The Fuel Dock

It's that lunch break thing, finding myself with my Bonneville downtown at 2:30 in the morning, the Bonneville purring sweetly and me not sleepy enough to want to lay down on a cot for an hour in the storeroom. So I take myself and my motorcycle down to the waterfront for the best breezes to cool the 84 degree night.

It's October and it must be cooling off Up North. I know this because a selection of northern tags is showing up on the front of vehicles around the Lower Keys. Down here in the murk of a sub tropical endless summer it remains warm and occasionally muggy despite the strong easterly breezes. Sleeping on a boat without the hatches open would be trying for me, but this Catalina 30 was buttoned up with only the companionway wide open.

I keep thinking sudden summer squalls are done but they aren't; I got drenched riding home Sunday morning as I had left my waterproofs at home and I greeted my dog, impatient on the deck, soaked from head to toe. She was hopping around like a puppy while I slowly got changed into dry clothes for her walk. Then she got even more indignant when heavy rain stopped play and we had to go home. I got wet a second time sheltering her with my umbrella as we climbed the stairs under a torrential downpour. In fact she wouldn't step out under the rain unless I offered her the cover of my umbrella. I get the feeling Cheyenne never had it so good.

In the South Atlantic and in the West Indies there is some hurricane activity which is not surprising as the season for cyclones doesn't end until November 30th when tropical waters are supposed to have cooled off a bit. However at this stage it looks more like heavy rain for the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and Hispaniola but no disturbances for us. Suits me.

I like the absence of drama on still waters, no waves, no crashing surf, no white frothy spume bursting over cliffs and rocks. Limpid, mirror-like flat water suits my taste. These harbor waters are considered historic because they were once the center of trade and maritime traffic in Key West. This was part of the coastline from Mallory Square where ships dropped off their cargoes. In the 20th century Key West Bight was the place where commercial fishing boats docked. The term "bight" means an indentation in a coastline with suitable protection for anchoring. Nowadays it's a place where the leisure industry makes a living serving amateurs and party boats and sunset cruises and the like. The shrimpers are banished to the working class docks on Stock Island.

Turtle Kraals overlooks the dinghy docks where boaters park their "station wagons" that bring them to shore from their boats anchored far out in the harbor. I don't miss those days as much as you would expect. A motorcycle is more efficient and arguably more fun... The restaurant's name is derived from the delightful practice, now happily banned of storing turtles in these watery "corrals" (known in South African Afrikaans as "kraals") until they were pulled out and butchered horribly while helpless on their backs. Our ancestors were not always charming people. And why they used the term kraal instead of corral I couldn't say.

Nowadays the stores that serve the Bight sell dust catchers and more useful things like bait and bottled air for divers and all the sundries needed by temporary boaters.

The Half Shell Raw Bar much enjoyed by visitors...

...and my Triumph Bonneville much enjoyed by me.

Can't wait for my ride home. Darkness, zombie cars to pass, a happy Labrador to greet me.

Posted with Blogsy

The Meadows Dawn

Next month we go to winter time when dark mornings are rolled back a bit and dark evenings are rolled in as we fall back onto standard  time. Bummer. Cheyenne has been enjoying cool breezes and lower humidity but during the day highs still manage to get into the mid to upper 80s, so early morning walks are her preference. Princess rides on her throne in the back of the car.

Its at times like these, as a full moon hanging provocatively over the city that I wish I had a telephoto camera. The little white disc doesn't convey the full emotion. Of course underground wires would help too.

I have never been moved to be an Elk or a Shriner or a Moose so I am not completely sure what goes on inside these clubs but whatever exactly it is they have a great deal of room in which to do it.

 Early morning is the time to be out, and not just if you wear a fur coat. Clear skies, cool winds, no traffic on Ashe Street.

On seeing this sign in The Meadows I wondered if my Labrador might get consideration from incautious drivers...

Motorcycles, glorious daily riders of all shapes and sizes. Another reason to enjoy living in this year round riding climate. Even given the absence of twisty roads.

 The Key West commute, or the school bus variant if you prefer:

Power walking is more of a winter activity around here when people show up from more energetic parts of the country and stride about waving their arms and wearing suitably energetic clothing. They make me feel inadequate ambling around following my slow paced dog. 

 The Metropolitan Community Church on Petronia Street. God has a lot of adherents in Key West you'd imagine from all the churches. I sometimes wonder if their deity is rather more slack than the one I grew up with who eschewed gluttony and sloth and all those noisome vices that seem to thrive here alongside all the many churches. Perhaps its just a noisy few propagating vice and the silent majority populating the churches. I live in the county so I am exempt on both counts.

Kawasaki KZ 650 B2A

I can often be heard moaning about the lack of variation among the motorcycles seen on South Florida roads - old men on Harleys going slow and young men on sport bikes hammering their way recklessly through heaps of zombie car drivers...

I exaggerate. A little for effect you understand but by and large I wait a long time between sightings of Ducatis and BMWs and the last time I saw a Moto Guzzi, Methuselah was a young man. 

This motorcycle came out as a middleweight alternative to the top of the line 900cc Z1 with which Kawasaki had dominated the ranks of the Universal Japanese Motorcycle stakes- the contest between four cylinder machines that started with Honda's CB750. According to the press the KZ650 was a step forward in the right direction with a decent chassis and good road handling combined with the sophisticated and reliable modern engine. In my book the middle weights always seem to end up being better rides than the flagship bikes built to impress. A generalization perhaps but there is a lot of truth to it.

So I got unreasonably excited when I saw this fine example of a 1978 motorcycle in the style of my youth parked, not for sale, on Cudjoe Key. Clearly the owner cherishes it, as it was locked firmly to a nearby tree with a substantial cable.

Sloppy Joes

It took a fundraiser (for my colleague Eric) but I was seen in a Lower Duval bar today. No drinks; they don't approve if you show up in dispatch with alcohol on your breath.

Taking A Bite Out Of Apple

I don't know why I upgraded my mini iPad to iOS8 in retrospect, but I remember thinking that if I didn't do the damned upgrade that little number one would be sitting there on my screen like a nagging teacher telling me to get with the program every time I opened my portable world of computing. So I upgraded without thinking about it too much. Until my mini iPad stopped working. I called Apple Tech, I downloaded iTunes to my wife's laptop, I backed up the iPad and scrubbed it etc... and still it was working like an Old World dial up signal. In desperation I took it to Keys Technology to see what they might do. As you can see they do a land sale business fixing broken portable gadgets and their vulnerable screens. I told her she looked like a watchmaker.

My mini iPad, which is how I do all my computing these days went into the abyss in back. They scrubbed and backed up and nothing worked. I read my Kindle on my phone and hoped for the best. People came and went including a group of young people who put the fear of God into me but were remarkably well behaved. I generally find Key West youngsters of all ages to be unusually polite. Perhaps my beard intimidates them because not everyone agrees with my assessment of local modern youth. 

No luck; my iPad is screwed by iOS8.2 Thank you Apple. Disconsolate I went home and in desperation scrubbed one more time and instead of using the backed up stuff I rebuilt the mini iPad myself as I only use half a dozen apps anyway, including Blogsy which I use to blog on my iPad; quick and efficient it is too. Somehow that final reboot helped quite a bit and now most of the time the iPad only hesitates slightly. And then sometimes it refuses to open a page. It looks like I'll have to replace it with another refurbished mini sold by Apple for $219. Grr. I don't use an iPad with built in wireless as I have a phone hot spot for cheap and most of the time I run it at home anyway. So I suppose I could be out more money but this upgrade stuff has me pissed off, and a lot of people have been far more damaged by this upgrade. Next weekend I will be on the mainland and my wife plans to stop by an Apple store and try to shame them into a discount for screwing up my perfectly good mini iPad 2. They had better get their flame retardant outfits on as she is pissed off.

I took the picture above as I sat in their excruciatingly uncomfortable, but modern looking chairs, and I was struck by the old fashioned commuter vehicle parked among all the high tech machinery. A bicycle at least doesn't get tripped up by a stupid operating system.

Drinks at the Gardens Hotel

I love the self serve wine bar. Open all day they tell me. And Friday night with Michael Robinson tickling the ivories is always a delight.

You buy a card for $3 and put money on it and the card never expires. When you deplete it you recharge it at the cash register. Then you put the card in a slot and you get to choose the wines by the taste by the half glass or full glass. Each bottle has its own price structure.

You help yourself, taste all you want as you go. It is really surprisingly effective as you can taste at will.