Steven and Kathy—a great pair of trivia partners!

A little bit of N'Awlins in Tennessee

SWEET HOME, Alabama—When we heard cousin Richard was coming all the way from Oregon to visit the family farm in Alabama, we couldn't resist an opportunity to see him without having to travel across country, especially after he recently escaped a very close call with cancer.  Since nephew Steven was on spring break in Tennessee, we picked him up and took him with us, arriving at Nanamama's on Thursday evening.  Nephew David and his family, sister Jeanne, and cousin Steve also rolled into town, making for a sweet little mini-reunion.

On Friday, Ken and I drove to the city of Mobile to visit some dear ones there and take care of a bit of business for the country cemetery we've been volunteering for.  Kathy, one of my dearest college friends, whom I met my first quarter on campus and rumbled with for the next four years, has spent too much time in hospitals in the last year due to a variety of health issues.  I wanted to see her in person and was thrilled to find her at home for a change.  We met her two roly-poly cats and enjoyed a companionable visit chattering about our coterie of mutual friends and catching up on each other's lives.

UnkaJim and his lovely wife

Next stop in our Mobile meandering was at the home of the inimitable UnkaJim and his charming and hospitable wife Dean, both of whom have been battling health problems of late also.  As usual, we found them full of smiles and good cheer, rising above their difficulties.  Cousin Sport, their spoiled and justifiably contented dachshund, insisted on a little quality time of his own.  After doing our part to indulge the pup and hearing the latest news about Dean's grandchildren and UnkaJim's nine, but soon to be ten, great-grandchildren, we drove back north, relieved to see both of them (and Sport) looking so well.  (For the record, Sport is blessed with an extra dose of charisma.  Even his dog sitter asks for play dates with him when he has been away from her too long.)

Friday night our PNW cousin Rich and his brother Tommy, who lives locally, came over to Nanamama's for a good dose of her Southern cooking.  And what a spread she prepared!  All manner of veggies, cornbread and some 'cued ribs left everyone soporifically sated.  We were all eager to catch up with the goings-on in each other's lives and spent the rest of the evening in lively conversation.

Lonesome Pine Farm

Saturday was farm day.  The farm in question is five miles from Nanamama's place, which was christened Knightwood last year.  Divided between Nanamama and her siblings when their parents died, the land was gifted to our great-great grandmother and great-great grandfather by her father.  Pretty generous of g-g-g-grandfather when you consider that he had 22 other children.  But that's another story.

When UnkaJim inherited the farmhouse and the property immediately around it, he changed the name from Clover Hill to Lonesome Pine Farm.  He now lives in Mobile but still enjoys visiting Lonesome Pine, as do his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

Four-wheeling cousins

Since UnkaJim wasn't in residence today, we visited other parts of the farm inherited by his brother and sisters.  Jeanne and I rode ATVs with the Duncan boys down to an area along the creek which cousin Steve has dubbed Moccasin Lane.  This part of the farm was inherited by their high-spirited and fun-loving mother, our Aunt Claire.  Ever the Eagle scout, Rich started a fire in Steve's fire pit by the creek using just a flint.

Rich shows Jeanne how it's done.

While the cousins were chilling at the creek, Ken, David and the kids were fishing for dinner at what is affectionately called "Lake Jose," part of the farm which was handed down to our witty and widely traveled Uncle Joe.  Fishing at the pond was a favored activity when we were growing up, and Jeanne has introduced that enjoyment to her children and grandchildren.

What's for dinner?

Our final stop at the family farm was the pièce de résistance from the kids' perspective.  Yes, four-wheeling is cool, and fishing is fun, but for them, nothing can compete with the giant sandbox on that part of the farm that went to Nanamama in the division process.

The giant sandbox

Known locally as the gravel pit, this stretch of land is characterized by sandy topsoil over layers of clay and more sand.  It has been mined as a sand quarry for many years for local roads and other construction, leaving big granular hills perfect for kids to run up and slide down.

For older kids, the gravel pit offers a safe place for a bit of target practice.

The biggest problem with taking kids to the gravel pit is getting them to leave.  Never in my recollection has a kid declared him or herself ready to depart.  Even the teens like to go, albeit for a different reason.  Those who have AT&T cell service have no signal in this rural area—except from the top of the hills in the gravel pit.

There's some fried fish on that table, thanks to our fishermen, and Nanamama, our wonderful cook.

Another fine spread of down home cooking was awaiting us at Knightwood when we all returned from our farm adventures.  David quickly prepped the big catch, and Nanamama fried it up.  By then David's wife Tonya and son Andrew had arrived to join us, and we all ate until we coudn't.

The next day was Easter, and everyone dressed in their spring finery.  All too soon, it was time for us to depart so we could get Steven home to return to school the following day.  As much as we missed the cousins and siblings, aunts and uncles who couldn't be there, it was another fun time on the farm. 

For years we have talked about visiting Key West, but we were put off by its party central, wasted-away in Margaritaville reputation.   And yet it hovered on our list because of our friends’ enthusiasm about its eccentric personality and tropical allure.  And there were the literate types like Hemingway and Tennessee Williams and even Robert Frost who found it compelling.  Finally we had to see for ourselves, so we spent three days in Key West from March 11 to 13.  Though we did a modicum of research prior to our departure, we learned several major lessons that would have made our trip much more enjoyable if we'd had the knowledge beforehand.

1.  Check the calendar.

Time after time we've read that March to May is the best window to visit Key West—after the busy and expensive winter season and before the heat of summer and hurricane threats of fall.  What all the advice failed to mention is that Key West has become a popular spring break destination for college students.  And that the second and third weeks in March are prime spring break time.

In blissful ignorance, we planned our visit smack in the middle of the spring break frenzy.  And as we have experienced on numerous occasions, groups of high school and college kids often wreak havoc in hotels.  We like to think it’s because they simply haven’t been taught hotel etiquette, but the desk clerk at the Doubletree told us a group of rowdy breakers had destroyed furniture in their lobby the night before we arrived.  That goes a little beyond bad manners.

Had we but known of the scheduled invasion, we could have easily gone at another time and missed the frat parties we've forgotten how to enjoy.

2.  Find a place to stay in Old Town.

Ever eager to cultivate our Hilton points account, we booked a room at the Doubletree, which is actually located a bit east of the city of Key West.  The hotel runs a shuttle service into downtown, and we were foolish enough on our first night to believe the hotel staff’s horror stories about the Gordian knot of traffic downtown.  Not wanting to wait 45 minutes for the shuttle bus to leave, we left our car at the hotel and opted to take a taxi.

When we arrived downtown, we wondered what all the fuss was about.  Traffic was not that bad, but there we were without our car so it didn’t really matter.   After we walked around a bit and spent some time relaxing on the porch of a wine bar in a historic home, we returned to the Doubletree by taxi—having paid $60 in taxi fares to learn a lesson about blindly accepting someone else’s judgment without testing the water ourselves.

Not until our last morning in Key West, after we had decided to cut a couple of days off the trip, did we really explore Old Town.  Then we understood that we should have rented a cottage in that area.  By that point it was too late to change course.

3.  See the town on foot or bicycle.

 As mentioned above, traffic, though not as overwhelming as we were led to believe, is a bit of an obstacle in the town.  Trolling through the streets in our car, we would see a place we might like to check out, but by the time we found a parking space a block or two or three away, it was sometimes difficult to retrace our steps to the place we wanted to visit.  Scooters, golf carts and other vehicles are widely available to rent, but still leave you with a parking issue.

4.  Find your way beyond the superficial façade and talk to some locals.

No doubt Key West caters to tourists and attracts them by the thousands.  Even when spring is not breaking in full force, cruise ships are spewing hordes of tourists onto the streets almost daily.  We learned a bit late that if you’re not careful to leave Duval Street, where the souvenir shops and trendy nightspots beckon to the casual tourist, you will never encounter any locals, who can tell you what the real Key West is all about.

 5.  The scenic Overseas Highway is not.

We have traveled extensively in the United States, having visited most states multiple times, and we’ve had the pleasure of seeing some amazing scenery.   After considering the efficiency of flying directly to Key West, we rejected the idea because of the reputation of the Overseas Highway as one of America’s most scenic routes.  That was most definitely not our experience.

Seven Mile Bridge of the Overseas Highway.  Who wouldn't want to drive this scenic road? (image from Wikipedia)

When you search Google for images of the Overseas Highway, the vast majority of photos at the top of the search results are aerial shots.  And they are breathtakingly beautiful.  Driving on the highway is another experience entirely.  In our Acura MDX, your eye level is about five feet above the road surface.  At that height, you do not see the “teal waters dotted by distant islands.”  Even on the famous Seven Mile Bridge, you see precious little water.  You see mostly bridge.

Same bridge as pictured above. (L) view from our dash cam.  (R) Google Maps street view

The cameras mounted atop the Google Street View cars sit another five feet higher, about the same level as the driver of a semi truck, and their view is considerably better, though still nothing like the aerial shots would lead one to expect.  Even an RV would have a better viewing angle.  Assuming we won’t be driving any of those vehicles, if we ever return to Key West, maybe we’ll just fly.