A NOTE TO OUR READERS:
"Your Place in the Sun" is from the January 2005 issue of Southern Living. Because prices, dates, and other specifics are subject to change, please check all information to make sure it's still current before making your travel plans.
President Harry S. Truman once said, "I have a notion to move the capital to Key West and just
stay." After visiting the nation's southernmost town, who wouldn't want to pack it up and make
this magical place home? Especially this time of year when the temperate 75-degree days are
followed by 65-degree evenings.
U.S. 1 runs 150 miles south from Miami, ending at this enchanted island--a scant 2 miles long and
4 miles wide--surrounded by sparkling blue waters. Pastel-colored Victorian homes, which look
more like overgrown dollhouses than residences, line streets barely wide enough for a single car.
Violet orchids grow from the sturdy trunks of towering palm trees, while green ivy climbs on
rickety picket fences. On one corner, free-range chickens and their chirpy tagalongs harmonize
with a street musician playing Jimmy Buffett's peppy "Margaritaville" on a worn-out guitar.
In Key West, there's no such word as "weird." This seductive beach oasis has a mind of its own
and accepts all wayfarers, no matter who you are, what you look like, or where you come from.
Meander down raucous Duval Street wearing a magenta tutu, balancing a green parrot on your crown,
and nary a soul will flinch.
My husband and I made a date to escape to this fanciful place. Here's a 12-hour diary of our
adventures in Key West. See you there!
9 a.m.--Rumbling stomachs pull us from our comfortable slumber. We follow the clucking chickens to iconic Blue Heaven, where fresh shrimp or lobster Benedict tempts even the person who normally skips breakfast. We ask our Key West-native waitress what our first sight in town should be. "I'd stroll the cemetery. You can learn a lot about Key West just by reading tombstones." She tells us to look for headstones reading "I told you I was sick," "I'm just resting my eyes," and "Devoted Fan of Julio Iglesias." Of course we take her advice and meander through the quiet resting place.
10 a.m.--After an hour in Key West, we decide this quirky place feels like a nation of its own. Fittingly, it is. Key West belongs both to the Conch Republic and the U.S. This sovereign nation, named for the popular sea critter, was born on April 23, 1982, in response to a U.S. Border Patrol blockade of the Florida Keys. We head to the office of the secretary-general to obtain a souvenir passport.
11 a.m--Knowing that Key West is the past and present home to a slew of literary and artistic geniuses, we decide to follow a walking tour of their homes. The best-known resident was, of course, Ernest Hemingway. We step over dozens upon dozens of cats in his house and eye first editions of his books. Other literary figures of Key West include Shel Silverstein, Tennessee Williams, and Elizabeth Bishop.
