Key West Day Five

Yesterday Father Tony and I overslept and missed the 7:15am boarding call for the high-speed ferry to the Dry Tortugas. Dammit all to hell. Those who went are calling it one of the highlights of the week. Dammit all to hell. So instead of a 70-mile voyage into the Gulf of Mexico, we made up for it with a trip to the Hemingway Home where I photographed the six-toed cats and Tony lusted after the gardener.

After that we climbed the Key West Lighthouse, which didn't seem that high until you were halfway up the ancient metal spiral staircase suspended from the middle. Oy. Then we visited the Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservancy, where you enter what feels like a giant terrarium and walk around the lush grounds as thousands of brilliantly colored butterflies swirl around and occassionally land on you. Father Tony loved it, I found it a little unnerving - it felt like the beginning of a horror movie before everybody realizes too late that the pretty bugs are eating people. I calmed myself with a couple of hours of poolside blogging and frozen drinks back at the Island House. Lots of photos of the guesthouse and our room are included in the slideshow below. (BTW, too many cats in these slideshows? Suck it.)