The road ends in Key West; the fun ends when you leave

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Imagine that Hieronymus Bosch and Federico Fellini got together with the express purpose of creating an island. The artist and the filmmaker _ both known for their bizarre flights of fantasy _ would probably have come up with something resembling Key West.

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The southernmost of the Florida Keys _ closer to Cuba (90 miles away) than to Miami (158 miles) and often referred to as "the end of the road" _ in more ways than the obvious, revels in its own oddness. The island has its own anthem ("Cheeseburger in Paradise," written by island icon Jimmy Buffett) and its own flag (the blue banner of the Conch Republic.)

The island dubbed itself the Conch Republic when it briefly "seceded" from the United States on April 23, 1982, in protest of a U.S. Border Patrol blockade of cars entering and leaving Key West after the Mariel boatlift in Cuba. It prompted the then-mayor to designate himself prime minister and apply for foreign aid. Key West still celebrates the date, as it does almost everything else that occurs on the island. It's that kind of place.

The torpor of the tropics inspired onetime Kentucky resident John James Audubon to paint birds and Ernest Hemingway to create memorable characters. Harry Truman slept here (in the former officers' quarters of the U.S. Naval Station, which came to be known as the "Little White House"), and "Top Gun" and "Witness" actress Kelly McGillis once bused tables here (at her own restaurant, Kelly's Caribbean Bar and Grill). Always a mecca for artists, writers and those who found a 9-to-5 existence too confining, it also appealed to less savory types, who found the island's "live and let live" philosophy greatly to their benefit.

Most of Key West's characters, though eccentric, are benign, but that wasn't always the case. In the 18th and 19th centuries, "wreckers" lured Spanish galleons with lanterns, causing them to crash into the rocky reefs ringing the island. Fortunes in Spanish doubloons and jewels were lost, but the late salvager Mel Fisher dedicated his life to recovering them. He spent 16 years reclaiming one of these ships, the Atocha, and today, emeralds, doubloons, solid gold and silver bars, and priceless artifacts from the Atocha and her sister ship, the Santa Margarita, are displayed at Fisher's Maritime Heritage Society Museum.

Key West has such an eclectic assortment of attractions that it might be difficult to know where to start. One option is to begin with a tour of the island by the famous Conch Train or the newer Old Town Trolley. The train and trolleys pass the Old Martello (Spanish for fort), which served as a Union outpost during the Civil War. They roll past above-ground cemeteries where an island ordinance allows humans to be buried in the same plot as their pets, and rows of quaint Victorian gingerbread houses.

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Key West's houses, in a riot of rainbow colors, rank among its major ­attractions. At opposite ends of the design spectrum are the 22-room Victorian Curry Mansion, filled with priceless antiques and Tiffany glass and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the home that's designated as the southernmost residence in the United States, a pink and green confection that resembles something out of a psychedelic dream, and is now a bed-and-breakfast inn and museum.

Two homes that visitors won't want to miss are the Audubon House and Gardens and the Hemingway House. Despite its name, the former was never owned by John James Audubon, the naturalist and painter, but rather by a harbor pilot, Captain John Geiger. As one of the notorious wreckers pirating in the Keys during the 19th century, he furnished the mansion with treasures from ships he wrecked on the reef.

In 1958, the house was headed for demolition when a local resident bought it for use as a museum commemorating Audubon's time in Key West. The Audubon connection stems from the belief that the artist sketched his white heron and white-crowned pigeon from the house's tropical gardens. These sketches eventually made their way into his monumental Birds of America.

Hemingway did live in the two-story house on Whitehead Street throughout the 1930s. Despite accounts that he spent most of his time in Key West propped on a stool at Sloppy Joe's Bar in Old Town, Hemingway was extremely prolific during his time on the island.

From the studio behind the house, he pounded out _ on a battered Smith-Corona typewriter _ three-fourths of his life's work, including two of his masterpieces, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and "The Snows of Kilimanjaro."

Today, the ghost of Hemingway has some competition for the visitor's attention. Some 60 feral cats, all with six toes on each paw, freely roam the house and grounds, tended to by the house's caretaker. Somehow, I get the feeling Hemingway would have approved.

Hemingway definitely would have approved of Key West's most celebrated ritual: toasting the sunset at Mallory Square. Every evening, locals and visitors congregate on the west side of the island along the waterfront where once wrecking schooners and Navy warships docked, and ships chandlers' offices and Cuban cigar makers' warehouses stood side by side. It's a carnival-like atmosphere where you can see everything from "stupid egg tricks" to snake charmers, mimes to matchsticks juggled on the nose, Dominique the Cat Man to the Southernmost Bagpiper.

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Still, they're just opening acts for the real headliner: one of the most glorious sunsets that can be seen anywhere in the world.

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IF YOU GO:

WHERE TO STAY: The Gardens Hotel, one of the prettiest hotels on the island, is in historic Old Town, surrounded by a tropical botanical garden. This small luxury hotel, 526 Angela Street, has 18 rooms (three in the main house, two in the carriage house, eight garden rooms, four courtyard rooms and one eyebrow cottage). In-season rates (Christmas week to April 16) range from $385 to $645, and off-season rates (April 17 to Dec. 15) range from $225 to $435, and include breakfast and parking. 1-800-526-2664.

WHERE TO EAT: Camille's (1202 Simonton Street, (305) 296-4811, www.camilleskeywest.com) for home cooking; Mangia Mangia Pasta Cafe (900 Southard Street, (305) 294-2469, www.mangia-mangia.com) and Mangoe's (700 Duval Street, (305) 292-4606, www.mangoeskeywest.com) for laid-back island charm and exceptional food; and Kelly's Caribbean Bar, Grill and Brewery (301 Whitehead St., (305) 293-7897, www.kellyskeywest.com) for more sophisticated dining.

LEARN MORE: www.fla-keys.com.

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© 2008, Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.).