Month: March 2024

The Keys to Enjoyment: Day #2 “The Longest Day”

by reissmd, posted in Key West

Last night we had a great meal at the hotel restaurant called “Sol”.  One of our friends, Michael  (yes, it seems like almost all of my friends are named Michael which makes remembering their names easier) heard we were coming to the Keys and had some recommendations. Michael is from Chicago and as a kid his family would often vacation in the Keys.  He said we had to have “Conch” (pronounced “conk” by locals).  Last night we saw it on the menu as an appetizer.  We gave it a try and were not disappointed. See below. 

Conch Fritters from Sol in the Playa Largo Resort and Spa. They were spectacular.

The main courses were also delicious.  See below.

Patrice had the LOBSTER Mac and Cheese. When we were dating she was so frugal. What happened?
I had the Red Snapper and it was superb.

After dinner we did some reading and then it was off to bed. We were exhausted. We had a very restful night most likely due to our absurdly early departure yesterday. As we were leaving for breakfast this morning we encountered the housekeeping person entering our room. We had a couple of requests and she didn’t understand so she asked us “In Spanish?”. I thought this was a bit odd because her nametag said she was from Haiti. Don’t they speak French there? Anyway we tried our best to use our Spanish to get our requests understood. With that accomplished Patrice said goodbye in her best Spanish saying, “Vamos a desayunar” (We are going to breakfast). She didn’t seem to understand so I repeated it thinking maybe Patrice spoke too fast. The housekeeper looked at us and said, “In Spanish?”. So much for our many hours of practice on Duolingo.

After a quick breakfast we set out to explore the island. We drove 95 miles south to Key West. Unfortunately I think we did not prepare well for this trip. An air flight from Miami would have been a much better decision. The drive was on the single lane State Highway #1 with traffic limiting our speed from 55 to as slow as 8 mph. It was a difficult drive and not worth the effort.

Key West is an interesting town with lots of bars and restaurants. There are some tourist attractions and bars. And did I mention there are some bars? We decided to visit Ernest Hemingway’s Key West home. Seeing the house was of modest interest. They had a number of pictures and information on the walls that was much more appealing to me. I did find one thing very interesting. They had numerous signs cautioning guests not to sit on or even touch any of the furniture. See below.

It’s understandable that they would want to preserve the furniture at this historical structure.

We were told that 59 cats live on the property and all are descendants of Hemingways original cats. Apparently staying off the furniture doesn’t apply to them. See below

One of the Hemingway cats on “Papa’s” bed. I suppose the cat was too close to the sign to read it. Maybe the cat was from Haiti?

After Hemingway’s house we were off to see Harry Truman’s Key West White House. It was a short walk from the Hemingway location. I was unaware of Truman’s remote White House. I certainly knew about FDR going to the Maryland retreat that Dwight Eisenhower christened Camp David (after his grandson, David Eisenhower) but I never knew about Truman’s love of Key West.

After paying tribute to Harry S. it was off to dinner and back to the hotel. More about dinner later. I need to get some sleep. Today was exhausting.

The Keys to Enjoyment: Day #1 “All Hail Cesar!”

by reissmd, posted in Florida Keys

Loyal followers of this blog remember that in January of 2023 I ignored my USC Trojan heritage and joined UCLA at their Palos Verdes office.  Two months later, in March, I was still trying to figure how to how get to the office and write a note on the electronic medical record.  Since I was so slow using the computer I would try to save time by checking my upcoming schedule.  On one occasion I saw a full slate of patients for Wednesday and Thursday but no one on Friday.  How could that be, I thought?   I soon realized that none of the other doctors had any patients scheduled.  I later found out that the office was closed in observance of Cesar Chavez day.  I have to plead guilty that I never heard of this holiday. For those interested, President Barack Obama declared March 31st a day to honor the activist, in 2014.  Only 7 states observe the day.  Lucky for me all California state agencies are closed and thus I have the day off. 

We found out about the Cesar Chavez Day holiday too late to take proper advantage of this surprise gift last year. This year we had plenty of time to decide where we should go. We talked about the Bay Area but we go there frequently.  We also considered San Diego but frequent trips there made that seem less attractive.  Las Vegas is close but we don’t like gambling, alcohol, or smoking so that didn’t seem like a good fit.  Finally we decided it was only fitting that we honor Mr. Chavez by either going to Mexico (he was born in Arizona but was of Mexican heritage) or the grape growing regions of northern central California (where he had a major impact on the farmworkers). So with that in mind we agreed to go to the Florida Keys. 

Why the Florida Keys you might be asking.  What do the Keys have to do with Cesar Chavez.  I don’t know but I’ll try to make something up later.  The real reason is that we both love the Beach  Boys song “Kokomo” and always wanted to visit the place.  I’m sure you remember the lyrics:

Off the Florida Keys; There’s a place called Kokomo; That’s where you want to go; To get away from it all; Bodies in the sand; Tropical drink melting in your hand; We’ll be falling in love; to the rhythm of a steel drum band; Down in Kokomo

That settled it, the Florida Keys and Kokomo Beach would be our destination.  We booked our flight and to honor Humphrey Bogart found a hotel in Key Largo.  We would have stayed at Kokomo Beach  but we found out they don’t have hotels.  The reason being there isn’t a Kokomo beach.  There is a city called Kokomo but it’s located in Indiana.  No Kokomo in the Florida Keys in spite of what The Beach Boys said. 

When I shared our travel plans with some friends they all seemed very excited.  “They have great deep sea fishing!”….. hmmm, I get seasick on boats.  “The SCUBA diving is the best down there!”…… hmmm, my ears start hurting when I’m at the bottom of an 8 foot deep pool.   “You’ll have a great time basking in the sun by the pool!” …….. hmmm, ever since I had that huge skin cancer removed from my face laying out in the sun has not been one of my favorite activities.  

I thought for a bit and decided I had to tell Patrice that this wasn’t happening.  So I called out to her , “Honey!”

Then I realized  our airline tickets were not refundable and we paid for the hotel and rental car in advance.  

Patrice replied “Yes?”  

“I just wanted tell you that I’m really looking forward to our trip”

The flight from LAX departed this morning at 6 AM.  I know that sounds early but just think of it as 9 AM Miami time.  It was a very uneventful flight to Miami.  We picked up our rental car then headed to the Playa Largo Resort and Spa in Key Largo.  It was about 65 miles from the airport and mostly on a 1-lane highway so it took us an hour and a half to get to the hotel. It was worth the drive; this place is gorgeous.  There is very intense security as well. When we drove up we were stopped by a guard. He checked a list to see if we were indeed checking in and then motioned us to enter the complex. In addition to the exterior being lovely they have a beautiful lobby, outside, the gardens, pools, and beach complement each other perfectly.

In addition to being a beautiful hotel and location it is very high-tech.  Check out the room key.  See Below

The rectangle attached to the band is our room key. No comments about my scrawny wrist please.

This high-tech key is fantastic. You don’t have to worry about misplacing your key or having it come out of your pocket while swimming. If your hands are full you don’t need to reach in your pocket to find a key. It is incredibly handy and works very well.

The hotel hosts a sunset viewing at the beach. They supply drinks, live music and a charming area to sit while you watch the sun drop in the horizon beyond the Blackwater Sound and Everglades National Park. It was a delightful way to relax before dinner.

More about dinner tomorrow.