf of Mexico.
Once it was open, the trick was to get it folded back up. Two hours and a pretty good sunburn later, I handed off my section to the warehouse people and headed for a cold beer.
Those who participated will remember the day as an incredible achievement, both on the parts of those who created the flag, and those of us who helped to display it. Sections of this flag have been sent out to other cities for Pride celebrations worldwide. You can see pictures of the overhead shots of the flag completely unfurled at http://www.pridefestkeywest.com/
Just another reason why it's cool to live in Key West!
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Latest reply: Jul 4, 2003
Gone Fishing
Posted Mar 26, 2003
A friend casually asked me if I would like to go fishing yesterday. After an immediate positive response, we were off.
He has a 24 foot fiberglass fishing boat with a 200hp outboard motor, and a bimini top. These boats are lightweight, and with that kind of horsepower, they can really fly. After loading up the gear and topping up with gas, we went roaring out to the reef.
All of the waters within the confines of the reef are part of the National Marine Sanctuary, and it is no longer legal to fish there. The reef itself rings Key West about five miles from the island, and it's a pretty good hike overwater to reach it.
Once past the reef, the bottom drops away rapidly, and before you know it, you're standing in a very small boat over 500 feet of water. This causes much meditation about what to do if overboard, and what would be big enough to eat one if one was overboard. Then you pick up a rod and your worries evaporate.
Since the water inside the reef near Key West is shallow, it is that lovely clear blue-green that shows up in every picture you ever see of the Caribbean. Once outside the reef, the depth makes it deeper and deeper blue until it literally matches the color of classic Goo.
Once we baited the rods, we stuck them in the rod holders and proceeded to troll for about an hour, searching for floating weed mats and the schools of dolphin fish that always feed under them. Unfortunately, the cloudless skies and clear, if swelling waves didn't help us out much. No matter. As I've said before, there's no such thing as a bad day on the water.
We moved back in closer to the reef and decided to bottom fish for a while in the shallower (40 feet) water. First cast landed a parrot fish, not something one would normally catch on squid, since they eat algae from the coral. The fish was absolutely beautiful, jewelled and iridescent, with neon blue stripes on the top and bottom, and a long lyre-like tail. We all oohed and ahhed, and tossed him undamaged back into the waves.
A few minutes later, we were treated to our first yellowtail snapper of the day. Bang, bang, bang, and we all had dinner in the cooler. We were pulling out nice pan-sized yellowtails about 16 in overall.
After a quiet spell of fishing (not catching), my reel started singing in the rod holder. I grabbed it just in time to set the hook into something that felt like I did not want to meet it face to face. From the resistance, we all guessed it was probably a grouper, and a big one, too. He danced around with me for a minute or two, then took the line and tied it around something on the bottom. Groupers like to do that to fishermen. After ten minutes of making sure it wasn't coming out of the water, I broke the line, and tied on a new leader.
My friend was cracking wise about me "catching the bottom" and having a great laugh at my expense. The same thing happened to him about five minutes later. Fishing Karma...
We soaked hooks for about an hour, until I noticed a really mean looking front passing over the island, and we decided it was time to high-tail it home. And when I say "High-tail it", I mean he opened the motor all the way out. It was all we could do to hang on as the boat literally leapt over the wave tops all the way home. We caught some rain on the way in, and at that speed, it was like buckshot.
My impromptu fishing expedition netted dinner, a radiant sunburn (even with sunblock 30,) and the thrill of a roller coaster on the way home. Fishing is a great workout too, since every muscle in your body is constantly trying to find a balance point and keep your sea legs under you. You just don't find out about that until the next day...
This expedition gets ten out of ten stars for a great day in Key West.
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Latest reply: Mar 26, 2003
Fantasy Fest
Posted Oct 13, 2002
Roll Carnival, Fasching, and Mardi Gras onto a tropical island, throw in the festive Halloween mood, sprinkle liberally with alcohol, and remove all inhibitions, and you have Fantasy Fest, Key West's annual week of raucous debauchery.
Started some twenty-five years ago as a relief from the hurricane season, Fantasy Fest caught on fast. Nowadays, upwards of 85,000 people pour into the tiny island for costume contests, parades, displays of naked flesh, and the consumption of mass quantities of alcohol daily from noon until four a.m.
Kickoff starts with the Goombay Festival, a celebration of the island's Bahamian roots. Booths and stages along Petronia Street through Bahama Village feature Reggae and Zydeco music peppered with barbecued goat and Red Stripe Beer. This gets everything off to a rollicking start.
Throughout the week, costume and headdress contests ratchet up the excitement. Pretenders in Paradise, a Pier House tradition, recognizes the incredible creativity and professionalism of costume creators on the island. The Headdress Ball, at Atlantic Shores Resort, honors the Carmen Miranda in all of us. The Second Line costume march parades from the cemetery to Duval Street, and Saturday's Street Fair begins at noon and gives everyone a chance to promenade up and down Duval Street in their fantastic fantasy creations.
Some seem to think that costumes are frivolous, and have body painters decorate their natural canvases for display. Some years, it gets the three frowns and enforcement requires modesty dots. Other years, the city fathers just let the good times roll...
The mania culminates Saturday night in the Grand Fantasy Fest parade. Visitors expecting a small-town creation gape in astonishment as hydraulics, water sprays and confetti blasts rival the best of New Orleans or the Rose Parade. Beads and trinkets shower down from the floats and balconies along the route. Revelers along the Duval Street path close in behind as the parade passes, and the party really gets underway.
Sunday wraps the entire spectacle up with a huge disco tea dance at Atlantic Shores, because literally, it ain't over until The Fat Lady Sings!
You might have been to large Carnival-style parties before, but the level of civilized good-natured partying you will find at Fantasy Fest will change your mind about the others forever. There's just nothing like an October party where the night time temps are in the eighties, and the island encourages fun like no other place on earth. You might even find time to enjoy a sunset!
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Latest reply: Oct 13, 2002
The Longest Street in the World
Posted Dec 16, 2000
Duval Street in Key West is commonly referred to as the longest street in the world, because it stretches from the Gulf of Mexico on the North side of the island, to the Atlantic Ocean at the South.
In its fifteen block length, there are several diversions one may enjoy. Art galleries, theaters and bars stand shoulder to shoulder with t-shirt shops, restaurants, and department stores. One can visit Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, have a cheeseburger in paradise, and wash it down with a world-reknowned Margarita.
One can also witness life at all levels, from the patrons of the finest restaurants, to the most interesting collection of homeless people ever congregated in one location.
Duval Street also changes in personality as you move from the 1200 block down the street toward Zero Duval, and sunset at Mallory Square. On Upper Duval you will encounter drag queens, leather men and dancing boys in a number of gay establishments. Once you cross Fleming, Harley-Davidson and the ladies of Rumrunners lure you on. Finally at Green Street, you come face to face with Ernest Hemingway at Sloppy Joe's and Captain Tony's. And then you are at sunset.
The Longest Street in the World certainly has something for everyone. If you don't find it in this block, try the next one!
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Latest reply: Dec 16, 2000
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