Simonton Lane

Simonton Lane is not a heavily traffic'ed lane, indeed just walking by you might think it was a driveway. It's next to the unusual cement house on Simonton Street, which has a transient rental license apparently:
I find the labeling on Key West mail boxes amusing, but I am easily entertained I guess. But I am not alone in my family in finding the little things that keep life interesting.
As usual I have no idea what it's called but it looks cool.And check out that bougainvillea hiding out in the upper reaches of a tall tree.
If you were thinking of scaling the tall fence in the hope that it was actually a public access, this ugly sign should set you straight.The sign is ugly, the port hole isn't.Another sign tacked to this magnificent tree is to warn you that if you park here your car will be towed.I wanted to know what was under the tarp but I resisted the urge to peek.
I want a door like this, see out and not be seen in.

There are more guest houses than you can throw a stick at in Key West. I've never heard of this one, for instance. A European pot for a touch of the exotic.

An exhausted Labrador, resting. This house design looked odd to me, the peaked roof and the fancy door with a blank wall and blank windows in between.

Pretty little lane.

Really, it does look more like a driveway than a public street.

Tallahassee Hike

After a week at home working every night I found myself back in the Fusion with Cheyenne and the wife and the three of us set off for California, part two of the vacation chronicles of this endless time away from the keys in the summer of 2010. However before we set off I helped this poor dude get a signature for his epic ride to Prudhoe Bay from Key West.He was riding lucky devil; I was driving, happy family man. I came off shift at 6am and immediately recognized a fellow Iron Butt victim in the Police Station lobby,trying to get a witness for his ride. I asked Officer Barrios for help and he was surprised but happy to oblige.He is an experienced Iron Butt rider judging by his gongs and labels and stickers but I was happy to take his picture with his witness in this critical spot. he expected to be on the Arctic Sea in a week. All I have is a Saddle Sore under my certificated Butt. That was good deed, what I hoped was an auspicious start to our three week journey. My wife meanwhile had been emptying the piggy bank, a replica Triumph Bonneville tank and was busy sorting our change into little plastic bags. She found more than sixty reserve currency dollars in the ceramic fuel tank.

The weather promised rain much of the way north but in the event we left home at 6:45 in the morning and we didn't get deluged till Orlando seven hours later. The rest of the drive was uneventful, the Fusion purred along and returned 27mpg at a steady 80 miles per hour. We arrived at the Tallahassee La Quinta Inn at 6pm and immediately Cheyenne tucked in.

Then my wife went to the pool and Cheyenne and I went for an explore. Usually these motels are stuck in unpromising suburbs but we make do. In this case we kept going and ended up we knew not where.The strange thing about having a dog on a road trip is you end walking in horrendous places, corners of the world, you would never bother to look for if you travel without an animal that needs exercise. It is also true that walking your Labrador you get to see just how grotesque modern urban planning is. The La Quinta dog friendly motel is on the other side of I-10 under the semi circular sign on the left, in front of the truck.I am proud of Cheyenne's nature, that of a true explorer.

Pushing the envelope is her motto. And of the envelope is under a freeway overpass she doesn't mind dragging me there.I want to be back in the room is my thought.

We stumped past rows of identical suburban homes. There was nothing to attract the eye or engage the mind of a human around here.

there's a pretty lake over yonder behind the trees, this helpful pedestrian pointed. I wondered why he was walking, though my dog gave me instantly identifiable respectability. I was a dog walker in pink Crocs.A lake? Really?

We took the sidewalk along the main road back to the hotel for the final stretch of our hour long excursion. Look how they've mucked up this lovely pine tree.

For this?I fear I must seem naive but I forget how ugly they manage to make the mainland. If I peeked through the stumpy little trees on Big Pine Key and saw this I wouldn't be happy. Nor would my neighbors.This guy was headed to load up on carbs and calories and could barely make the six inch step. I watched him ponder his move before painfully raising a leg. Had I been closer I'd have stepped down to help. I wonder if he would have been grateful.

What a muck we have made of paradise.

650 miles down, 2600 left before we get to the Pacific Ocean.

Edgefield South Carolina

The thing is, when you come across a statement like this you feel compelled to slow your headlong return to Key West and take a turn around the town square.It is a pretty little town along the Highway, all trees and brick and bright blue skies:It's on the way from here to there: It has some obsession with turkey.They say this is the capital of wild turkey and if you want to hunt these birds this is the place to be. The turkey shoppe sells turkey killing accessories. I hunted turkey in my own way. You can't turn around for turkey in Edgefield.

Isn't this the archetype of southern living, an era of solid construction in classical style.

A large prosperous main square.

A sense of history permeates these towns.

A touch of the modern invading the old.

Back on the highway nasty, brutish, neon reality takes back the view.It was a good vacation, ending with a great cross country ride, dog walks in Georgia's pine forests and southern meals and sunsets.Before the next full moon we three had a date in California.Cheyenne was blissfully ignorant but she had the prospect of another three weeks riding around the United States in the car. I hope she doesn't like the foggy cool California coast too much. The Keys will be as hot as ever when we get back at the end of July.