The ugly, February weather, pandemic, economic lockdown, even our house that we love, were getting to be a bore. Why not go someplace warm, crowded with happy people, where life was being lived? Why not go to Florida?
Acting on impulse, my wife, Pat, and I flew to Miami Beach and checked into the Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club www.cadillachotelmiamibeach.com, located in Miami's South Beach neighborhood. As we were checking in, a large contingent of tourists and their families, including children, were arriving at the same time. According to the hotel clerk, most were arriving from New York, Philadelphia, and California. All were escaping harsh winter weather or economic lockdown, just like us. Two swimming pools and a jacuzzi, a restaurant, a gym, a tiki bar, and its own beach access, complete with Chaise lounges, umbrellas, and a waiter to bring drinks and snacks, made the Cadillac a perfect refuge. Being a resort hotel, we could've never left the Cadillac during our stay, but it is within walking distance of Miami's famed Ocean Drive and its Art Deco hotels. Daily walks along the beautifully landscaped Miami Beach Boardwalk - actually, part boardwalk and part paved walkway - makes it possible to walk or jog the full four mile distance of the South Beach neighborhood.
The Leslie Hotel, on Ocean Drive toward the southern end of South Beach, was built in 1937 and, according to its website, www.lesliehotel.com, The Leslie has 35 rooms ranging in price between two and three hundred dollars per night, a rooftop swimming pool, and a restaurant, La Trattoria. I've never stayed there, but the building itself is inviting and its website is really well done. Also, the beach is pretty much right across the street, just on the other side of the palm shaded Lummus Park. Just based on outward appearances, it looks like a fun place to spend three or four nights.
The Colony Hotel is right down the street from the Leslie, and the rooms appear to be a little less expensive. Its website, www.colonymiami.com, mentions a bar and a restaurant, but no mention of a pool. But, like the Leslie, it is right next to the beach. And, like the Leslie, it is an inviting place.
Just a little bit further down Ocean Drive is The Betsy. Actually, the Betsy Ross, but it seems to prefer "The Betsy." The Betsy was built in 1942 in an architectural style known as Florida-Georgian (not Art Deco). It might be the snazziest place on Ocean Drive, with two pools, two dining rooms, and a roof top bar next to its roof top pool. Also, like The Leslie and The Colony, the beach is just a short stroll through Lummas Park. The Betsy's website provides a nice tour of the hotel: www.thebetsyhotel.com.
We checked out of the Cadillac after a couple of nights and headed for Key West. The 170 mile drive takes three or four hours, depending on the traffic. Once you leave the mainland and reach Key Largo, the remaining 97 miles of key-hopping is fascinating for first time tourists, but it could be frustrating for locals who drive the route everyday. I enjoyed the sensation of driving to the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, but it could get old after a couple of weeks.
We stopped at the Morada Bay Seafood Restaurant www.moradabaykeys.com on Matecumbe Key for lunch, which was great. I had a po' boy oyster sandwich and a key lime pie for dessert. All good. Why not eat a key lime pie or two or three or more while you're in the Florida Keys? That's actually one of the reasons I went down there. Pat had a salad.
We arrived at our hotel, The Marker Key West www.themarkerkeywest.com, about mid-afternoon. Restaurants and trendy shops were open and doing business. Beekah, the artist, was selling his artwork and handicrafts from his stand on Duvall Street, the main drag that cuts across the key to the southern most beach in the continental United States.
Of course, Jimmy Buffett's song, Margaritaville, is about Key West. And, to paraphrase one of its lyrics, it's easy to see how one could "waste away in Margaritaville." There are lots of bars serving all kinds of tempting drinks, including Margaritas. The bar at our hotel swimming pool served something called a Key Lime Colada. I'm not sure what's in it, but it is a yummy drink and it goes down a little too smoothly. I could've easily hung out by that pool all day, drinking Key Lime Coladas. Fortunately, though, we had plans that would keep us busy.
Earnest Hemmingway lived in Key West with his second wife, Pauline Pfeiffer, in a house purchased for them by her rich uncle. Its French Colonial architecture fits well in Key West's semi-tropical environment. You can take a tour of the house and learn a little something about Hemmingway, even if you never read any of his books. The swimming pool, for instance, is the direct result of a war and a love affair.
When Earnest and Pauline moved into the house in about 1933, there was a boxing ring in the side yard. Earnest loved the boxing ring and would invite big name boxers to come and fight. He would have his pals over to watch the fights, smoke cigars, gamble, drink too much bourbon, and cheer the boxers on. Lotta testosterone. The boxing ring was a passion of Earnest's. When the Spanish Civil War broke out, Earnest left home to cover the war for a news organization. While in Spain, he met Martha Gellhorn, another war correspondent, and had an affair with her. Pauline found out about Earnest's affair with Martha and, out of spite, demolished the boxing ring and had a swimming pool installed in its place, at tremendous cost for the time - about $325,000 in today's dollars. When Earnest came home from the war, he was enraged at the loss of his boxing ring. When he learned how much the pool cost, he accused Pauline of trying to spend all of his money, "down to the last red cent." He took a 1937 penny out of his pocket, and threw it at Pauline's feet. Pauline saved the penny and had it encased in glass and embedded in the concrete patio next to the pool, where it is still on display today. Pauline and Earnest got divorced. Earnest married Ms. Gelhorn, who also divorced him. Earnest was married four times. Basically, he was a mess.
Fury https://www.furycat.com/#cruises offers a number of water adventures around the keys, including snorkling, jet skis, sailing, para sailing, and eco tours. Pat booked us on Fury's sunset cruise. Despite that the cruise was on a huge catamaran, advertised a band, an open bar, and food, I wasn't too keen on the idea. I assumed the band would be really bad; the open bar would be open, but inaccessible because of alcoholics crowding around; there would be too many alcoholics; and the food would be bad. In fact, the band was pretty good, some people even sang along; the open bar was accessible, and also a couple of crew members were walking around with pitchers full of margaritas, refilling passengers' cups; and, amazingly, nobody seemed to be drunk. The food was good, and there was lots of it. The catamaran was so impressive, and the cruise was so well done, that every tourist on the boat could easily imagine that he or she was a rich tycoon taking pals out on the yacht for a party. A nice evening.
On our last day, we rented a jetski and zipped around in and out of the keys. For the most part, we stayed in calm water weaving between the smaller keys and mango swamps. But, in the open water, exposed to the ocean, the water was choppy, and the jetski hopped over the water like a frog. Pat screamed, hung on, gripped my stomach, and yanked out a lot of belly hair. We both had a blast.
The next day, we came home. Miami Beach and the Florida Keys are a great winter get away.