Because we had to go to Miami my wife decided we should spend a little extra time in and around the metropolis so she booked us a room at the Redland Hotel in Homestead. Homestead is a sprawling suburban city surrounded by farms and nurseries in the rich soil that used to grow oranges where Miami sprawl currently lurks. Indeed the Redland Hotel owes it's name to the color of the soil in that part of the world- at least according to the Historical Marker plunked down in the hotel parking lot:
We had driven by the Redland Hotel many times on our way to our favorite hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant, Los Nopalitos at Mowry at Krome in downtown Homestead, and every time we passed the old hotel I mentioned how much fun it might be to stay there...so she called my bluff and reserved us a ninety dollar room. I mean, look at the facade at wouldn't you want to stay there?
...an entirely adequate room complete with television and wi-fi Internet connection and the all-important adjoining bathroom...
...with adjoining expansive balcony, even though the view is only that of industrial roofs:
The view of the surrounding streets is no great shakes either:
But the front door has a nice way of separating the interior from the wasteland outside:
The effect is to make the interior of this hotel more snug, and comfortable in an old fashioned relaxed way than ever. The dining room:
Which is advertised as an Argentine Steak House. We took the sampler grill at $29 for two and it was enough meat for a small army:
Steaks of various cuts, three kinds of sausage (including blood pudding) chicken and pork all piled up and sizzling. It was overwhelming and delicious as were the entirely unnecessary mashed potatoes, but fortunately for us the hotel provides a to-go box:
The only other occupants of the weeknight restaurant was a party of four English birdwatchers, I think, rather odious people making snide remarks about the colonial lifestyle on this side of the pond and laughing, or rather braying like loud horses as they tried to sort out in their avian brains the differences between England and America. They reminded me of people I'd rather forget from my childhood. You'd have been proud of me: I said not a word but chewed my Argentine steak, forcefully but silently, exhibiting better manners than they.
My wife, who tends to be critical about these things, found the bed to be entirely comfortable and I slept the sleep of the just. The next morning the repulsive bird watchers were infesting the parking lot with nary a polite word between them but it was a fine day to be out and about. We waved to the old Homestead jail as we drove by after loading up on cereal and fruit in the dining room:
And made a pact to drag Lisa and Josh out here for a night of meat and alcohol at the Redland Hotel, in Homestead. Who would've thunk?
According to J Wills Burke's book Streets of Key West the Catholic portion of the city cemetery was added in 1861...
...and just over the fence lies a little stub of a lane called by the same name:
Catholic Lane has but a few houses off Angela Street which runs alongside the cemetery fence,in a one way direction out of town, towards White Street:
The view from the lane is one of fencing and the most peaceful of neighbors, the dead. And coincidentally, scooters:
The lane itself is typical of the Old Town half block dead ends that litter Key West. Most passersby probably only ever catch a glimpse of the lane as there is a stop sign on Angela Street across the entrance, which has to be annoying to residents with sensitive ears, as the cars stop noisily and start up again in succession at that same spot. My wife says I am overly sensitive to noise so I am probably exaggerating the effect for normal people. The rest of the lane is delightfully peaceful:
Not forgetting snowbirds parking their bicycles:
The lane itself dead ends into a white picket fence and a bunch of bougainvillea:
Off to one side a giant tree overpowers the houses underneath:
While on the other side of the lane was a charming wooden cottage:
With a mailbox that looked equally charming if less useful:
And in the front yard a plant I don't see much of in Key West, a geranium, which in Italy where I grew up was said to be off-putting to snakes:
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The really suave thing about this house, aside from the OSP (off street parking) is that on the other side it faces Gonzalez Lane, a lane so uninteresting and short even I cannot create an essay to describe it. One photograph will suffice:.jpg)
The nice thing about this section of Angela Street is the assortment of greenery:.jpg)
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And all along the north side of Angela is the black iron fence protecting the Navy housing which used to be open space years ago until the navy reclaimed it. In yesterday's essay I mentioned the movie Criss Cross, and so it is today as the old Peary Court was the back drop to a night time baseball game played in the movie. These days Peary Court is just another housing development, where people apparently ride motorcycles:.jpg)
And raise children:.jpg)
Outside Peary Court, back on Angela Street there is the usual mixture of housing,usual for Key West that is:.jpg)
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This next house used to be surrounded by a high wall of greenery, some sort of flourishing vine but it has been stripped away and the air of mystery that used to surround this place has been ripped away with it. Oh well:.jpg)
Amazingly enough I saw the two jet skies on their trailer with a sapling growing up between them. Inertia on a grand scale..jpg)
And talking of stripping away the old Moose Lodge on Eisenhower at Angela has started a renovation campaign, with paint and yard work and new signs proclaiming this to be a family friendly club. Which is weird because all it ever was, was a place to drink in the dark. They used to have a big mural of a moose on the wall but that too is gone:.jpg)
Leaving a bland facade in it's place. You can spice up almost anything with a Triumph Bonneville:.jpg)
Another lovely sunny day in Key West, hot but not yet humid.