Night Bight

I took  a lunch  break and cast around wondering where to go. There are days, and nights, when I'd like to have a little  mountain to climb, or a wood to  ride through under a full moon. Something different...Hell I can't even ride a loop around here as the roads all dead end into the water. You have to go out and then come back. So you have to be creative sometimes. I got un-creative and went down to the waterfront. It was breezy and cool at three in the morning and I got some nice dock walking in. How do you fancy this porch at the back of your floating second home: 

The  front end is pretty impressive too: 

Owners of power boats choose weird names for their toys. Worth overdoing? Really?

 In the midst of the opulence I was delighted to see a few towels hanging on the life lines. Of course it was a day charter boat, often called a "cattle boat" as they load up dozens of  swimmers and trawl them out to the reef. Like cattle I guess.

 It was a good spot to float away the drunks and the stress and the weirdos calling 911 all night.

 "It's imperative you get an ambulance here!" she screamed in my ear. Imperative? Really? Just ask nicely lady, I won't turn you down. I sent the ambulance. I always do no matter how crazy or imperious the callers are. Then I come out to the water and breathe in the ozone.

 Why power boaters illuminate the water under their boats I have no idea.

 But their extravagance makes for some pretty pictures.

 I mean it really is kind of stupid isn't it? Turning the ocean into a swimming pool...

Turtle Kraals and The Half Shell look much more enticing in the dark across the water than they do up close. They aren't terrible restaurants at all but they are kind of the cattle boat of waterfront eateries around here. At night they look more ...intriguing.

 And so, back down the dock to the Vespa and so to work.

By the way a bight in the world of water means an indentation in a coastline, which thus produces a secure anchorage. Hence Key West Bight (pronounced BITE). Now you know. Of course the city calls it the Historic Seaport or some other pretentious nonsense. It's just a bight.

Vespa Collection From Pinterest

I am not, if I'm honest, much of a social media fan. I have  a Facebook account on which I post nearly daily pictures. I did try Twitter which defeated me as it is to my way of thinking an advertising and promotional tool for business people. I find Twitter rather boring honestly. On the other hand Pinterest is starting to be a little more appealing to me. Perhaps because it is so visual. This first Vespa has been ridden to North Africa and this photo was an ad for the 4W solar panel attached to the front luggage rack. 

I find myself in a  country where scooters are viewed with disdain, an attitude I find to be extraordinary. I have read web posts where motorcyclists refuse to take off their helmets to avoid being identified with a fellow traveler on a scooter. I am astounded. I grew up riding anything with two wheels and an engine and to me the simple act of riding is pure pleasure. I don't care if I'm riding my Vespa, my wife's automatic or my motorcycle, to me anything is better than four wheels. I'm not sure I ever want to attach my Vespa to a sidecar like this one busy crossing the USA:

But a little 125cc job like this below would be fine.  I don't get the prejudice, if you are out riding that's what counts. Over the Memorial Day weekend I got caught in traffic with mainlanders who were freaked out by my 60 mph moped. They tried to cut me off, pull away or brake suddenly to get rear ended by me. I am an old hand so I just keep riding. Freaks.

This Vespa and trailer are being ridden around Australia by a motorcyclist who puts his dog on the platform behind the handlebars while he rides, towing their gear in the trailer. I don't suppose he does 60 mph but he's riding around hanging with riders of "real" motorcycles. It's  not the US so small wheels don't scare big bad motorcyclists.

I have read this guy's blog which is in Italian and here he is in Australia in the middle of his eight month journey around the world on a 1967 125cc boosted to 175cc for the trip. Europeans don't mind riding small machines. I like the adventure myself and I am starting to think my own 1979 Vespa is proving reliable enough for some touring, as much as work allows.

This English owned Vespa crossed Spain to Morocco and had a good time doing it, mostly. I think his basic maintenance could have been better but...one does what one can with what one has. This Rally 200 looks great doing it:

An American!  A New England trip to Vermont from Boston to visit family by this member of the Modern Vespa community. He later moved to Northern California and took his P200 with him. No more road trips reported.

An Italian touring Vespa with fancy saddlebags and compact luggage. I don't like carrying gas on the floor boards as I like to set my feet crosswise especially when I am in the saddle all day. I like to use the luggage hook to carry supplies bought on the road, like a bag with dinner or lunch prior to a stop, or wet laundry or some other sudden need. The hook gives you a place to hang the unexpected impedimenta that lands in your lap on the road.

This unlikely traveler is an Indian built LML which I found to be horridly unreliable. This owner seems confident. Great stuff. Plus he has gas on the useful front rack and room for his feet to move around. The windshield will slow him down and these  bikes in my opinion aren't fast enough to warrant barn door protection to the properly dressed rider.

Another hopeful traveler with saddlebags and spare tires everywhere. He was starting a successful trip from South Africa to Dublin in company with several other identical Vespas.

Found this on Pinterest. Cool dude.

My fleet at home, my wife's not so modern anymore automatic 150cc, my Bonneville which goes too fast for the Keys (!) and my P200.

Have a good weekend, what's left of it.
New PODCAST in the morning!

Monochrome Night Walk

As observed on a walk around the cemetery on a midnight lunch break:

Key West  family wagon: a child carrier in front, a child bike behind...seen at Mangia Mangia.

Typical scenes of Key West sleeping, far from the bars. I sometimes forget these scenes and this peace is not typical in urban America. Too bad because it should be.

A technicolor pedicab on Windsor Lane to end the essay in shades of "real life."

Limin' At Higgs Beach

We were hanging out at Higgs Beach, the county park embedded in the south shore of the City.

Coast Camp, a summer of fun, the poster promised. I am interested to check out the artistic space on Stock Island before too long.

 On Facebook I quoted the lines from Macbeth to accompany this picture of a walking shadow:

Out, out, brief candle!

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

Salute, the Italian restaurant on the beach operated successfully by the owner of Blue heaven, not yet open for business:

 Summer thunderclouds building:

 Limin

hanging out or chillin,even partying 

(a word frequently used by trinidadians)

(Eg) we were limin on the corner 

we were hanging out on the corner 

(eg) i was limin with some friends 

i was hanging out with some friends 

(eg) me an my friends went out to lime last night 

me an my friends went out to party last night 

by trini boy January 09, 2009 

That Urban Dictionary definition defines most of the car occupants staring at the beach with glazed eyes:

 The dog park, after all the dogs have left for the morning, just how Cheyenne likes it.

 She is as anti-social as I am.

Good dog.

Cuba Inches Toward Change

Washington (CNN)President Barack Obama recommended Tuesday that Cuba be removed from the U.S. government's list of state sponsors of terrorism. Long sought by the Cuban government, Obama's decision, expected for weeks now, will likely expedite plans to re-establish embassies in both Washington and Havana.

In a brief message to notify Congress of his recommendation, Obama explained his action was based on specific criteria that warranted Cuba's removal from the list.

"The government of Cuba has not provided any support for international terrorism during the preceding six-month period; and the government of Cuba has provided assurances that it will not support acts of international terrorism in the future," the President said in the message.

Exploring Cuba's old world charm10:17

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Obama's move drew criticism from Republican contenders in the 2016 presidential race.

"We're not a step closer to freedom in Cuba because of the steps the president is taking," former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush told reporters after an event in Ohio.

But Sen. Jeff Flake, an Arizona Republican, said it's wise to remove Cuba because "that list ought to mean something," and that it could help diplomatic relations with Cuba.

"I know [Republicans] don't agree with me on this issue, but I think it was the right move to make and I'm glad the president did it," he said on CNN's "The Situation Room."

Cuba was placed on the state sponsors of terrorism list in 1982 when Havana was busy supporting armed insurgencies in Latin America, during the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Last December, Obama announced his intent to normalize relations with Cuba, insisting that previous U.S. efforts had failed to topple the governments of Fidel and Raul Castro through diplomatic isolation. Instead, the President argued a new approach of engagement was needed to ease tensions between Washington and Havana.

9 questions you wanted to ask about the Cuban embargo

Almost as soon as the new discussions began, however, Cuban officials complained their nation's placement on the list of state sponsors of terrorism was unfair and outdated.

Last week, the State Department recommended to Obama that Cuba be removed from the list, concluding Havana was no longer a sponsor of terrorist activities abroad.

"Circumstances have changed since 1982, when Cuba was originally designated as a State Sponsor of Terrorism because of its efforts to promote armed revolution by forces in Latin America," Secretary of State John Kerry said in a statement on the President's decision.

"Our Hemisphere, and the world, look very different today than they did 33 years ago," Kerry added.

The most dramatic sign of the improved U.S.-Cuban relationship came last Saturday, whenObama and Raul Castro sat down for an hour long discussion on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama. It was the first such meeting between U.S. and Cuban leaders since 1959.

Congress has 45 days to pass a joint resolution blocking the President's decision. But a senior administration official said it was unlikely lawmakers would be able muster the votes needed to override a presidential veto.

Obama and Castro meet, launch new era of U.S.-Cuba ties

Follow @CNNpolitics

And from Al Jazeera this commentary on the Internet in Cuba. Interesting stuff (that would drive me crazy!):

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/05/cuba-internet-cold-150525120242435.html

Rock Solid Key West

                           

The sun coming up on a few  Key West monuments. The San Carlos long a symbol of  the connection across the sea may get that status back one day. These days anything seems possible, even likely when it comes to Cuba.

              

The Strand was once a theater, now its just a lovely facade with a banal chain pharmacy inside. Oh well. Nothing possible there.

                                

Fausto's  Food Palace is a survivor in a world of conformity. Still there. LINK

                     

Churches everywhere.

                                   

Public laundries. Dog water water bowls too. Helpful institutions both.

                                

Flame trees burning orange to usher in summer.

               

The pineapple a symboil of welcome in Key West, now framing a godawful cheap ugly plastic Bugger Off sign. Irony and bad taste rolled into one. Keep Key West ugly.

                                

Pineapples were a Keys export on the railroad. Nowadays tropical fruit is standard everywhere but once it was an expensive thing to eat, a luxury. This vehicle has a Key West business on an out of state tag, thus not paying road taxes in the Sunshine  state. Thanks, but not exactly one human family.

                                  

Long shadows across what was once a  shrimp fleet harbor.

                                  

The view from Alonzo's into what is now a recreational harbor:

                     

Institutions come and go and new ones take their place. A short memory helps.