I’m always amazed at humans’ propensity to see a bit of land, a paradise, then want to cover it with buildings and commerce, negating that characteristic that made it a paradise, nature and solitude.

Key West was a fun time, more built up than I expected. The entrance to the island was full of shopping centers and big box stores, which surprised me, and the ‘downtown’ had charm but also had every square inch covered by houses crowded chock-a-block. I had expected Halloween to be a bit crazy, with a parade of crazy creative partiers and hoped to find a quiet corner where mom and I could watch the madness. But that was last week. Our Halloween was probably more like a normal Key West night, with some people in costume and many people visiting the bars well into the night.

We started our day with a massage. That’s a beautiful way to start the day. Highly recommend! Then brunch, then a visit to the Hemmingway house for a cat fix and some history. Many of the cats were accepting of pats, and all had many toes.

The house was impressive, built by a shipping magnate who picked the highest spot on the island (16 feet!) and built it of limestone quarried on the spot. Hemingway bought it after it was left abandoned for 30 years, and renewed its glory. The grounds are wonderful, jungly, and full of little cat houses and cats. And other tourists. Then back to the hotel for a nap, then out to prowl Duvall street and watch the sun set with the crowd.

Dinner at waterside with a great breeze-there is always a great breeze on the island, we found-watching boats bob at their docks.

yesterday we left paradise to see mom’s friend Francine in Orlando. They went to Notre Dame College (no, not that one) together.

It was obvious that mom had kept Francine apprised of my doings over the years because she mentioned them, and had questions. Both of these ladies are sharp as a tack, with no loss of memory. We chatted in her room at the independent living place, then went out to one of the ‘living rooms’ to chat and on our way back to her room she asked me to push her to the piano. She started playing a few songs, quite wonderfully.

We left a bit later and went to our airbnb at Cocoa Beach. It was dark, so I haven’t had a chance to look around. The place we’re staying is super cute

and we had dinner at Coconuts on the Beach, of course.

Soon we will be on our way back to have lunch with Francine, and then to Niceville to see more friends.