Emma Street, Truman Annex

Lovely isn't it?


Truman Annex is a world apart, a gated community built specifically to separate the sheep from the goats.


This is a garden community with none of the irritations of the real Key West...


No bums, no chickens, no trash, and no spilt beer smell the morning after.


It used to be part of the Navy Base years ago and incorporates old naval buildings, the solidly built officer quarters now luxury condos and this beauty now a guest house


It used to belong to Uncle Sam:


The Little White house is in Truman Annex, the former Navy Commandant's home used by the Commander in Chief during Harry Truman's frequent visits. Little wonder the Annex got it's name.


It is peaceful enough but in claiming exemption from city short term rental restrictions the Truman Annex Master Property Owner's Association (TAMPOA) has opened the flood gates to groups of hard drinking visitors from time to time.


On the whole though this is an adult community, dog free except for residents, gates closed at ten o'clock at night and insulated from the chaos of Duval street crawlers.


The style, initiated by developer Pritam Singh, is Key West cute, including I was surprised to see this mock eyebrow home.


The overhanging roof didn't work as advertised and instead of flowing cool air through the home trapped hot air inside. Here it is reproduced and well air conditioned no doubt.


Ship's port holes...


...nice porches,


...and a stone's throw away, past the guard hut on Southard Street, the real Key West.


Hot sweaty and noisy. And exciting, much better to be a goat than a sheep in my estimation.


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Oops! Vespa Down

My wife sent me an e-mail this afternoon "Fell off the Vespa. Not hurt." Apparently she was turning in gravel at one mile per hour and did the classic that we have all done and flopped the scooter over the front wheel, which slid out on the pebbles. She said she had the bike back up before she knew it and was dusting off her undamaged clothes and bruised ego before anyone noticed at her work.



The ET4 suffered no damage but my wife is at home nursing a couple of bruises and a graze on her leg. I asked her how she was doing and she texted: "Sore. Badge of honor."

She's right, and now she's dropped the scooter after 7,000 miles of riding I am a lot less worried about her commuting to her new work site next school year, ten miles up the Overseas Highway. She showed the same determination when she got her motorcycle licence and she has earned the right to ride the 150cc Vespa wherever she pleases.

1200 Royal

I do not let my Bonneville tires get this smooth. Certainly not the front one whatever you do. But most likely the bike gets little use so anything goes.


So many people own motorcycles and rarely ride them. I am amazed by all the blogs that talk motorcycles, accessorizing them, selling them and "upgrading" yet so many people ride so few miles. The used market is packed with low mileage toys, and I think it's a shame. Modern motorcycles are great tools to reduce congestion and travel with fun but there is always an excuse it seems, to not ride. A bald tire would be a good reason! Rain is not a good reason, nor is darkness. The more you ride the more skillful you become. Parking a motorcycle doesn't make you a rider.


This is the post snowbird season when winter residents leave behind well buttoned up homes.


Hurricane season starts now and runs through November when the snowbirds will start to think about coming back.


Until then their homes are battened down against the chance of hundred mile an hour winds.


Summer is also a good time to sit outdoors in the shade and enjoy sudden squalls of wind and dramatic rains.


Drama aplenty when a street cat spots a big yellow Labrador stumping down the sidewalk.


There she is ignoring the frightened feline.


It seems a shame so many conch cottages go unused all summer long.


Key West is at it's best right now, not many residents and not many vacationers and everyone gets to relax a little until school gets out and families flood into town for summer fun.


Bright sunshine and bright reflective white paint.


Pretty hot for an old dg in fur coat.


This is the time of year when even indifferent dog owners need to pay attention to their companions' needs. I let Cheyenne lay down and rest anytime she needs to. Slow and steady keeps her happy.


Bicycles own the roads when the cars are away.

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Catherine Street

It's that time of year when poinciana trees are in bloom.


The orange flame trees are known as royal poinciana in this town and their blooms make a right mess as summer progresses and they shed all over the place.


Cheyenne hugs the shade this time of year. This is the time of year when car covers magically appear shamanistically hoping to protect vehicles from the vicissitudes of summer while their owners enjoy the grandchildren Up North. They'll be back when the snows return and they will expect the cars to start right up.


Cars in use sit in direct sunlight.


Clean and swept of potential flying objects that could cause damage in a hurricane.


This snowbird uses the newer plastic see through hurricane shutters. I like aluminum but being inside the house in darkness when the aluminum shutters rattle in the wind is a little spooky.


I never cease to wonder why people leave Key West in summer.


Cheyenne likes it eve. Youth she keeps to the shade and...


...I keep the walks short.


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Sunset From My House

Rain and clouds bring some astonishing sights across the salt flats. Case in point:







Bear in mind photography is only a mild reproduction of reality.



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Sunset Over Bahia Honda

We went swimming at Bahia Honda yesterday evening my wife and I. The clouds looked magnificent.


The water was quite warm enough for swimming even after the rains of the past week.


A few boats were out fishing.


We recently bought an annual state parks pass for $134 including access to Monroe County State Parks, which for some reason cost extra. Perhaps because of the views:


The swimming area is cordoned off from the rest of the "deep bay" which is what Bahia Honda means in Spanish.


There is some dead seaweed along the beach but that's normal for the Keys, much to the irritation of unseasoned visitors who expect magnificent strands in these rocky islands.


Not all the sky was gray and threatening.


But it was Sunday evening and the park was far from packed with visitors.


Most people were pouring North to the mainland back to their regular lives, on the new bridge across the bay.


It was a serene and lovely evening on the water.


Ideal for a moment together for the family.


A romantic stroll,


A chance to watch the sun go down far from the hawkers of Mallory Square.


I don't often see the parking lot this empty:


We were hungry and had to go home, 15 minutes south.


It was a pleasant evening on land as well as on water.


We aren't the only ones to recognize the value of this park.


Even the drive home was a light show.


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