Whack Nature Trail

Key West has a nature trail- it's through a shady mangrove area and ends up on the beach. Sounds nice. But actually rather than enjoying a pleasant walk, you get a swampy trek across the back yard of a condo building.

There's nothing to see but some mangroves which around here are like weeds. You can also spy on what's happening on people's balconies which overlook the wooden walkway. It would just be a cool little pathway to the beach but for the fact that whoever made the trail announces its presence with a glorious official-looking sign that promises much much more than it delivers.

Another Drug Sub

Look, I painted a picture of a drug sub being towed through Key West Harbor. No, really, it's just a terrible picture, but I was on my way out for one of my favorite Key West activities, spearfishing, and the boat didn't stop for pictures. If you look closely at the photo, it's a yellow Sea Tow boat behind a light blue vessel. The blue vessel is another drug sub, only smaller this time. The tow boat really was towing but when the picture was taken the drug sub had rushed ahead with the currents.

Audubon House

With family visiting, it's time to hit the tourist spots again. And bonus, it's slow season in Key West so locals get discounts left and right this time of year. Mel Fisher's even gave my parents the locals discount just because they were with us. $6 admission!

Audubon House is right across the street from Mel Fisher's Museum. It's just a white house with a white picket fence and lots of lush foliage from the outside. I have to say I wasn't thrilled about visiting this attraction. But I was pleasantly surprised. We got a personal tourguide who knew more than we ever wanted to know about John James Audubon and the Geiger House which is now called the Audubon House just because Audubon stayed there for a few weeks in 1837. She gave a great speech and the house was beautifully preserved. The Audubon lithographs were stunning in person, and I came away with a new appreciation for one of our earliest conservationists.

The tropical gardens surrounding Audubon House are nice too, although their billing as "the best tropical garden in Key West" make it kind of a letdown. But the yard is great, beautiful enough for people to book their weddings there all the time. If you like orchids, then visit Audubon House. They have them growing on tree trunks there.

The gift shop is beautiful but not the place to pick up that cheap trinket souvenir of your Key West vacation. Items for sale include precious bird sculptures and prints of Audubon's work that cost in the hundreds. Some of the nicest things are the cards featuring his birds from Florida.

Hurricane Ike in Key West

Monday before Hurricane Ike hit Key West, it's a kite boarding party on Smathers Beach.  The wind was perfect for these guys, and White Street Pier provided the perfect photo-taking platform for their jumps.  You can see that we actually have waves here in this picture.  Usually we don't because the coral reef breaks them up before they hit shore.  

Here's a video of a kite boarder doing a jump right in front of us while we stood on White Street Pier.

Conchs are Cool

Conchs, which is what they call the natives in Key West, can do lots of things that regular folks have never even tried. For example, most of them ride scooters. Also, they perform advanced scooter tricks like balancing packages between their feet while driving. Old scooters loaded down with groceries, purchases from K-Mart, or cases of beer. Even grandmas ride scooters, and ladies with dresses on, ladies dressed up for work, of all ages. Sisters ride together, one driving one holding on. Conchs put their pets on scooters, they ride in flip flops and no helmet.

They can park anywhere, they're cool.

They can zip around stuck traffic, that's cool.

The only other place I've been where I've been impressed by scooter culture was Rome, Italy. Since everyone dresses to the nines there, and since traffic congestion is outrageous in the city, you'll see fabulous people on scooters everywhere. Women wear perfect Italian shoes and their clothes flap in the scooter-made wind. They look like angels, only they're wearing lipstick. Italian scooter riders are cool too, but in a more elegant, unattainable way.

Here are some of the amazing objects I've seen on scooters in Key West:

1. fishing poles
2. buckets of bait
3. big dogs
4. parrot on shoulder of driver
5. bulletin board
6. case of beer plus ice
7. an 8-foot long 2x4 from Home Depot

None of the drivers I've seen with these things had any trouble manning the scooters, except one with full bait bucket. He fell off and spilled the bait but that was because he was drunk. That's not cool, but it's funny.

Famous Writers in Key West

Key West has been known as a writers' haven for decades. It's a tropical island so of course lots of writers find it perfect. Starting back with Key West's most famous author, Ernest Hemingway, there has been a string of authors calling Key West home at least for a temporary period of time.

I recently had occasion to meet one of Key West's current writers, one who writes books for girls. She's maybe the best author ever for little girls, and her books must certainly be considered classics by now. I read them when I was little, and they were the best ever. I remember when a new book of hers came out, and rumor got around that there were racy parts in it. My best Saturday friend and I checked it out of the library one weekend and we were so excited to get our hands on it we sat down on the front steps of the library and read it right there, aloud to each other, skipping to what we thought were the juicy parts.

So I was pretty excited to discover that one of patrons of the establishment where I work was this very same Key West writer. At first, I only learned who she was after she'd left the building so I had time to build up excitement and hope by the next time she came in. When she did, I let her know I was a huge fan, and I loved her work. She was... well, she didn't care. She smiled but I could tell she wanted to get away from me. Now when I see her at work and she has to exchange with me because she has to pay for stuff, she hides her eyes and hurries away. She just didn't care and I felt kind of let down in the way that fans always have expectations of who famous people are and how they should behave.

She's a famous writer. Shouldn't she have a way of addressing fans and acknowledging fame by now? She looks to be in her 70's, and she's been a prize-winning author for decades. Hasn't she figured out how to just say thank you I'm glad you enjoyed my books? That's all I wanted to say, I really didn't remember her books enough to have an actual discussion about them, or even the title of my favorite one. I just wanted to say I loved her stuff, and she still matters.

Key West Power Boat Races

Key West Power Boat Races just finished for the year. For a first-timer, it was thrilling to hear the jet engines on those big boats as they practiced their runs during the week. Starting on a Wednesday they were out there in front of Key West throughout the day, with their close-flying helicopters tailing them in amazing precision. At first I thought the helicopters were there to film the boats as they drove at full speed. But they were also there during the actual Key West power boat races so it must be something to do with navigation. Maybe the boats go so fast and the drivers are situated so low in the cockpit they really can't see much around them. It's crazy to think they're racing around to close to Key West and other dive and fishing boats, not really able to see much. What?

Races were on Friday and Sunday, with practice and preparation on Thursday and Saturday. The power boats gather and register at Truman Annex waterfront and race a loop course that begins in Key West harbor and goes south towards Sand Key Light. They used to race eastwards along the south face of Key West but no more. People tell me it was pretty exciting in those days to watch the power boats come around the corner of the island in front of Fort Zachary Taylor, taking a sharp right turn into Key West harbor. Depending on the weather and the roughness of the seas, boats would often flip doing this curve. Someone even told me that a driver had a bad flip one year and the accident decapitated him. I haven't been able to verify this yet.

IF you want to view the Key West power boat races from up close and you want to sit down, you will have to shell out $15 for entrance in the bleachers area near the entrance to Fort Zachary Taylor. To save money, veer left into the park instead of going straight through the gates, where you will have to pay, even if you arrive on foot or by bicycle. Either go into Fort Zachary and pay the usual daily fee, which is about $2 or $4 for a bicycler, or bike over towards Mallory Square and squeeze in for a position at the water's edge against the rail. Few people go to the area between Fort Zachary and Mallory Square, which is where the cruise ships usually board. That's also an option.

The race consists of power boats doing a loop with their helicopters, zooming into the Harbor in front of Mallory Square where viewers can take action shots with their cameras. The noise of the helicopters is the first to arrive and serves as cue to get your camera ready for a picture. That's kind of it in a nutshell. You can't really tell who's winning or how each boat is doing, or whether a boat is having technical or mechanical difficulties. And after a while the thrill of the loud engines kind of wears off, until it's just some noise. After the races end, the helicopters gather in a group just off Sunset Key, and they look like a swarm of hornets hovering over the ocean. Then the crowd dissipates and it's just Mallory Square again.

Some people think part of the fun of Key West power boat races is the scene on Duval Street each night. Drivers and their teams wear their team jerseys and hit the bars or stroll proudly down Duval Street. There's added energy to the Duval Street scene when the Key West Power Boat racers are in town. They love to wear their jerseys everywhere they go, even if they're just going out to eat for lunch. And that, from a newcomer's perspective, is what Key West Power Boat races are all about.

Key West Boat Rentals

If you are interested Key West boat rentals, then be prepared to pay substantially more than anywhere outside of Key West. For a 16 foot skiff, get ready to shell out $300 for a full day. For a two hour jaunt to see the Key West sunset, it'll cost you $200 plus 7% tax if you want to rent your own boat. For a 20 foot center console Angler, it's $400 for the whole day. Compare this to elsewhere in the Florida Keys, outside of Key West, it's $255 for a 20 foot center console. Keep in mind, that even with high prices for Key West rentals, you still probably won't get a nice GPS system like the screen on the boat in this picture.

Basically, like everything else, it costs more in Key West. Anyway, if you're vacationing in Key West, what choice do you have? You can pay for convenience or you can drive "up the Keys" for a lower rate. Marathon, 50 miles away, has a few cheaper boat rental places. Big Pine Key, 30 miles away, has a boat rental company that will deliver the boat to you. You can rent anything from a 12 foot Jon boat for $100 bucks a day to a 30 foot Sea Ray, $650 bucks a day.

Renting a boat out of Big Pine Key also means you'll be close to Looe Key Sanctuary when you go out. That means extraordinary snorkeling and scuba diving. However, no fishing because it's a sanctuary. Don't worry, because the Florida Keys have some of the best sportfishing in the world and the sanctuaries only eliminate a small portion of fishing opportunities.

Key West Newspaper

Key West has a couple of newspapers, both online and in print. They all feature local news and many of them are owned by the same company. Today online at keysnews.com, I was trying to read an article and there were so many typos I couldn't understand what I was reading. Here's the text in full:

"The 2004 and 2005 hurricanehurrricaneseasons turned the waters off the Lower Keys into a virtual boat graveyard, as hundreds of vesselsboat littered the beaches and mangrove islands. While many of the vessels have since have been removed, the task is far from complete.Cleaning up nature's work is an expensive undertaking and cost thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to clean up.
AOnecasino boat, the Lady Luck, is one of the most visible examples of the problem. The vessel still remains mired on shallowhigh and dry ongrasstheflats in the Saddlebunch Keys, visible to tourists and commuters traveling on U.S. 1 around off Mmile Mmarker 13.The 100-ton vessel, registered to a Melbourne, Fla.-based company,was sweptblownonto its muddy berththerewhen Hurricane Wilma brushed the Florida Keys in 2005.
and caught fire last summer. Now, nearly two years later, aAproposed agreement between the Monroe Ccounty and the federal government agency that oversees the Florida Keys National Marine Ssanctuary could finally generatebringa plan and the money to remove thefloatingcasino boat and other derelict vessels, which is registered to a Melbourne, Fla. company, called Coin Castle.
Monroe County administrator Tom Willi and Growth Management Director Andrew Trivette's decision to reduce the Marine Resources Division from three people to one person left doubt's in the mind's of Florida Keys Marine Sanctaury officials and others about whether one person could handle that direlect vessel removal, enforce mandatory pump out laws, repair and replace channel markers and other issues the county receives more than $200,000 a year in state boater improvement funds to do.
Sanctuary Superintendent Dave Score sent Willi a letter after the department was dismantled asking for assurance that the work the department was doing would continue. Willi assured he would and planned to hold with local, state and federal government officials about the county's plan to handle marine related issues. However, the meeting was cancelled after it turn into a public forum that had to be advertised.
The Monroe County Commission will vote Wednesday on anpactagreementbetween the county and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which oversees the sanctuary, "to facilitate cooperation and coordination for the funding and implementation of emergency response and marine salvage efforts within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary."
The agreement would allow the county to receivebe paidcleanup costspaidthrough a federal government fund that is set up to pay for vessel groundings. The — afund is generated from fines levied against and comes from the owners of boats that have grounded on coral reef, seagrass and other sensitive marine habitat.
The agreement would allow the county and NOAA to partner on these projects —,somethingwhichthey informally have informally done informally in the past.
"This will allow for the ability of funds to be transferred between NOAA and the county for projects like the Lady Luck on an as-needed basis, which have happened in the past," said Sanctuary Superintendent Dave Score said.
A draft plan for removingfor the removal ofLady Luck has been approved, but attorneys are still are working on the details. Estimates by various salvage companies have placed the cost atofmore than $500,000.
"It's going to be very expensive," said Steve Werndli, who is overseeing the project for the sanctuary.
Werndli wcould not release details of the plan, or thethe amount it is going tocost of implementing it,,because of ongoing litigation between NOAA and the vessel's owners.
The proposal comefollowsafter a decision byed agreement also comes afterMonroe County Aadministrator Tom Willi and Growth Management Director Andrew Trivette'sdecided to reduce the county's Marine Resources staffDivisionfrom three people to one person, Senior Marine Planner Rich Jones. Thatemove raised concern amongleft doubt in the mindsofficials at the sof Florida Keys Marine Sanctuary officials and other agenciessabout whether one county employeepersoncanould adequately can managehandlederelict vessel removal, water quality programsissues, themaintenance of channel markers and other projects for whichissuesthe county receives more than $200,000 a year from the in state Bboater Iimprovement Ffunds to do.
Score recently sent Willi a letter after the department was dismantled asking for assurancesthat that the work the downsized department was doing would continue. Willi assured him it would, and said he planned to conductholda meeting with local, state and federal government officials about the county's plan to deal withhandlemarine-related issues. However, the meeting was waslatercancelled after it became apparentturn into a public forumthat it would havehadto be advertised as a public meeting. Willi then said he would meet individually with officials.
County Commissioner and Sanctuary Advisory Council member George Neugent has mixed feelings about the proposed agreement with NOAA.
"I think that they (county Growth Management officials) are trying to show that they are quickly addressing these issues," he County Commissioner and Sanctuary Advisory Council member George Neugent said of the agreement."It serves a purpose for both the sanctuary and the county. But there is so much more that Marine Resources does. We are just understaffed to handle all of the duties. There is no way Rich Jones can do this alone."
Also on Wednesday, the commission will vote on the appointment of John Marston to the Monroe County Planning Commission. Marston willwouldreplace Sherry Popham.
The commission alsowill also vote on amendments to its comprehensive land-use plan. Those amendments thatdeal with preservingmaintainingmarinas and working waterfront. "

Key West Snorkeling

Key West is great in a lot of ways, but for lots of people, it's the coral reef that counts. If what you like is historical architecture and a quaint city and lots of places to eat out and drink at bars, then there are many more cheaper places in the world that will suit your needs. Key West has all this PLUS the reef, the Gulf and the backcountry.

The coral reef in front of Key West is part of North America's only living coral reef, and begins all the way up near Miami and continues out past Key West, to the Dry Tortugas. It's just around six miles to the reef from Key West harbor, making it a short drive. On calmer days, you can get out to the reef for snorkeling, spearfishing, fishing or scuba in a small boat. I've seen flats boats and skiffs make it to the reef on calm days when the ocean is almost as flat as a lake.

For the visitor, snorkeling is the best way to appreciate marine life around Key West. Most beginner snorkelers need very few skills, and snorkel companies in Key West will provide all the gear you need if you take a snorkel excursion while here on vacation. If you've ever gone swimming, then you're half way there. Snorkeling in the ocean on a calm day is easier than swimming in a lake because the salt water helps so much with bouyancy. Plus, you wear a life jacket when you go out on a snorkel trip.

The hardest thing about snorkeling is getting used to the mask and snorkel. If a mask isn't properly worn, it will leak and cause you great misery. If there's a hair under the seal, water can get in. If the mask is too big, you will have trouble making a seal. Best advice for beginner snorkelers is to make sure you get a good fit before jumping into the water. Smooth away all your hair from your face. Put the strap on tight enough so it doesn't slip all around your head. Breath in through your nose and see if the mask tightens around your face, making a seal. Make it secure and tight but no so tight your face hurts. If you're in the water all this is just about impossible and you'll have to get out to fix it.

Shark Fishing in a Flats Boat

SEE THE VIDEO HERE!



Catching giant barracudas is a lot of fun, but it's just the beginning for shark fishing. If you think barracudas fight good, and I did when I first caught that big one from my last post, then you'll love how sharks fight.

Why barracudas as bait for sharks? If you've ever handled one out on a boat, you'll know why: They STINK! Very very smelly, terrible smell. Also, they are plentiful and they bite pretty easily, and there aren't any fishing regulations on them so you can catch a lot for tons of bait. You can even catch some for your next shark outing, and keep them in your freezer. The stink will reappear once they are thawed out. Barracudas aren't especially bloody like a bonito. They have white meat. It's mostly about the terrible smell and the abundance.

After we made our exciting catch that day, our first time out shark fishing, our guide drove us in his flats boat to Airport Flats, in front of Key Largo. The water was about five feet deep and the tide was going out. The guide made filets on either side of each fish, but didn't cut the pieces completely off the body. Then he hooked the cut up fish bodies on a hook and a very very long steel leader and threw it off the back of the boat. We just let them bleed out and stink up the water. Then we waited and waited forever. You have to be a little patient with shark fishing sometimes. We waited for over an hour.

But the wait was soooooooo worth it. First, we caught a nurse shark. We didn't know any better, so we were really excited. It was the biggest thing we'd ever seen at the time, but it was six feet long which makes it a medium sized shark. It felt gigantic on the line because we'd been fishing for pike in the Adirondacks. Compared to northern pike, even a nurse shark is a whale.

Then a monster bull shark showed up but he wouldn't eat any of the barracuda. Plus he kept all the smaller bull sharks that had shown up, away from the bait. Our guide solved this problem by catching a jack on a popper, then sending him out on a bobber. The jack swam out way behind the boat, beyond the barracuda bait, beyond the big bull shark. The big guy swam right up to and around the boat a few times. We stood on the bow and because the water was pretty shallow and clear, we could see him and how big he was.

Finally a bull shark hit the jack. He wasn't as big as the one at the boat, but he pulled like a train. My BF took the pole an hung on while the drag spun out. The shark pulled right out and there wasn't anything he could do to stop it. The guide started the boat and left the pole sticking up in the mud while we took off to chase the bull. We chased him and BF pulled when he could, bearing down like crazy. we had to put a towel under the base of the pole so it didn't push into his skin too much.

BF fought and fought the bull for about 45 minutes. Did I mention this was on 20 lb line? Once it came up to the boat, came really close and he was able to reel in lots of line. We were excited but the shark had lots of energy left still. He got another spurt and attacked one of the trim tabs on the boat! Our guide flipped out and gunned the engine to get away from bull but he held on. Man! He finally let go but the guide had had it. He asked BF if maybe he wanted to rest for a minute, he'd take the pole. BF handed over the pole to rest for a bit, but oh dear suddenly the shark broke the line. What a coincidence! I guess having your trim tab chewed up by a bull shark isn't a great way to end the day. Sorry! But it was the greatest thrill EVER.

"Yeah"

"Yeah" , they chimed in. Stereophonic chastising as I realized my crime: setting myself up on the wrong bicycle in the Friday morning spinning class. I had the misfortune of innocently nabbing the machine reserved by a cranky odd woman who seemed to think I wanted the special silver cycle for myself, at her expense. "I didn't know!" I protested, instinctively raising my arms to cover my head, mocking the group attack the class was launching against me. "Yeah" two people chimed in as the moody woman harangued me, proving they were against this injustice I had leveled against the poor woman. "Sorry! So Sorry! Here you go!" I jumped off the silver cycle, which the woman let me know she had gotten there at 8 am to procure and I had messed it all up.
As I adjusted my rightful older red cycle, and got ready for class, I guess I couldn't really hold it against the moody woman, who perhaps should consider exercising in the afternoon when she's in a better mood. After all, I did steal her bike. What echoed in my ears was the double "Yeah", the schoolyard group bent on proving they were on the right side of the debate, those making sure they were not associated with the loser, the mistaken, the newcomer. "Yeah"???? What was that? So instead of harboring the negativity, I asked the dude on the cycle next to the victimized woman, "Why didn't you say something to me? You watched me... all adjusting my seat...?" And I said it in a self-mocking way, making fun of myself, even mimicking the hand movements of me being all careful and twisting the knobs, and I laughed as I said it. He mumbled something, embarrassed.
But the question remains, why didn't he or the other chimer say anything as they watched me steal the bike? Cowardice, sleepiness, or shyness? But suddenly so brave, awake, unshy when cranky woman bellows at me? Yes, it's the group mentality, sheep following the leader.
But whatever. That's life, and that's definitely people. I will NOT go so far as to say "people suck". But I will say that when you find a gem of a person, someone who's open, honest, and who thinks for him or herself, and doesn't turn into a sheep, then you have found someone that's interesting to talk to and fun to hang out with. Hopefully Key West is full of them, and spinning class is just one of those scenes that brings out the worst in people. We'll see!