Cloudy Walk, Florida Keys

Dawn in the mangroves. Summer tends to bring lighter winds, though this July has been quite breezy during the day when the air heats up.

These are all iPhone pictures, taken around 7am after I got home from my night shift and I took Rusty to North Cudjoe Key for his morning walk.

It gets hot fast and in summer he tends to be more lethargic I notice than in winter when he nags me for an afternoon walk. This time of year he sunbathes and sleeps on the tile floor in the kitchen.

 The value of daily exercise on and off the leash is not valued enough by would-be dog owners in my opinion. People wonder why my dogs, rescues all over the years, are so laid back. I attribute their calmness and easy going disposition to the daily promise I make: lots of alone time walking with me, and I don't keep Rusty on a tight leash either. A long walk on his terms produces a calm happy dog:

Mastic Mobile Home Park

I don't know much about the history of Mastic Mobile Home Park on United Street but it is still going strong, a bastion of affordable housing in Old Town.

I am not sure where it got it's name but I suppose it is named for the mastic tree which I couldn't identify for you if one fell on me.

Seen from the Louisa Street side the life lived inside the park tends to spill out as projects gain a life of their own:

I believe there are close to 30 spaces in the park which as you can see is home to actual travel trailers rather than the usual selection of manufactured homes more or less on wheels.

I checked out Mindy Conn's school board race which is non partisan ostensibly and her list of endorsements includes the pricy end at Ocean Reef, the gated community at the north end of the county, as well as my own local of the Teamsters Union. So I guess I'm supposed to vote for her...I have some research to do I guess before November.

I wonder how long this corner of Key West will last. Simonton Court got wrecked by a mad desire to build expensive homes on land where trailers used to be.

I wonder how long before Mastic goes the same way. I remember Jabours Trailer Park next to Schooner Wharf where the Marker resort is today. They must have been sold around 2004 or 05 if I remember correctly and who remembers that low cost neighborhood almost on the waterfront?

Next to the trailers cleaned up and expensive little Conch cottages are sitting, almost as though waiting for the trailers to be gentrified out of the neighborhood.

Rain

It has not been a very wet year so far this year. There have been sporadic thunderstorms but heavy drenching rain has come and then all too quickly gone. Anecdotal evidence says it wasn't always so. One anecdote could be this essay I wrote in September 2008. This blog has been around a long time I guess.

So, here you are, finally in Key West, your vacation has begun, your worries are few and you are all set for some sunshine and blue skies. Until that is, a monstrous large black cloud, half the size of Greenland heaves into view over the northern horizon, and vacation plans get interrupted. What does a a visitor do? What so many of them do anyway, rain or shine:Talking bull isn't limited to the corner of Duval and Caroline. No prizes for guessing this is Sloppy Joe's:Or somewhere on Greene, Guy Harvey I think but I could be wrong. I don't frequent the bars, as must be obvious:
Or at whatsits name on Duval, Fogarty's perhaps? I could see someone was not making the most of a bad thing, with that body language. Pity the poor people depending on his tips to make ends meet:Those are the better known watering holes where I saw people stranded by a typical summer downpour. Locals have their own hangouts, for instance a beer never tasted better than at the Hilltop Laundry on Elizabeth:Or just hanging with a bud at the Arab's store on Caroline. That the owner is actually from Bangladesh doesn't mean much in a culture devoted to the easy pigeonhole. If you dial 9-1-1 from the 700 block of Caroline and tell me you are at the Aay-rabb's this is where I'll send the cops, and I won't even plague you with a short history of the partition of India either. We'll just agree that this place is run by an Arab...Talking of Caroline Street the red Humvee is back, and I read in the paper that the Coffee Plantation is for sale if you feel like running your own business here:Rain storms come and go in Key West mostly between June and October more or less depending on droughts and the moods of the gods. They lower temperatures to a brisk 75 degrees (24c), they wash off the dust and leave the air sparkling and fresh after half an hour's downpour. Locals keep working during the rain:Or, if there are no customers they shoot the breeze while the raindrops fall like snow flakes all around:Some locals take refuge:While others don't bother:Some take advantage of overhangs as they go:While others can't:Some people like to hide behind umbrellas:Others don't have the patience for that folderol:Others wrap themselves in plastic while some people just take their clothes off. Duval can start to look like a wet t-shirt contest but I am not bold enough to shoot blatant close up pictures of the wet bold young women striding down the street:
People who ride the Conch Train get free body condoms in bright yellow:The tourists who choose to take the Trolley Bus on a rainy day get the benefit of modern technology, called windows:One of the pleasant things about choosing to live in Old Town that is often touted as a blessing is the ability to live without a car, an advantage touted only in Key West and Manhattan (in the US) as far as I know. The advantage Key West holds is the mild climate, nevertheless it's a climate that can lull some riders into a false sense of security and they neglect the simplest of weather precautions:Some two wheelers come prepared to fight the blizzard of rain:Others don't:In the end it doesn't matter much. I got to the Tropic absolutely soaked, for I was surprised by the intensity and duration of the downpour as I strolled across town taking pictures. I sipped my coffee and and watched Bottle Shock as my clothes steamed gently in the darkness. What a pleasure to live where rain bothers one so little.

Gone But Not Forgotten

I was just thinking about things that aren't here anymore and some days I wish they were. Fast Buck's the preposterous department store where I worked for a brief while, that's long gone, a victim of internet commerce they say.  Goods were pricey, store display was astonishing and the store gave Duval Street a certain flair. A modern pharmacy in the same place is not at all the same thing.

In 2007 Atlantic Shores was gone. I liked it because you could tell visitors it was "straight friendly" and in those days that was rather scandalous. Atlantic Shores was a full service independent motel with a diner attached and a liquor store as well so one had no need to leave the motel. They had pool parties at the clothing optional pool though they weren't for me. I attended the outdoor movie screenings on Thursday nights with my Labrador Emma on my lap.

I don't hate the waterfront brewery in the same way I dislike the building that replaces Atlantic Shores, but I miss the grocery store which had it's own organic vibe and juice bar and internet cafe. The brewery is okay if you like vast barn-like spaces, the food is okay but for some reason I don't feel compelled to go back there. It's not a warm inviting atmosphere as I prefer my drinking space to be. But then again I don't drink much. I miss tying up at the dinghy dock and ordering a  sandwich and getting online. That's all.

I looked forward to Thursdays and the weekly rag appearing. Solares Hill made Key West feel connected to the past. Nowadays the Blue Paper survives as an internet page but back then a weekly paper was a requirement for a town to have independent journalism and Solares Hill provided it. When it got bought out by the Citizen it became a Sunday supplement and I lost interest.

There was a time when the Old State Highway 939A on Sugarloaf was open to vehicles. That allowed the less energetic to get access to a particular fishing hole. That privilege has ended and though I walk Rusty down here frequently I have to say there were never that many cars on the road, and it was fun piloting the Bonneville in the dirt. Oh well.

The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons were brutal. They drove a lot of people out of the Keys, and those that stuck out the flooding and disaster relief built some kind of a bond. I can't say I miss those awful endless stormy summers. Another decade of peace and quiet would be nice.