Changing Business

 I am frequently to be found noting the changes around town, simply because there are so many going on all the time. You'd  think the economy really is getting better! In this town it seems like the economy never got really bad compared to other places if you judge by all the activity here. 

 The old Waterfront Market is being transformed at what seems like the slowest pace ever into a brew  pub. Hopefully not all the beer they offer will be bitter double IPA stuff that is so fashionable. I am    casting around for a replacement for Finnegan's Wake but I expect this will be a loud noisy sports    bar type of place aimed at youngsters. 

And across the street the new Marker Resort is getting the finishing touches. I look at it and can hardly remember the leafy perimeter of Jabour's Trailer Park. Time passes. 

The hotel rather has the appearance of a jail if you look at it from the wrong angle.

The old West Marine is getting new tenants including a  24-hour gym, the sort of mainland innovation that will warm the hearts of all these people from Up North who bring their jogging habits with them every winter to the sidewalks of Key West. 

The place looks pretty ragged but supposedly  change will be along soon.  I'm guessing the chickens will be moved along.

 Frankly I find it astonishing how things sell or rent despite their dilapidated appearance. You'd think someone hoping to rent the building would at least mow, if not pluck the weeds..? Or paint over the  mottled scabrous paint? Not a bit of it!

 From Conch Republic Seafood in the distance there is a collection of cement that apparently is soon to be transformed.

And they are back to the pre-2008 shenanigans selling condos not yet built. the economy must be back!

It seems rather a shame that the best possible use for this area is more condos. Imagine if a park were built here. The open space at Truman Waterfront still stubbornly defies being transformed into a park. I am wondering if I'll be dead before that happens.

Talking of  change, Garbo's Grill seems to have gone for good. It was around the corner but this construction on the former site seems to have stalled and on Facebook they seem to be on the 900 block of Caroline. I haven't noticed them but I shall have to look closer, I guess.

This convenience store was a convenience store that closed and has now re-opened under a new name. Easy come easy go. Convenience stores are all over the place and most of them are surprisingly stable.

The Palm Reader is gone of course, shot to death at his family home in Trinidad, but weirdly enough his space on Duval Street is still there, now a monument to him. I wonder how long it will last?

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Cheyenne At Mile Zero

Preventing me from going home to enjoy a pot of tea on International Tea Day.

Key West's Charm

How is it I've never seen (noticed) this mural before?

It is on the side of this place that used to be musical instrument store on Caroline Street.

It's getting closer to Christmas than I realize. And as that deadline hurtles towards us...

Hanukkah is upon us. Tomorrow.

Thanksgiving was our big holiday this year so we can allow ourselves to slide by this most stressful time.

Snow as decorative motif is as much white as I need. On a bicycle no less.

Telegraph Lane behind Rick's has been freshly repaved, not surprising considering a city commissioner owns the bar. However the sidewalk looks like a third world dump. Civic pride Key West style.

Apparently the party at the Grand on Duval went late. They left the glasses out until morning.

Another dump located in the yard of a historic home, they say. Perhaps Key West has a surfeit of historic yards such that not all of them can be kept pristine.

Cheyenne did her best to keep Key West clean. The Dion's fried chicken bag never stood a chance.

"Good morning." He looked up bleary eyed at my dog. Young, idle and too cheap to find a place to sleep.

A friend remarked that part of Key West's charm is it's unkempt style. There you go.

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A Wake For Finnegan's

Walking past the former Irish pub on Grinnell Street I looked in and saw the Book Of...Guinness just lying there. It seemed like a Sign, except I don't believe in signs, especially as the last rumor I heard had my favorite pub coming back as a Cajun Restaurant. Great; trade in Colcannon for jambalaya. Guinness for Abita. I love New Orleans, but not when it displaces Finnegan's Wake.

 

The exterior of the venerable pub looks much the same except cleaner and freshly painted. The Irish greeting, "a thousand million welcomes" or some such over the top Celtic greeting still dangles in the breeze. I'm not sure if it's preseverence is encouraging or an annoyingly drawn out farewell.

Finnegan's needed a clean up and I like how it looks now but I miss the pub.

The old website is still up for a touch of nostalgia.

I'm hoping for the best...and expecting the worst.

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Loafing On Sugarloaf

I have 500 fresh miles on the P200E back from the shop and I am working diligently to get out from under the burden of running in the new engine. Thus it was I chose to abandon my dog early on Thursday afternoon and chose instead to duck off the tyranny of the Overseas Highway for a short diversion south at Sugarloaf Lodge.

The weather has been bright and sunny but cool this week, especially in the early morning before dawn as I wend my way home with a visor that fogs at traffic lights and hands that feel the crisp chill of 58  degree darkness. So I packed my heavy winter riding jacket on the front rack to wear home and save my teeth from chattering. I do enjoy the versatility of the old Vespa.

I took the south shore of Sugarloaf Key  and stopped at the bridge over the creek for pictures and a dude on a fishing skiff obliged by zipping by to break up the pastoral serenity. All pictures need a little action from time to time.

 American Shoal Lighthouse was just visible as a pin on the horizon.

I had spotted a couple of motorcycles or scooters in the distance ahead of me as I rode enjoying the light and the scenery. They went beyond the bridge, probably to the end of the road where there is a foot trail, into the mangroves,where Cheyenne and I took a Short Walk a  few years ago. The motorcycles, for they were low slung cruisers much loved by part time riders around here, burbled by and returned my happy smile with glares such as might be projected by their hard core brethren on Sons of Anarchy.

 It was good, pausing for a minute before getting back on the conveyor belt to work.  I just wished my dog was there.

Key West Cold

The clouds, the rain, the winds have moved on and Key West basks in winter sunshine. This is as winter should be, at least for those of us allergic to snow and sleet.

Park your bicycle with all your possessions aboard and take in some rays. Life is good at Higgs Beach.

I love these primary colors, the crisp 65 degree air, the sound of my Labrador snoring.

I am not a fan of lager beer, preferring slightly more robust beers that aren't acidic IPAs. But I do notice clever advertising. Longboard liquid aloha makes you want to like lager! It's also a reminder of what Key a West isn't.

The four lies about Key West: that it is tropical, that it is an island, that it is in the Caribbean and that life here is laid back. The reality is slightly different.

It's all advertising of course, chamber of commerce propaganda that shaves a little off reality here and there. The story reads better that way, however when this is reality, al fresco lunch in December, the alterations to reality don't seem to amount to much!

And better than Hawaii, here you can take road trips...

...fly to New York in half a day...or Bogotà if you prefer...

...or any of the European capitals over night.

Or you can just stay on the Rock...

...and take a nap. Old age has it's privileges.

 

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