Watching, Walking, Painting, Dressing Up

By the time Duval Street gets busy and by the time the private parties are in full swing as it were I am safely tucked up at home resting between one day at work and the next. But with a few minutes to spare during my lunch hour I can get to wander Lower Duval this week of Fantasy Fest.

The Grand Parade is Saturday night and the Locals' Parade now known as the Masquerade March is on Friday but the campy dressing up is underway all week in the "Fantasy Zone" which is basically Duval Street and the side streets off it. The rules while clear do not necessarily mandate good taste or common sense. 

Mild nudity is permitted as displayed here with perfect Fantasy Zone propriety: 

And if body painting is what you want all you have to do is pay someone to paint you, but the painting must go on out of sight of the general public.

There are plenty of spectators at the bars and considering it is still quite hot, near 90 degrees and humid, being half undressed has its own logic.

Like I said taste and lawfulness do not go hand in hand but in the early afternoon Duval Street is mostly given over to costumes though covered nipples are occasionally on display.

I'm not sure what cultural reference is intended with giraffe heads but frequently I am baffled by costumes that refer to trends that have completely passed me by. Giraffe heads? No idea.

Kerb seating is not entirely sanitary in my opinion but the heat gets to people who aren't used to it. I was surprised by the number of people walking the sunny side of the street.

He was looking at Sloppy Joe's somewhat in the manner of a pilgrim and when I noticed his attire I figured he might do well as a sample of some of the public costumery this week brings out in visitors. 

I did see a t-shirt advertising Key West as the home of the bizarre and the non conformist but somehow this drive to be "non conformist"  for a week by  conforming to peculiar notions seems a bit forced. 

  But there is a lot of interest:

Originally Fantasy Fest was dreamed up as a way to bring life to a moribund  winter tourist economy. By the time September came around three decades ago Key West had run out of business and therefore money for the employees of the seasonal tourist trade. Nowadays tourism seems to be a ten month a year proposition with the hiatus all too short in the summer after schools open with a  few quiet weeks before this mayhem starts the winter. Happily some few people make an effort to dress up for the event:

 Some others ignore the whole mess and go fishing instead.

This picture below, struck me as a bizarre juxtaposition between the plastic monstrosity hanging off the front of the hot dog cart and the actual live woman the cart operator was talking to in the back. Perhaps I think too much.

 Sloppy Joe's, a refuge from the sun but not the naked flesh:

I accidentally over exposed this picture but I ended up liking the image of speed, speeding through Duval Street in the way to someplace more serene...?

And then as you stroll casually down Duval Street not only will you pass painted people in person and on the walls but in amongst your ranks you will find people in peculiar and apparently random stages of undress. Act as though it's absolutely normal because it is right now. 

I saw two cheerful people on the steps of Fat Tuesday and they posed happily when I asked. South Pacific anyone?

And among the crowd we  find the usual flow of humanity more or less dressed checking out the scene. 

She did a lot better than I did when I was in a wheelchair. She bopped along without getting stuck or nearly tipping over. I was impressed as I found Duval impossible when I wasn't able to walk.

 I'm not sure whether this electric bike guy was dressed up or was he dressed for business as usual:

This was the speed demon from before shown travelling at his actual, relaxed rate of speed cruising the other way:

 The obsevation deck at the Whistle overlooking Duval Street:

 And so back to the scooter and the end of my lunch break. Time to give my eyes a rest.

Parking Conundrum

Parking is always a hassle in Key West and for people who need access to their property parking can also gum things up. You can sense the exhaustion and irritation of the person who put up all these dire warnings:

Private parking lots help get cars off the streets but as you can ell there is no great compulsion to make the experience pleasant or even tidy:

 Fifteen dollars to park in a  mud hole might seem steep but consider how much a  ticket will cost in a  town where an hour on the meter is four  dollars!

These lots fill up in winter. If you can find a place to park on the streets during your vacation you would be wise to park the car and forget it. Except that a vehicle left in the same spot for 72 hours is subject to getting a  tow notice. Parking woes are so intense in town everyone seems to manage to get pissed off at everyone over parking.

 It's  hassle unless you are ready willing and able to walk a few blocks to your final destination.

Or ride a bike as the old timers will tell you with a sniff of disapproval. They don't hold with new fangled inventions like internal combustion or traveling out of town..;

Truman Waterfront

Dawn at Truman Waterfront Park:

Harbor Condos, former Navy Officer Housing:

A cruise ship growing out of the woods...

Or growing into the woods at the front end:

Conch Republic and State of Florida flags on the Ingham museum coast guard ship.

Zombie Bike Ride 2019

Over the years the Zombie Bike Ride has become one of the most popular events associated with Fantasy Fest. This is despite the fact the ride is organized as an independent advance event, similar to Goombay, before the main carnival party called Fantasy Fest really kicks off. 

To approach the route after work required me to trail groups of costumes pedalling toward the south side of Key West. Originally the ride originated at the Stock Island bike shop Recycle, which organized the event. That soon proved to be a bad idea  when thousands of riders showed up, 7500 last year according to people who count such things. Crossing the only bridge into and out of Key West with an immense slow moving line of bicycles proved impractical. Not to mention the pre-ride gathering at the side of the Overseas Highway...Something had to be done.

So they moved the kick off location to Pines Park next to the East Martello Tower on South Roosevelt Boulevard. The ride sets off shortly before sunset  with police closing the roads as they go and eventually, in the fullness of time the bicycles and their costumed riders have a street party on Lower Duval where the bars are centered.

This year  I took up a position where I could park my scooter easily as I came straight from work and road closures prevented easy access to the start line where I would usually hang around for a little while. As it was I caught bicycles going "the wrong way" toward South Roosevelt to join the crowd departing from the proper spot. 

As you can see from this long line of pictures the costumes are the thing and this is an entirely child friendly event.

Well let me rephrase that, I saw tons of kids  riding as well as spectating so people who actually have children seem to think this event is child friendly. Good enough for me what has no children or experience with them..

 Cars prohibited. Once can only imagine the driver's astonishment at being so ill informed about the wifdely publicized event that actually closed a main road for a while...