I came, I drank, I don’t remember. Well, it wasn’t quite that bad but there were more than a few adult beverages consumed while we were in Key West. Being big Jimmy Buffett fans, the natural first place to go was Margaritaville. Good drinks & good food – we could have just stayed there, but Irish Kevin’s was calling. We enjoyed the drinks and entertainment at Irish Kevin’s last time we were in town and were not disappointed this time. Irish Kevin (the guy that owns the place) does some of the singing and entertaining – very funny guy and a pretty good guitar player and singer too. We spent the next day with a recovery breakfast including a mimosa and a bloody maria (bloody marry made with tequila) but we were still moving pretty slow so we went back to the room to chillax for a while. They were doing major construction two floors above us and it sounded like a living under a bowling alley. We complained and were moved but I’m not too sure the good folks at the Crowne Plaza La Concha have heard the end of this one.
Next thing we did was go down to check out the situation at the southern most point marker. Walking seemed like too much of a challenge so we took one of those pedi-cabs. I doubt that the guy was too thrilled when I hopped in but for $15 for 10 min – get peddling buddy!! The marker was just like I’ve seen in pictures but as long as we were there we decided to have our picture taken and someone that knew how to operate a point and shoot camera (not too tough – right??) snapped a shot for us. On the way out of town the next morning, we would bring the bike and get a picture of the marker with the bike and hopefully us on it in the foreground. I SURE wish the guy that took our picture the day before had been there for that. There was a guy that said he would be happy to take a picture, but his ability to do so was, let’s say pathetic. I was really pissed to see that the picture he took was nonexistent. I was going to tell him to go ahead and take two or three just to make sure but he was standing in the street and cars & buses were coming so I just hoped the one would be good – UGH… At least the picture from the day before was good.
I think the picture is self explanatory – May 22, 2014
My luck with missing the hordes continues. You will recall that I missed Bike Week in Myrtle Beach by a the skin of my teeth; well, we missed Memorial Day Weekend in Key West by one day. The traffic out of the Keys was bad – the traffic going down was 3x worse. Whew – that was a close one; next time I’m going to take a closer look at the calendar.
We had a little extra time today so I thought it might be nice to take a break in South Beach (think Miami Vice – the TV show, not the drink). I’ve been there on my other bike back in 2002 when we rode to Key West and back from Daytona (some great stories from that trip!!). It looks just like it did on TV but it’s kinda cool. OOPS – no such luck!! The streets were all blocked off so the throngs of people coming for Memorial Day could walk around unencumbered by vehicular traffic. The only streets that were open were under construction, what a mess. And the way people in Miami drive – – GET ME OUTTA HERE……
The ride back was hot enough and slow enough that I got to experience “Parade Mode” on my 2014 Road Glide. This mode kicks in when the rear cylinder head temperature gets over 285 degrees. At that point the rear cylinder shuts off and the bike runs on one cylinder. Sounds and feels a whole lot different for sure. We are both ready for the cooler weather that the northern latitudes have in store for us. Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.
One more short stay with our friends in West Palm Beach & we’ll be on our way. Scott and Theresa, we can’t thank you enough for your generous hospitality. You are ALWAYS welcome at our house and please bring Riggs (their Jack Russell Terrier) with you, he and Gus will be thick as thieves in short order.
Great picture of you two. Do you guys know someone in every city??
sent you some pictures from 23 years ago… Also suggestion on your ride… At sendmailto lenny