"Getting there is half the fun".

A trip by car several years ago had been a seven hour drive; we made it in about three and one-half hours by ship, leaving Fort Myers at 9 a.m.

The jet-powered vessel has a sundeck and upper and lower air-conditioned cabins. Seating is at booths with accomodations for six people.

There are flat screen TVs, a beverage and food bar and slot machines, which may be used when the ship reaches international waters.

Sunbathing was out; our high speed ship traveled too fast to comfortably sit on the open top deck.

It was a weather-perfect day, calm seas and 85 degree temperature.

Our time in Key West was limited (our return was at 6 p.m.); we wantedto get the lay of the land and learn about the history, legends and lore of the Island City.

The Conch Tour Train was the answer. It took us to Ernest Hemingway's House where he had written 70 percent of his works; there, we saw some of the descendants of his many cats.

The Truman Little White House, complete with a poker table on the front porch was on our tour as was the Audobon House and the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum where the richest collection of 17th century maritime and shipwreck antiquities is exhibited.

We passed the Custom House Museum, the Key West Shipwreck Historium and the Key West Aquarium.

Our engineer-tour guide gave us a running commentary of 400 years of Key West history and explained every point of interest.

Mallory Square is an open-air shopping market. It also is where the residents and visitors gather at the close of the day to participate in the"sunset celebration."

The monument at the southernmost point in the continental United States affirms that it is 90 miles to Cuba from that spot.

For centuries from this location on the Florida Straits, there have been merchant vessels and treasure-laden ships that have been shipwrecked due to treacherous reefs and hurricanes. Pirates also accounted for many martime disasters.

Salvaging the remains of the shipwrecks and the underwater explorations have been an interesting part of the Key West hisotry.

The Conch Tour Train traveled the streets of Key West along palm-bordered roads, past 100-year-old gingerbread trimmed wooden houses built in the1800s. The houses were constructed to withstand the hot sun, heavy rains and hurricanes.

As might be expected, there is a strict architectural code connected with any remodeling. Houses that have closely followed the original designs have gold stars placed near their front doors.

Today, even modest Key West homes are selling for in the millions of dollars, which has many longtime residents thinking of moving.

Our tour guide directed us to Duval Street, said to be the longest shopping street in America, stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.

A son, who is a Jimmy Buffet fan, would have been disappointed if

we didn't visit Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Cafe and Store. After that, we strolled along Duval Street where there are more art galleries than in any other single location in the Florida Keys. In jewelry shops, treasures of the Spanish galleons are for sale. The shops and boutiques feature island attire, not quite in keeping with our Wisconsin styles.

We had enjoyed the afternoon in Key West, the vacation spot of pirates, presidents, poets and partygoers.