There has been a ton of traffic on Highway One day after day, as the young hordes roll into town and very annoying it is too. They crawl along enjoying the view form the seat of their parents' mini vans and as soon as the Bonneville starts to zip by they pile on the speed because, God knows, they aren't going to stand for a worker bee trying to get to work on time....Grr I sez to myself, six more weeks and then at last all these intruders (and their money) will be gone and the Overseas highway will become magically uncluttered. Which is a terrible attitude so I thought taking some pictures might help. here is the Bonneville heading into town at 1:30a.m. for a late shift on Wednesday:
Highway One looking east towards Boca Chica is mostly empty at that hour which is why I enjoy working short shifts occasionally. It's a trip flying down the empty road, a cool breeze and only the light of the headlamp to break up the darkness. The full moon made it even more spectacular last week. The last couple of miles into Stock Island the highway is illuminated which spoils the effect a bit. This is the easternmost turn onto College Road with the big Tennessee Williams Theater illuminated billboard:
This spot is where the city of Key West actually has it's outer limits. North Stock Island was annexed by the city to make way for a golf course and related gated housing development and the northernmost lane of Highway One is in the city of Key West (as is College Road).
The other three lanes and the median strip are in Monroe County. Which means that if this runner were to get heat stroke he would be attended by a city ambulance. 
If he were across the street (where there is no bike path) it would be a county ambulance. Very confusing and completely uninteresting I'm sure. Just one of those oddities that strike the mind of a dispatcher. The Burger King is in the county, as is the big empty lot next to it. The lot was to have been developed by the indefatigable Spottswoods who felt the community needed yet another strip mall hereabouts. The damaged economy saved us the excrescence, the lot is for sale happily:
So what could that bright white light be that beckons from across the street?
Is probably not the liquor store, the place where you come for alcohol if you are desperate of a Sunday morning before lunch (!?) and can't wait for the city liquor counters to open up, when the Blue Laws relent at noon and permit such reckless behavior:
No, the bright white light is in fact our favorite chicken place, available on Stock Island of course:
And if you need gas 24 hours you can check out the Chevron at Mile Marker 5 more or less, awkward to get into if you are headed into Key West (where the other Chevron at White Street is also open all night as is the Citgo). This is the Chevron at the intersection of MacDonald Avenue: 
The approach to the Cow Key Bridge, the only bridge into the city proper, is a series of light industrial businesses, mechanics and the like, lining the southern side of the highway. It's not pretty but it is useful:
Not forgetting the all important Harley Davidson rental shop at Hurricane Hole Marina:
And with your rented Harley you too could join the hordes of lookalike cruisers parading up and down the Overseas Highway: 
I am forced to concede that cruisers make sense, for those with extra tough tailbones, in a state noted for it's flatness and straightness but I sure would like to see a little more variety on the streets of key West... And then, back on the road, we come to the bridge itself at Mile Marker Four, the place where the city really starts:
The last four miles of the Overseas Highway down to Fleming and Whitehead Streets are in the city and this is the formal notice of the beginning of the end, or the end of the beginning if you are going the other way...
With an important reminder from your friends at Key West PD:
Should you choose to ignore the advice there is free board and lodging available at the Stock Island Hilton where they throw in a free body cavity search with registration. On the other hand should you find yourself needing to settle down in delightful Key West there us at least one bank with money to spare:
I was rather surprised to see the banner looking so cheerful on the way out of town, but there it is. Some banks apparently aren't in distress; we should all be so lucky.
My wife called me Mister Doom and Gloom last week and forbade me from speaking about the plummeting economy in her presence. That was before the wife of the Superintendent of Schools (he who is her boss ultimately) had to resign her position as head of Adult Education in a rather unseemly hurry. Apparently she stands accused of misuse of her school district purchasing card and the Superintendent's enemies on the Board are now ramping up to get rid of him as well. So all in all it has been a stressful time for those of us married to people working in the school district, a place rampant with speculation and gossip at the moment. And none of that uncertainty or angst has anything to do with me or my fears about the economic future. The economy generally still sucks though, and I'm still pretty grumbly about it. I wish I could declare myself a bank and get free money. And then claim I was "profitable." Enough of that though or my wife will spank me.
On the other hand the Bonneville with 23,500 miles is rolling along nicely. I took a few pictures on Rockland Key at Mile Marker Nine recently and as they were for no particular purpose I labelled them as random pictures. I pulled over on Rockland because traffic on the Overseas Highway was all backed up, the evening commute was in full swing and getting stuck at the sewer works on nearby Big Coppitt Key, and I wasn't in the mood to do any stop-and-go so I turned off the highway altogether and took pictures instead:
I'm going to do an essay later on Rockland Key which has some points of interest but for the moment I contented myself with standing around admiring the setting sun and the salt flats. And the gigantic cargo plane taking off from nearby Boca Chica Naval Air Station:
The Navy base guards itself with heavy green fencing and I was quite surprised to see that Rockland Key's few streets are something in the manner of a peninsula surrounded by Navy land:
Further across the salt ponds I could see a roof, a rather intriguing splash of red amongst the green and blue:
Earlier in the day I had stopped off at Home Depot on North Roosevelt to get some painting supplies for a little project at home and I was put in mind of Irondad's thoughts about parking motorcycles (Musings of an Intrepid Commuter blog in my web list). You'd think with all the open spaces in the conveniently located motorcycle parking this Sportster rider could have figured it out. Not at all; he parked as though he were steering his large pick up truck:
On closer inspection the parking style wasn't the only oddity here, I've never seen stainless handle bar grips before, which probably speaks to my lack of familiarity with the Harley Davidson accessories catalogue:
I wonder how one rides in the rain without losing one's grip? Probably one doesn't ride in the rain is the answer to that futile query. I did see a man on a mission at Home depot and he was getting on with the business of being practical, hauling his load away:
I know, tut tut, no safety gear. I like it that some people in Key West use their two wheelers as practical means of transport, instead of just toys.
The shade of blue had a twinge of purple in it which was a bit off putting and the flames down the side looked decidedly puerile. I guess my inhibitions reinforce my desire to ride a staid Bonneville instead, I just don't have the nuts to exhibit myself on a Harley.
"What are you doing here?" was the question the officers directed at me as a I slunk down the sidewalks squeezing my camera as I went. "Lunch break" I pleaded the fifth.
"Learning to feel your pain," was my reply, as I remembered not to walk in the street. The Lieutenant had been adamant on the radio about the need to keep people out of the street- where taxis and scooters roam . It was a good experience for me to get out of the quiet serenity of the dispatch center, but I'm allergic to crowds.
Duval Street smelled like a brewery, filled with banshees squealing and yakking and managing somehow to carry on conversations,or if not conversations, the appearance of same:
Photography on Duval in that light was a bit of a challenge especially as all the targets were moving around frenetically, but I have never been a fan of the harsh light of a flash which makes everyone look like moles caught on a croquet lawn.
Night shift in dispatch at least has been quiet this winter and Spring break has made a lively change. But being out on the streets makes me glad it was just my lunch break and I could flee when my hour was up:
Officer Randy Smith was helping check id's at the entrance to Fogarty's:
The bucket drummer (he has a permit from the city to play upturned plastic buckets on Duval Street) was entertaining some lithe young women with a sense of rhythm:
And someone who is usually reliable, I can't remember quite who, told me this young woman won the bull riding contest at Cowboy Bills:
I seem to recall being slightly surprised she hadn't knocked herself out as she was a prosperous young thing. somehow by morning public works crews will be out mopping up the debris and rendering Duval Street fit once again for shopping to take place in the daylight hours:
I strolled past the Bull and it's hot dog stand unscathed,
But on my way back to the Bonneville at the end of Rose Lane I snagged the other hot dog cart at the other side of the intersection and I talked for a while with the vendor.
He told me sales are down by a fifth but he was happy with the Spring Break crowds. I guess we all should be, but boy they are tiring!
The great white pile that is the Fifth Street Baptist Church (the friendly church) looked very summery reflecting the sunlight like a giant wedding cake. The Bonneville looked good as usual I thought, but I would wouldn't I?
Fifth Street is a major connector between North Roosevelt and 
Across from the Yamaha shop is one the many Cuban delis that dot Key West, and I've heard some people claim that Kim's 
Fifth Street's saving grace, aside from convenience, are the trees and it has a few big ones casting their shade:
I saw a couple of homes I thought worth photographing, one covered in pink plaster and some distinctive fencing:
And this next one is sitting on little stilts, which would probably have been enough to spare it getting wet in Wilma, the great flood of 2005. New Town got hit particularly badly as did Bahama Village, and neither area is particularly endowed with raised housing. The Federal Government did have a plan to match funds to put houses on stilts but it costs tens of thousands of dollars. This manufactured home looks snug raised just a few feet:
Across the Street I saw a big old home looking large and solid flanked by some of my favorite palms, I've seen them at the botanical garden so I think I know they are Canary Island date palms. Though I don't think a date with them would be that interesting:
And the Baptist Church isn't the only one on Fifth Street. There is this Seventh Day Adventist Temple in Florida 1960's style: 
It was mid afternoon, under the broiling sun when I was out, not a snowflake in sight, and I saw these kids zipping by on a side street. I think its very cool that parents let their kids cycle freely around town. Hopefully they will soon get scooters and the motorcycle bug will never leave them:
And there was also a member of a lightly more mature generation taking his bicycle for a walk down Fifth Street:
Fifth Street is one of those annoying Key West Streets that suffers from two names (14
Super Mac, as he was labelled in England was known for his phrase, "You've never had it so good," as he told the British people after World War Two. Now you know. The name, Macmillan Drive is on the street sign but not on people's lips. It's Fifth Street for most residents. And here's the traffic light at 
An old timer pulled alongside and got a look of intense concentration on his face as he studied the Bonneville. I've seen that look before and pretty soon he started reminiscing about his racing days with a Triumph Trophy and the 500cc Speed Twin he rode on the streets. "Looks just the same as the 
This place always made an impression on me because, thanks to some architectural quirk you walked down a very long very narrow very dark corridor to get to the counter at the back of the building to drop of your wife's work clothes. And now it's for sale. we have to keep reminding ourselves change is good.