Hemingway's cats

Hemingway's house seen from Key West Lighthouse

I went to Cuba with a group and it was a fantastic trip. During the months leading up to the trip, though, I was a little bummed that I couldn't go to Havana (on the other side of the country from our planned itinerary). I wanted to see Ernest Hemingway's house. So, the day before we met up in Miami, I made a quick side trip to Key West to see his other house.

I'd been to Key West years ago, in the 1990s, including a visit to the house. But a misunderstanding with security during tense international events left me with no pictures. Also, I'd always flown in, and I wanted to drive and see the other islands.






The scenery was beautiful, the weather gorgeous. But it's a really long drive from Miami to Key West, especially when you woke up early to catch the plane to Miami!

I stopped by the Caribbean Club, inspiration for the movie Key Largo. They don't serve lunch, and it was too early for a drink (if I wanted to make it to my destination), so I didn't stay.





I made it to Hemingway's house about a half hour before closing (that's how long the drive is!).

The tour guide was excellent. Ernest Hemingway lived here 1931-1939, writing some of his best known work.






Our guide gave the impression that Hemingway needed a new house with each new wife — his Key West wife stayed here when they divorced, and he moved to Havana, Cuba with his next wife.

The Key West home was actually built in 1851 by Asa Tift. He did something unheard of on islands: he dug a basement. He used the hard coral rock in the construction. As a result, the house has weathered many storms.




During a recent hurricane, museum staff spent the weekend in the house with the more than 50 descendants of Hemingway's six-toed cats.

Some of them like to be petted, but most just want to sleep during the day. Less friendly tom cats have special collars to warn people of their preference for solo strolls.

Hemingway had a catwalk (yes, a second-story walkway) to a smaller building, so he could walk from the beautiful wraparound porch outside his bedroom right over to his upstairs study.

This is where the man wrote, every morning.














Cats everywhere, even in the gift shop!



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Discovery

With the shuttle launch postponed 'til Thursday (now Friday as of this posting) we waited all day around the press room for the photo opp. The NASA team postponed it as they talked about the engine switch and made sure they were ready to go. They were also worried about lightning in the area. But finally they loaded us onto buses and drove us out to Launch Pad 39A. It was dark by the time the Rotating Service Structure rolled back to reveal the Orbiter. I think we were out there an hour, with some photographers clicking the entire time.

Discovery on the launch pad Wednesday night - photo by Elizabeth Saunders

Isn't she beautiful? NASA turned on some massive lights towards the end, and you could see them all the way to the campground.

I kept looking back at Discovery as we rode away, wishing her and the crew bon voyage and praying for a safe trip.

I was tired, I was hungry — and I didn't want to leave.

How I started NaNoWriMo

I can't think of a better way to start National Novel Writing Month! This was taken early Monday morning, Nov. 1, at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Camping at Cape Canaveral

Saturday, I attended more NASA briefings, took advantage of the press room wi-fi to check mail and posted an update story for the paper. I stopped at one of the NASA gift shops on the way out. When I was here many years ago, you paid for visitor tickets a la carte, eg. the bus tour or the IMAX movie. But now, you have to pay a $41 for everything and you can't even visit the gift shop without a ticket. Travel Tip: you can go to the Astronaut Hall of Fame and visit their gift shop without a ticket.

I decided to try the public campground at Cape Canaveral because it has beach access. Since it's the county beach and you have to pay to get in, you can't drive in and check it out; I had to pay for the night, cash, without even seeing what it was like. It turned out to be a good gamble.

I'm not very good at backing up the camper. I know to turn the opposite way, but I have normal car mirrors and the Scamp gets cocked very quickly. So my normal procedures look like Snoopy playing ping-pong with himself. I've already learned that people in campgrounds will watch you back into a tree without saying a word. There's some sort of unwritten rule (must be a guy thing) that you have to ask for help. But when you do, you may get more help than you wanted.

I asked a fellow at the adjacent picnic table if he would watch a water pipe to make sure I didn't run over it. Soon I had three young, tipsy British gents assessing the situation. They decided that they could push my little Scamp into the right spot, sans car. I could see that they were eager to try, so I let them. They heaved and pushed — as I silently prayed for the safety of their sandaled feet — and got the camper turned the right way before an unruly hill on the campsite got the better of them. I thanked them and backed the camper up to the electrical outlet, with plenty of distance from the water pipe.

I gratefully set up camp and then went out for supplies. I thought about giving my newfound friends from across the pond a five-pack, but since there were three of them, that would be just wrong. So I gave them half of a 12-pack, which I quietly delivered to the hurtin' pups that were unable to answer their open door in the morning.

Sunday, I investigated the beach. An airshow was just ending, and four Thunderbirds flew in formation right above my head!

The campground is next to cruise ships that tower like high-rise buildings over the trees. I watched several go out.

The weather was perfect, but in my rush to pack (and it being November) I didn't bring a pair of shorts. So I rolled up my jeans and stuck my toes in the Atlantic anyway.

I'm here! Now what?

After a hectic week, I finally got excited Friday morning as I realized I was going to Florida to not only watch a shuttle launch, but to actually cover one as a member of the press! There had been no time to prepare and I did most of my packing Friday morning. As I printed out the information I would need, I noticed that the Kennedy Space Center pass office was closed on weekends. I called and left a message for the lady in charge of badges, loaded up the camper and finally hit the road around noon.

After about 540 miles of driving, I wasn't in the mood to face a locked restroom and restricted wi-fi, despite my calling ahead with a reservation. So in the morning I took the camper with me as I headed into work, sans shower.

I worried all the way about not being able to get on base. I had called the update number and learned that Monday's launch was postponed to Wednesday, so at least I had some breathing space. With no other plans — and no budget for an $82 day at Disney — my backup plan was to pay the KSC visitor fee and take the tourist tour. A very nice fellow at the badge office gave me directions to the press accreditation office, which was thankfully open on Saturday. I asked the lady there where to find the 11am press conference. She answered, "I thought it was at 10." We both looked at the clock: I had less than 10 minutes.

I made my way to the press area near the huge vehicle assembly building, parked the car and camper and found my way inside. I could hear that the conference had started because they pump the sound out to loudspeakers in the parking lot. I opened the door and walked in to see the press conference in progress — on a large TV screen. Who knew where that lovely room with logos and important people were, that I had seen on TV so many times. They could be anywhere on this huge base!

The NASA folks were really nice. They assigned me my own seat with electricity and wi fi.

And the cafeteria down the road had Starbucks coffee, with free flavors — a Godsend.

I later learned that the briefing room is in the building next door.