Around Eaton Street

There are mornings when Rusty annoys me half to death...well not really but I do wonder why he chooses where he wants to walk. It starts with a wet nose in my face at 4:30 in the morning which really pisses my wife off. She says a small dog howling wakes her up and she can't get back to sleep.

This despite the fact I tumble out of bed, get dressed hopping around in the bathroom and leave the house as quickly as possible with the bedroom door closed firmly behind us. I also give Rusty a chew to shut him up while I dress so I figure Herself has no grounds for complaint.

"We have to teach Rusty not to wake you early in the morning on your nights off" my wife he teacher complains. She says she can't get back to sleep after Rusty warbles us awake with a weird low howl he uses to get me out of bed at his beck and call. 

All very well for her, she rolls over and tries to fall asleep again. I get to go out into the world, drive for half an hour and start walking just so Rusty can find some spare Kilwin's ice cream to reward him for waking me up.

Downtown speed limits except for a few select streets are now 20 miles per hour. I don't think slower limits make for safer drivers. The less involved they are the more bored and distracted they get. Mind you I don't suppose anything will resurrect a sense of the responsibility of driving. Might as well try to slow them down to walking speed. Whatever.

And then like magic the sun started to come up and paint colors on the white wooden buildings. 

A red leaf on a  red car...

And a reminder that paradise costs money, just in case you were wondering:

No pets. Sorry Rusty. Guess we won't be moving in there even if we wanted to...

Torch Key Walk

More trails I am finally strong enough to explore without much fear of tripping on uneven surfaces.

Some pictures need no words. 

Downtown Dawn

Look at that pitch black sky:

Another early morning start for Rusty and I:

A quick patrol around the docks:

Then Greene Street ast the pizza and ice cream shop:

The wold famous bar I have never been inside:

The Green Man on Greene Street:

Duval Street:

The empty parking lot lit as bright as day on Simonton Street:

Pardon Greene and John Simonton where two of four Americans (John Fleeming (sic) and John Whitehead were the others) who bought Key West from Juan Salas who got the island as a reward from the King of Spain. Then he sold it again to another dude which provoked  a lawsuit before the four partners secured their island which they developed sight unseen.

A stroll back to the car up Caroline Street...

...and then a pause at the dog park on Trumbo Road to watch the sun come up:

Rusty was tired and not much into the empty field:

Back in the car and home to sleep.

Another fine morning's work.

Truman Avenue

Broga saved my life. Sean holding court below is one of the hardest most dedicated physical education instructors in Key West. His program built up my core strength so much my neck and spine didn't break when I was thrown over the car that hit me last August. That I can walk and am not in a wheelchair for life is thanks to his perseverance and dedication to my well being. I took this picture after class last week because I love watching him explain the benefits of Broga and enjoying the results and I want to have the opportunity to remember him as he is as one day I suppose he will no longer be in my life. I am back in class twice a week in addition to other exercise classes as I slowly build my strength back up. Broga is the best and hardest exercise of all and I owe Sean my legs. He thinks I'm mad to be riding again but where Broga is his drug riding is mine. 

Sean lives the life we should all live, his carbon foot pint is tiny, he has no car, never leaves Old Town and he eats  a largely plant based diet. I cannot be like him but I live in awe of him. You can understand why. In a town filled with eccentrics he is a character who makes sense to me and who I fail to emulate every day. But I exercise thanks to him. And when I'm out walking my dog I see signs like this no trespassing on a fence so tall I'd have to be an Olympic pole vaulter to get anywhere close to being able to trespass. I am not that athletic yet and never will be.

A yarn shop, so wholesome and unlike the popular image of this tourist town. I like these kinds of places even though I don't crochet because they are a reminder to us all that regular folk live in and enjoy Key West. People who knit included, and I like that. 

Change is constant in Key West. I don't like that so much. Oh well. 

This county vehicle surprised me as this county has a dismal record of recycling, almost no solar wind or other renewable energy and yet...we are going green. Really?

Here's one county building that is shady and green on Truman Avenue. The Harvey government center, a former school has some excellent trees around it throwing shade and greenery.

This bizarre and beautiful painted box appears to have started life a s a newspaper stand. Now it looks like the world's chic-est chicken coop!  Very nice.

My boy head down and dedicated to whatever it is that turns him on:

Beautiful natural Key West:

More greenery at Bayview Park home of the artisan market on Thursdays in the winter months:

A plane coming in to land through more greenery. Key West had a lot less vegetation before the Navy imported water through a  new pipeline in 1942. The idea was to ramp up operations for the war but the imported water meant there was left overs for civilians and their new plants and trees that couldn't be watered when the city relied on cisterns and rain water before World War Two.

Key West, where people use scooters as primary transport, alongside bicycles and cars:

I did mention bicycles didn't I? Riding on sidewalks is permitted in Florida which is good because that's where the shade tends to be too.

Trees are everywhere and I can walk around and see them too:

And decorations reminiscent of the water surrounding this island:

The old dance studio offers yoga and fresh bright paint these days just off Truman Avenue:

And Rusty found shade for a roadside snack. Some days he reminds me of Cheyenne when he finds things to eat. He doesn't do it often but some days he surprises me:

A short walk after Broga and we both went home to escape the heat and take a nap.