Faith, Folklore, and Friends

What does a lighthouse do? I ask myself. It never moves. It  cannot hike up its rocky skirt and dash into the ocean to  rescue the foundering ship. It cannot calm the waters or  clear the shoals. It can only cast light into the darkness. It  can only point the way. Yet, through one lighthouse, you  guide many ships. Show this old lighthouse the way. ―  Lisa Wingate ,  The Prayer Box

Recently, we spent a few days at the Daytona SeaBreeze resort in Daytona Beach, Florida.  This view was from our balcony. The beach is huge, and you can drive on it when the tide is out.   The beach at dawn, when all that was stirring were the birds.

Long before we arrived in Key West, we had decided that we wouldn't leave there without sampling some of the food they are famous for.  We chose  the Two Friends restaurant, and we were not disappointed. Key West is known as the Conch Republic, so you know we had to have some conch fritters while we were there.  I thought they were extremely tasty, especially when I double-dipped. The fritters were spicy and that was what I tasted most, so I still can't tell you exactly how conch tastes. We also ordered Buffalo wings, just in case we didn't like the conch fritters.  We were stuffed after a dinner of various items,  but we had to order some of the Key lime pie that Key West is famous for. I make Key lime pies using sweetened condensed milk, whipped cream, and frozen limeade. I rarely  never have to throw any out.  However, my pies can't compare with this one.  It was sweet and tart and creamy and so good!  I have been com...

If you are looking for an exciting road trip, you can begin one here at 490 Whitehead Street in Key West, where US Highway 1 starts. After about three hours, you will get to Miami, and you will already be tired of bridges.  Continue north, and you may visit Washington, D. C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston before Highway 1 stops at Fort Kent, Maine, on the Canadian Border. You will have traveled 2369 miles, making Highway 1 the longest North-South road in the United States. If you aren't too tired by then, you can turn around and return to Whitehead Street in Key West, where U. S. Highway 1 ends across the street from where it starts. After driving nearly five thousand miles, you may be in need of food and refreshment.  You can find plenty in Key West. The Green Parrot Bar, established in 1890, was already 40 years old by the time Highway 1 was completed in the 1930s.  It happened to be in the right place at the right time to be...

Ernest Hemingway lived for several years in Key West with his second wife, Pauline.  This is where they lived and fought before Ernest ran off to Cuba with number three. To the chagrin of tour guides today, as soon as they moved into the house,  Pauline had all the fans removed and replaced  with crystal lights from Paris. Their bed was made from a centuries-old hand carved wooden gate that Ernest found on his travels in Europe. Medieval birthing stool. The grounds were beautiful.  Several of these shots were made while I was standing on the second floor balcony. The tour guide was full of stories about Ernest and Pauline, but I spent most of my time trying to get some pictures of the cats that were everywhere.   While the Hemingways were living in Key West, a ship's captain gifted them with a polydactyl (6-toed) white cat. The 40-50 cats living there today are descendants of that cat.  All the cats are...

Sandy Cornish was born a slave in Maryland.  His master hired him out around 1839 to work building a railroad in Florida's Panhandle.  After a while, with his wife's help, he was able to buy his freedom.  His 'free-papers" were lost in a fire, and he was seized by slave-catchers who planned to sell him in New Orleans.  Before they could transport him there, he broke free and plunged a knife in his hip, cut his ankle, and cut off the fingers of his left hand.  He threatened to do greater harm to himself if he was carried to New Orleans. He was useless to the slave traders at that point, and they left him alone. Some friends carried him home in a wheelbarrow, and he recovered after six months.  He and his wife then moved to Key West, Florida.  They bought a farm and supplied fruit and vegetables to Key West residents, becoming highly successful and very wealthy.  He was a community leader, and was one of the founders of the Cornish Ch...

About thirty-five years ago, I learned how to make the wonderful strawberry pie that you can get at Shoney's Restaurant. I was amazed that I could make something that tasted so good. It has become a harbinger of spring in our house.  When the fresh Florida strawberries make it to the stores here, we have some strawberry pie. I'm still making it after all these years.  It is still just as tasty as it always has been.

I love poking through old towns, with their narrow, bricked streets and walled gardens.  St. Augustine didn't disappoint. Love discovering gardens tucked in the tiny alleys. St. Augustine reminded me of New Orleans in so many ways.  I'm hoping we will be able to go back when we have plenty of time to see all its treasures.