CASA ANTIGUA / KEY WEST ROOM ESCAPE

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The Casa Antigua is an integral part of Key West history.

One of Key West’s first built hotels. In 1919. By Benjamin Trevor and George Morris. Constructed with bricks from Fort Zachary Taylor and a building torn down at the time across the street. The Casa Antigua located at the corner of Simonton Street and Rose Lane.

The facility was named the Trev-Mor Hotel. On the first floor was a Ford distributorship also called the Trev-Mor.

Ernest Hemingway is primarily responsible for the building’s historical notoriety.  He and wife Pauline arrived from Paris. they were on their way to New York. Intended to drive. Pauline’s uncle had bought them a new Ford which they were to pick up at the Trev-Mor distributorship.

The car was not waiting for the Hemingways. Late in arriving. They were told it would be there in two days. Ernest and Pauline put into the Trev-Mor Hotel to await its arrival.

Two days turned into ten before the car arrived. In those ten days, Hemingway discovered Key West. He fell in love with Key West. Remained ten years.

During the time, he wrote A Farewell to Arms.

There are other stories concerning the Casa Antigua. They remain for another day to tell. Except for the most recent one.

A new Key West attraction opened two weeks ago on the first floor. The Key West Room Escape. Sound’s like a fun place!

Sort of a search and find items of Key West historical significance.

Teams of up to eight customers are locked in a room. The room filled with all kinds of objects. The team has sixty minutes to find a hidden item. Like the missing page of a manuscript.

Clues are given. An announcer behind a window gives hot and cold clues.

The cost is $35 for an adult and $25 for 16 and under.

Sounds like a fun place. My game plan is to take Robert and Ally.

Did a late Hot Dog Church yesterday afternoon. The Back Door empty, except for Donna, Terri and Laurie. Spent a couple of humorous hours before returning home.

I continue to run tired. Kept to home basically the past few days. See the heart doctor at 5 today for the results of last week’s tests.

The semblance of a storm forming in the Gulf 50 miles off Tampa. Not a hurricane. Right now a tropical depression. Result of low pressure. Not expected to become a big deal.

There will be big time rain today and tomorrow however as a result. Winds will not be of consequence.

Appears hurricane season as a practical matter is around the corner.

East Martello Fort is going to get a $2 million repair job. Money coming from grants.

East Martello is a Civil War Fort. Built by the Union to help in warding off Confederacy ships. The Confederacy ships never arrived.

One hundred fifty five years old. Time again for a touch up.

Two strange events of a similar nature occurred in 1975.

On this date, Jimmy Hoffa disappeared. On September 9, Key West Fire Chief and convicted drug dealer Bum Farto disappeared. Both swiftly swept off by third parties never to be seen again.

Farto’s disappearance left Key West with a famous saying. On tee shirts, in the media and conversation: Bum Farto Where Are You?

Multi-talented Terri White coming over later to change a shower fixture and put together a new desk chair for me. The benefits of having a lesbian wife.

Enjoy your day!

 

$13

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There is an old proverb…..For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. Followed by the horse, rider, battle and Kingdom being lost.

Yesterday, for want of a $13 payment, my blog was lost.

The blog never appeared.

Last week, one of my credit cards was fraudulently used. The Fraud Bureau picked it up and cancelled the card. I have been using a temp since then awaiting my new card from the bank.

The card cancelled was the one I have used for years to pay a monthly $13 fee to GoDaddy. GoDaddy had the card number and took $13 out of the account each month.

GoDaddy is a domain builder, domain registrar, etc. I am not exactly sure what GoDaddy does. However, it is the beginning of this blog and the foundation/platform for everywhere the blog goes, how it gets there, etc.

GoDaddy shut my blog down because my card was no longer good. All for $13. Therein lies the reason no blog yesterday.

An entity and person died this past weekend. Both renown. Syracuse University and Tom Oosterhoudt.

Syracuse made the Final Four. Lost to North Carolina last night. Beat badly. I am not destroyed. Syracuse overachieved in the tournament. Boeheim and the team outdid themselves.

Whatever abilities carried Syracuse to this point in the tournament were absent last night. The pre tournament Syracuse team was on the floor.

Such is life. Again, I compliment the team and coach for having made it as far they did. Made an otherwise poor season a great season!

Tom Oosterhoudt a Key West icon and legend. Died early friday morning in a Miami hospital at age 65.

Tom a former City Commissioner and presently editor/publisher of Conch Color. Tom started Conch Color 11 years ago. He and his mother Mary Ann Worth own Casa Antigua on Simonton.

The Casa Antigua carries with it a piece of Key West history that Tom was proud of. Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway came to Key West by ship from Paris in 1928. The Casa Antigua then known as the Trev-Mor Hotel. Where Pelican Poop was located for years was the Trev-Mor Ford dealership. Hemingway had ordered a Ford to drive north from Key West.

The Ford had not arrived. Hemingway and his then wife were put up by the Trev-Mor people at the Trev-Mor Hotel. Two weeks later, the car arrived. By that time, Hemingway was sold on Key West. He did not leave till years later. He spent the next two years living at the Trev-Mor Hotel. Then bought his famous home on Whitehead Street.

While living at the Trev-Mor those two years, Hemingway finished A Farewell to Arms.

 

Last night was Tavern ‘n Town early with June. Had to be home before 9 to watch the Syracuse game. Bobby Nesbitt entertaining. Ran into Harrell Odom and Barry Cook from Nashville. Snowbirds. Harrell a heart doctor. I met Harrell several years ago at a dinner party at Donna Barnett’s.

Research complete for this week’s KONK Life column. Writing the column next. Will do it this afternoon. Not sure of the title yet. The column has to do with he failure of America’s educational system. Education being something more of us should pay attention to rather than merely giving lip service.

Temperature 88 yesterday. A one day cold spell upon us. High today only 78. I hope you find amusing my representation re the drop in temperature.

Enjoy your Sunday!