mandates a photo. By coincidence, we ran into Bob Walker, a.k.a. "Wildman," driving a two-door, 1964 Chevy Bel Air. I asked him to move it near the icon for some shots.

We headed next to The Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, the Spanish Colonial-style residence where he lived from 1931 to 1940. Entertaining, story-telling guides lead tours. Ours even looked the part with a Hemingway beard. The writing studio, built on the second floor of the old carriage house, remains as Papa liked--adorned with his Royal typewriter and Cuban cigar maker's chair and other mementos. He worked here during the morning hours, fished most afternoons, and frequented Key West's watering holes in the evenings.

A stone's throw away sits The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory. I figured it was a tourist trap--but was I ever wrong.

We strolled through enchanted tropical gardens with hundreds, seemingly thousands, of colorful butterflies and varieties of exotic birds. I sat for a spell in the gazebo and again by the waterfall, just watching in wonderment. This special place is worth every penny of the $12 admission fee and is one attraction you should not miss, no matter how brief your visit to Key West.

Later that afternoon, I walked down to The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum near Mallory Square at the opposite end of the island.

For 15 years, Mel repeated his optimistic mantra: "Today's the day." Persistence paid off on 20 July 1985: He and his team located two Spanish galleons that had sunk during a hurricane

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