From The Archives 2009

I've lost track how many pictures I have in my many picasa web albums.

They aren't well organized so everything is a bit random.

Above the new complex at Dante's. A touch of the mainland in Key West.

Below the old Blue Paper, now limited to a web page. "Journalism as a contact sport."

Tim and Tiina came for a visit.

I met Tim in 1981 in Delray Beach. We moved together to Santa Cruz, California in 1982.

They came as crew on a sailboat from Mexico. Tim lives aboard in California and longs to retire to Hawaii.

Spring Break is an annual pain.

Stand up kayaking is weird. Always has been.

Antipasto at Salute on Higgs Beach.

Never disconnected. I wonder about this as I post my pages.

Distant North Big Pine Key.

Always a dog walk.

Islamorada, Bob's Bunz for breakfast. Pastries are the theme but I like eggy breakfasts on the road.

Roseate spoonbills? I am not an ornithologist.

The Western Union sailboat got a refresher on the Inner Mole at Truman Waterfront.

Summer heat.

The old Mohawk a World War Two survivor now sunk off Sanibel Island.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park.

Classic Old Town Key West.

The new, unnamed access road to Truman Waterfront from Petronia Street

Me on a visit to my childhood home in Italy with a rented BMW.

Giovanni and I planning our tour to Amalfi, June 2009.

My sister and I visiting Sicily around 1965.

Giovanni a few years later. We rode mopeds together and still ride together today when we can.

Finis.

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Horses And Scooters And Bicycles And Deer

Go on - tell me you expected to see horses strolling a Lower Keys street. Some people do bring their quadrupeds down for the winter. There are some stables on Cudjoe Key where I see horses year round, standing in the shade swatting flies idly with their tails. These two were in Eden Heights on Big Pine Key.

I was lounging with Cheyenne on No Name Key after a walk and this scooter buzzes by. So when I see an adult riding, legally without a helmet and the kid is riding pillion also properly legal with a helmet I ask myself, why? Why do parents make their kids wear helmets but don't set the example? Do as I say not do as I do is stupid. There, child-free me has said it.

 

No Name Key was a freeway... And then came the Spandex cyclist. And there I was lounging with my dog.

And then as we drove home I saw a herd of deer grazing in suburbia.

There is a move afoot to hold a new marathon foot race. There are so many going on all winter that you'd think one more would be hardly noticeable. But the proposed Cow Key Bridge race is going to be a hundred yards long crossing from Stock Island to Key West. I'd like to have it be run in the universal cause of Awareness. All races are an effort to raise awareness so this eminently Key West marathon should be strolled in order to raise awareness of Awareness. The good news is, on another note, that palms are back on the Boulevard. Normality returns, slowly.

I have enjoyed looking out on the waters these days. Flat vistas like this have always appealed to me. Too bad it's only 72 degrees and thus too cold to swim.

I posted a couple of pictures of my Vespa in front of a bar. My preferred drinking hole on Grinnell Street, Finnegan's Wake.

And the more famous one on Duval at Greene Streets.

And, what the hell, here's a picture of the Vespa stuck in construction traffic on the Overseas Highway.

It's time the country followed the California Highway Patrol's lead and allowed lane splitting. Then motorcycles would make traffic jams fade away. As it is sitting in the sun waiting for movement makes you wish for a roof and air conditioning.

Key West on Dwellable

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Buggering About

I pulled in to the Shell station to get gas for my car. One of my quirks is that I don't like to stand around at the pumps very long so as soon as the needle shows a quarter empty I start thinking about filling up. By the time it's floating near half I am very ready to get more gas. I love using a credit card, standing at the pump, no human interaction required...So when I pulled into the Big Pine Key Shell and the gray haired doofus pictured below stepped around from his truck on the other side of the island and snagged my pump with a fuel jug in hand. I just thought evil thoughts, got back in my Ford and backed up to the empty pump behind me. I pumped four gallons into the Fusion in less time than it takes to tell while the jerk with the fuel jug was unable to get his pump, which had been mine, to pump. He looked at me seeking sympathy but I sent the Cuban shithead mean spririted vibes while thanking the Gods for screwing up his day while I pulled out withy. Full tank of gas. Last I saw the jerk's side kick and one of the staff were still trying to get gas into his cursed jug. Served him right. Grr....

Well golly, I was in a bad mood wasn't I? I blame all the extra work and time spent talking to drunks on the 911 phones but there really was no excuse for me to be so bitter about a minor lapse of manners on a stranger's part. I had better things to do than bottle up frustration. I took my dog for her overdue amble. She didn't care about the stupid non drama at the pumps. I should have taken my cue from her, so I did.

Above Cheyenne, below me with a new hair cut. I get my hair chopped every three months or so when it gets too long and tangled for comfort. Then I start again and let the stuff grow as it wants. I was not actually grumpy at this stage, just squinting.

It was a lovely day to be hanging out reading and petting one s dog - with a full tank of gas. The best part of this place on West Summerland Key is that even if people show up here there is no sandy beach to induce them to stay. Sometimes some anglers or kayakers stop off but usually even in winter Cheyenne and I have the place to ourselves.

There are no facilities so when I had to lurk in the bushes for a minute I figured if I took a picture I had some cover as it were. There are moments when you wish you lived in France or Italy where peeing by the side of the road is considered a fact of life. For men at any rate. The relief was inspiring but the picture was not.

When all was in order we took off for a stroll. First we checked the graffiti in the old pump station near the water's edge.

Then I inspected the remains of the 1942 water pipe that the Navy installed to bring 20th century reliable water to the military base in Key West. That pipe was replaced by a larger model in 1982 running alongside the new road bed.

It's days like these that help dissipate agitation, watching your dog have a good time exploring.

 

We climbed to the top of the artificial hill where Flagler's engineers built up the railroad bed to get the train onto the Bahia Honda bridge in 1912. In 1938 the State of Florida bought the railroad right of way and turned it into a road. The sort of public work that would never get funded today...

The old bridge is rather the worse for wear. The state park at the other end has turned it into a pedestrian area that overlooks Bahia Honda, and is well worth a visit.

Cheyenne wanted to lay down and enjoy the cool afternoon...

...so I obliged and laid down next to her, propping up my feet for added comfort.

 

It was an altogether pleasant afternoon.

All minor irritations forgotten.

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