This mysterious white ball is best viewed from the United Street side of United and White. 
It's not actually that mysterious, it's just the back of the National Weather Service office built a few years ago on what used to be, as I recall, an RV park. It was open space for years and the weather service built a hurricane resistant office with category five resistant toilets. So if the mother of all hurricanes threatens, the weather forecasters get to lurk in the windowless toilets in the middle of the building. It was probably not designed by someone planning to use the office. In my experience architects are like that. This building was designed a few years ago and thus has pretensions to beauty, a concept alien to modern designers who like cubes and concrete.
It's not that lovely, the Facilities Department for the financially ailing school district but the setting sun illuminated it in a way the NWS office would never glow. Plus the school district has tons of parking around here for a fleet of vehicles.
The 1300 block of United has an almost light industrial air to it, with all these cement office structures from the 1960s, also devoted to utility over beauty. 
The Monroe Association of ReMARCable Citizens got stuck with an awkward acronym for their valiant work taking care of their segment of the population in need. Some bright spark from a cold hearted era before ours coined the term Monroe Association for Retarded Citizens and the term MARC has become part of the local lexicon so they came up with an alternative reading. Either way they teach self sufficiency, they run a superb plant shop for those that like to grow flowers and they have avoided any hint of financial scandal or impropriety over the years, just doing what they do so well. Across the street a wooded residence.
United is a wide thoroughfare across mid town all the way to the south end of the Duval Tourist experience. Out here east of White Street it is utilitarian.
With touches of Art. And before we get another outbreak of artistic temperament let me just say the artwork is here whether you like it or not: 
Another Hansel and Gretel house:
And a mother and child walking home playing and talking as they went. They seemed happy together which unhappily struck me as unusual.
MARC House plants for sale. I have no idea how the doormat made it's way here. 
It's not actually that mysterious, it's just the back of the National Weather Service office built a few years ago on what used to be, as I recall, an RV park. It was open space for years and the weather service built a hurricane resistant office with category five resistant toilets. So if the mother of all hurricanes threatens, the weather forecasters get to lurk in the windowless toilets in the middle of the building. It was probably not designed by someone planning to use the office. In my experience architects are like that. This building was designed a few years ago and thus has pretensions to beauty, a concept alien to modern designers who like cubes and concrete.It's not that lovely, the Facilities Department for the financially ailing school district but the setting sun illuminated it in a way the NWS office would never glow. Plus the school district has tons of parking around here for a fleet of vehicles.The 1300 block of United has an almost light industrial air to it, with all these cement office structures from the 1960s, also devoted to utility over beauty. 
The Monroe Association of ReMARCable Citizens got stuck with an awkward acronym for their valiant work taking care of their segment of the population in need. Some bright spark from a cold hearted era before ours coined the term Monroe Association for Retarded Citizens and the term MARC has become part of the local lexicon so they came up with an alternative reading. Either way they teach self sufficiency, they run a superb plant shop for those that like to grow flowers and they have avoided any hint of financial scandal or impropriety over the years, just doing what they do so well. Across the street a wooded residence.United is a wide thoroughfare across mid town all the way to the south end of the Duval Tourist experience. Out here east of White Street it is utilitarian.With touches of Art. And before we get another outbreak of artistic temperament let me just say the artwork is here whether you like it or not: 
Another Hansel and Gretel house:And a mother and child walking home playing and talking as they went. They seemed happy together which unhappily struck me as unusual.MARC House plants for sale. I have no idea how the doormat made it's way here. 
Privacy in bloom.
More public Art.
Kids playing. The elder girl liked Cheyenne, her younger brother was scared but I reassured him saying she'd eaten her quota of small noisy children for the day (would that were true). He got the sort of apprehensive look you see on a Congress member's face when asked to regulate big banks and congressional lobbyists: irrational fear. 
A small house, a porch, a yard, a scooter: idealized Key West living.
This area of New Town took a beating in Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Fogarty Street ended up looking like a trailer park with FEMA RVs every lot while homeowners struggled to rebuild. It was a tough time unnoticed in the shadow of New Orleans much worse disaster. 
A house on stilts might be very useful "next time." Horace O'Bryant School has nothing to do with United Street except it is nearby and on my route back to work.
Plans are to tear HOB down and build a new facility. In a town dedicated to the principle of nicknaming everything and everyone it's often known as House of Brats, but that's just because it's a middle school. It has nothing to do with the heroic educator for whom the school is named.
More public Art. 
Kids playing. The elder girl liked Cheyenne, her younger brother was scared but I reassured him saying she'd eaten her quota of small noisy children for the day (would that were true). He got the sort of apprehensive look you see on a Congress member's face when asked to regulate big banks and congressional lobbyists: irrational fear. 
A small house, a porch, a yard, a scooter: idealized Key West living.This area of New Town took a beating in Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Fogarty Street ended up looking like a trailer park with FEMA RVs every lot while homeowners struggled to rebuild. It was a tough time unnoticed in the shadow of New Orleans much worse disaster. 
A house on stilts might be very useful "next time." Horace O'Bryant School has nothing to do with United Street except it is nearby and on my route back to work.
Plans are to tear HOB down and build a new facility. In a town dedicated to the principle of nicknaming everything and everyone it's often known as House of Brats, but that's just because it's a middle school. It has nothing to do with the heroic educator for whom the school is named.
Bahama Street is a handy back road that runs between Duval with its slow speed cruisers and Simonton Street.
Dust catchers galore around here.
Perhaps it's the grocery store in the heart of the tourist district but Bahama invites amblers for some reason,
so when I'm riding through I keep a close eye out for walkers. When it's me on foot there's always something to see. 
One finds it hard to imagine what purpose such a minuscule terrace might serve. Perhaps a pulpit, or an outhouse at three in the morning for a bladder distended by too much drink.
These places are characteristic and cute but way too close to Duval Street for my taste. 
Wait a minute, what did I say about lollygagging? He and I both.
And pigs may one day get wings and fly. Already happened in Key West. 
I am quite fond of these old style shutters which i remember from my youth in Italy. The shutter stops are the same curly shapes that I recall. I am told they are less effective than modern ugly hurricane shutters made from aluminum, which does not come as a surprise. However in the historic district city rules do allow the use of hurricane resistant modern materials. They recommend prayer and total immersion as the alternative. 
This is the back of the old Strand theater now used as a modern inconvenience store and pharmacy which jealously guards it's off=street parking.
Cheyenne enjoys walking just about anywhere people deposit their trash.
I look up to admire a previously unseen corner and before I know it Cheyenne has tangled her leash on an obstruction, or stuck her head in the rails. 
If they hadn't posted a no trespassing sign here we would have swooped in no doubt. I have been leaning toward getting a folding bicycle as, in the interest of reducing the number of passengers the transit authorities no longer allow bicycle racks on shuttle buses up the Keys. They did recently rule that you may carry a folding bicycle on board as part of your hand luggage.
If gasoline reaches five dollars a gallon it will be worth my while to buy a monthly bus pass, so I keep this plan in the back of my mind. The cell phone tower at Bahama and Southard marks the old Spanish language AM radio whose frequency (1500AM) has been taken over by KONK AM. This tower in the middle of town used to surprise me as it looked so out of place. One gets used to anything, even in the historic district.
And more illustrious scooter parking. The Burgman 650 is a no maintenance wonder by Suzuki but it is enormous.
When I was a youngster I used to carry my dog on the floorboards of my Vespa. I eyed the Suzuki visualizing Cheyenne between my feet. It seemed like a recipe for disaster.
My wife spent Friday night at the Relay for Life where people ran round the school track banishing cancer forever. We loaned our tent to the team from Monroe County School District as people ran all night to raise money to banish cancer. I was sitting up working, earning money for myself. 
The REI Base Camp 4 is a personal survival shelter for the Great Depression. It also works really well at the Dry Tortugas camp ground.
I have always been fond of Harley's Road King but the ones with the blue lights are, well, you know, hard to spot. The Sheriff's office uses BMWs on Highway One but Key West PD is a little old fashioned. On an island this small you'd think Vespas would work better but I don't think they are ready to be that radical in the motor unit. Command presence they call it and scooters don't have it. "Cute" is not the image officers are looking to project.
Summer is closing in so finding a shady spot is critical these days if Cheyenne has to wait in the car. I was riding into town for coffee with my wife and I saw a motorcycle pulled over on the median of the four lane highway at Mile Marker 6 just south of the Boca Chica bridge.
We went camping in the Los Padres National Forest too and slept under the redwoods. It was cold but I was young and tough and loved the mountains and the outdoors. Nowadays I like the outdoors but I like it hot. 