Valentines Day. One of our treats is breakfast out and we do this once a week. But in the Everglades? No chance. We were lucky to get a sandwich spot for lunch. We haven’t done breakfast out for 2-3 weeks. There are no cute little mom and pop breakfast restaurants in the Everglades. So we chose today: Valentines Day. In Key West? During their high season? Won’t everyone in Miami think this is the special place to be on Valentines Day? Well, what’s the worst that can happen? We have to wait in line - no big deal. Up at 7:00 and we’re on our way by 8:00. Very little traffic and we had expected a lot more. We were in Key West by 8:45, finding a parking spot. We took the first one we could find, walked towards the restaurant and found several much closer parking spots. I saved one while Gary rushed back to get the car.
Got to Banana Cafe, highly rated by Yelp and Trip Advisor, and got a table immediately. The Key West crowd must still be in bed from all the partying last night. Our waitress was from Slovakia and, to visit her grandparents home, drove through the town where Gary’s grandparents were born. Cute. We tried some Slovak on her that we had heard from Gary’s father but we were duds. Maybe not her dialect or it got lost in pronunciation over the years. What an excellent breakfast, caramelized onions, ham and Swiss cheese omelet, Mission potatoes (just like the ones in Pacific Beach, CA) and whole wheat toast. But of course, the price told me that it had better be excellent. Welcome to Key West, country girl.
Our first stop was the Southernmost Point, where Cuba is closer than the closest Walmart. Here there was a line - I’m at the end - see me? The little dot with the waving hand? Well, that was just a photo op since we decided not to stand in line. Here is the real picture and I’m standing behind the little wall while those who stood in line are getting their pictures taken right next to the buoy. Then we moved around behind the buoy where Gary got his shot with the Southernmost Point.
Walking through Key West is pretty easy since the island is fairly small. Very nice homes,
Interesting trash containers.
Our next goal was the Little White House where Truman took his vacations. Every President needs to get away from the White House every now and then. Not that they leave their duties - they always have them but a change of scenery is beneficial. Bush went to his ranch in Texas, Eisenhower went to Camp David, Obama goes to his birthplace in Hawaii. Well, Truman went to Key West. Since Roosevelt died shortly after he was elected to his 4th term, Truman got thrown into the Presidency with little background and with little preparation. His first 19 months in office were particularly gruelling. He had to come up to speed fast so he could deal with the atomic bomb, the conferences with Stalin and Churchill, the progress of the war, the leadership of a country at war and the preparations for the war’s end.
He came down with a cold that just would not go away and his doctor ordered a warm vacation for him. Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz recommended a home in Key West as a secure, warm retreat. Truman arrived in November 1946 for a week of relaxation. He fell in love with the climate and the charm of Key West which at that time had none of the hustle and bustle of the tourist town that it now is. He loved it so much that he returned every year that he spent in the Presidency. He spent 175 days here over 11 trips. Sometimes with his wife, Bess, sometimes with admirals and generals, sometimes with other advisers but always with the responsibilities of the Presidency. Truman claimed Key West was his second favorite place on earth, only surpassed by his hometown of Independence, Missouri.
Originally this 8700 sq ft home was right on the sea wall with beautiful views out to the Gulf.
However, in 1909 the Navy dredged the area in front of it to make a deeper channel for ships and put the dredged up soil in front of the house and then, since there was flat land there, they built an office building. Now, here is the view that Truman saw when he sat on the porch of the Little White House.
Obviously, he didn’t keep returning for the view. Truman claimed that he could work just as hard in Key West as he could anywhere else: phones kept him in touch. Here is a picture of him at his desk with his Navy aide. He called it a ‘hideaway’ not a holiday.
He arrived by plane in a suit, went through all the receiving lines, greeting everyone but when he got to his house, he changed into his vacation attire: always a colorful shirt and a different hat. Here’s a picture of one of his shirts and another picture with him strolling around with his aides and advisers. Note the pith helmet which was one of his favorite hats and his shirt. He is relaxing. His shirts became such a joke that he and others would have ‘ugly’ shirt contest while they were in Key West.
The Navy hired a Florida decorator and redecorated his house after a few years and this is the living room and Bess’s bedroom. Since I could not take pictures, I got these on line.
Of course, not all was business. Truman liked to fish and play poker. After dinner, if Bess was not in Key West, Truman and whoever was around would play poker. When Bess was around, there was a carved wooden top for the poker table and they took tea there in the afternoon.
When the Navy closed this base in 1972 they put it all up for sale and one offer came in, for $17,000,000 from a developer from Maine. He turned it into condos and offices. They almost got rid of the house but a couple bought it for $240,000 and donated it to the state of Florida for a Historical Landmark. Funny thing, when they closed the base, the Navy boxed up all of the furniture, the pictures, and all other decorations and stored them in their warehouse. Then, when Florida wanted to open the house as a museum, they asked the Navy for the boxes and - there they were, all still in storage. Thus, the furniture we are looking at is vintage and was used by the Trumans when they were here.
We had a very knowledgeable guide and got to tour the whole house. I couldn’t take pictures but certainly enjoyed seeing the house.
Here’s a good chart - and note that Harry is 5th among our Presidents.
And, that’s why I’m ‘Wild About Harry.’
Now, it’s off to the Key West Lighthouse and a ‘Cheeseburger in Paradise.’
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