Fun in the Sun in the Florida Keys, Part 2

MARY TILLOTSON: As we cross the bridge to Key West, we can see many boats. Some are fishing boats you can use for the day. Others belong to people who have sailed their boats here from many different places. In the city, the houses are almost all painted white. A few are pink or light blue. Many houses are very old and very small. Key West is a very old city. Many of the buildings are more than one-hundred years old. Many palm trees grow here. Colorful flowers grow in front of many of the little houses. You can stay in a room in one of these houses for the night. You can smell the ocean on the soft wind that blows across the island. We drive past several streets and then come to Whitehead Street. We turn left. Very soon we come to the end of the street. There is a monument here. The sign says this is the southernmost part of the United States. The sign says "America Begins Here." Beyond the sign is the ocean. STEVE EMBER: After taking a few photographs of the sign, we turn the car around and follow Whitehead Street to number nine-oh-seven. This house belonged to the famous American writer Ernest Hemingway. For a few dollars, you can see the inside of the house. Hemingway had many cats when he lived here. He is gone, but the cats remain. Many are asleep on the beds or chairs. They are used to seeing people walking through the old house. MARY TILLOTSON: After we leave the Hemingway house, we travel a little way to Green Street. There is a private museum here we want to visit. It is the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum. The museum is named after treasure hunter Mel Fisher. He discovered an old sunken Spanish treasure ship near Key West more than twenty years ago. That ship was the Nuestra Senora de Atocha. Visitors can see some of the ship's treasure at the museum. You can hold a huge, solid bar of gold worth many thousands of dollars. You can put your hands through a hole in a clear, plastic box and hold the huge piece of gold. But the box is built so you cannot turn the bar toward the hole. You cannot take the gold with you! However, the museum store will sell you real Spanish coins that were found on the famous ship. They are very costly. Or you can buy a copy of a coin for much less money. STEVE EMBER: From Mel Fisher's Museum, we walk the short distance to Mallory Square, the center of Key West's historic area. The square is famous for the Key West sunset celebration that is held each night if the weather is good. It is really more famous for the unusual people and animals you can see here. For example, you can see people sing or play music. You can see cats perform tricks. You can watch trained birds. You can buy a hat. Or just watch the beautiful sunset. MARY TILLOTSON: From Mallory Square we walk to Duval Street. This is where we find many good eating and drinking places. You can buy very good Cuban food. Cuba is only about one-hundred-forty kilometers from Key West. The Cuban influence can be strongly felt in the city. Or maybe you want to eat seafood instead. There are many good seafood restaurants. Singer Jimmy Buffet owns an eating place here, too. It is the Margaritaville Café where you can get a good American cheeseburger. You can also find drinking places that have bands. Some bands play rock music. Some play music of the Caribbean. Still others play country and western music. There seems to be a kind of music for everyone. There are many other businesses along Duval Street. Many stores sell clothing. Some stores sell the works of local Key West artists. Duval Street is a lively area. There seems to be a party here until very late into the night. STEVE EMBER: There is much more to do and see in Key West. You can take a high-speed boat trip for about an hour to the Dry Tortugas National Park. A huge military fort was built there before the American Civil War. You can rent an aircraft and take photographs of the beautiful Keys from the air. You can learn to breathe under water using special equipment. And, when your holiday is finished, you can drive slowly up Highway One, through the many other Florida Keys, stopping to enjoy each one on the way home. STEVE EMBER: This program was written by Paul Thompson and produced by Cynthia Kirk and Caty Weaver. I'm Steve Ember with Mary Tillotson. Please join us again next week for another THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. Source: Voice of America