Interesting (Oct 21, 2012)
Fantasy Fest 2012 is now in full swing. The Tourist Development Council is predicting record numbers based on hotel reservations, mostly in the 80,000+ range. That's a lot of visitors on an island with a population of 24,000 people.

That's all good; it's rehearsal for season. What makes it interesting is that Invest 99, an "area of concern," has popped up below Cuba. Old timers will tell you that the only storms we have to worry about here are the ones that pop up right below Cuba. Wilma was a good example.

Most of the projections have the storm veering East and side-swiping the Bahamas before heading out into the open Atlantic. That would be very good for us, but not so good for Turks and Caicos and other points in between.

At this point, we'll probably have some soaking rain, and then the storm will drag all the clouds and breezes away from us and leave us with a refreshing "cold" front for the festivities. That's what we're asking for anyway.

See the spaghetti models here:http://www.spaghettimodels.com/
Click here to discuss this
( 1 reply, Latest reply: Oct 21, 2012)

Wedding Bells (Jun 17, 2012)
A young friend of ours got married today, and I got an invitation. I would guesstimate that it's probably been about twenty-five years since I attended a full-blown big round of parties and events wedding.

There were some very nice gatherings through the week, but the main event tonight was simply spectacular. The wedding service and the reception were held on the main sunset pier at a major resort hotel. It was sequestered from the public by a garden of potted palms and an open area with banquettes and lounges. An enormous marquee covered the food and dancing areas.

The wedding procession and ceremony lasted approximately ten minutes, tops, with no foolishness whatever. We followed the bride from the ceremony into the reception area, and had no sooner chosen a seat under the marquee than the skies opened. The squall lasted about twenty minutes, raining as hard as I've ever seen it come down, but it didn't matter. The staff dropped the isinglass sides of the marquee and we were high and dry. It gave everyone in attendance a chance to get a cocktail and mingle and talk about the weather.

The clouds parted, the sides of the marquee came back up and we were treated to a delightful sunset with champagne toasts all around.

Passed hors d'ouvres gave way to five separate food stations serving everything from burgers and crab cakes to a whole roast suckling pig. Our location also insures there will be pounds of shrimp and lobster, and nobody was disappointed.

This was topped off with the wedding cake and ice cream and fresh fruit. I think I ate at least five pounds of food. Or maybe ten, it's hard to remember.

Music and dancing followed, and then it was time to roll us old folks out so the kids could have some fun.

I think I might try to break back into this circuit.


Click here to discuss this
( 1 reply, Latest reply: Jun 17, 2012)

Cooties! Cooties! (Mar 15, 2012)
Along with spring breakers come the cooties. Hard to identify little rhino viruses that cause fever, shakes, coughing spasms, and general malaise and ennui. Antibiotics are useless - luckily, no bacterial component. Just a tenacious little virus that travels with young people who are in school, whether it's toddler day care or grown-up daycare at a University.

I've always had a retail component in my life, either part-time or full-time, so I always take a flu shot each October. It might prevent flu, but it doesn't prevent the cooties. I'm also a chronic hand-washer, and even that doesn't get it all.

Since it started Saturday, I'm well and truly over it. The fever broke late Monday, but returned on Tuesday afternoon just to let me know it wasn't finished yet. Wednesday brought...well, let's just say there shouldn't be anything left in my system after that.

Thursday's here, and I'm feeling much better now. The job will be to avoid the rest of them until break is over, because I don't want to do that again.
Click here to discuss this
( 1 reply, Latest reply: Mar 15, 2012)

Ah, March. The Madness (Mar 11, 2012)
Recent political developments in Mexico and other sunny points South mean that parents are reluctant to let their kids leave the US on spring break. They either finance a European Grand Tour, or they send them to Florida. Likely points above Miami were experiencing a sharp cold front last week, so they all came down here.

To be honest, last week was the Florida schools, who always feel at home here, and one can never judge from Florida week. The first signs of the Universities of Michigan and Indiana, however, bring joy to the hearts of every hotelier and moped rental business on the island.

They are here in droves, packed onto Smathers Beach like sardines and acting like it's Party Time in Paradise. Which, of course, it is when you're 21 and the temperature is 90 degrees in March.

So here's to Spring Break 2012! Party on, Garth!
Click here to discuss this
(No replies)

100th Anniversary of the FEC Railroad (Jan 22, 2012)
On this day 100 years ago, Henry Flagler arrived in Key West aboard his private railcar, "The Rambler" attached to a train that travelled over 115 miles from Miami on tracks that he built. Those tracks included the world's longest over-water span, the Seven Mile Bridge.

There was a Grand Gala Ball at the Casa Marina Hotel last night, complete with fireworks. Today, we'll celebrate the festivities with a parade from the Southernmost Point, down Duval Street and wind up at the Custom House on Mallory Square.

A gentleman who looks an awful lot like Henry Flagler himself will deliver the welcome speech and throw open the doors to a new exhibit at the Custom House all about the Florida East Coast Railway, and how we got to be here now.

Sometimes it's a lot of fun to live in a small town at the end of the railroad tracks.

Click here to discuss this
( 1 reply, Latest reply: Jan 22, 2012)

Januaria 2012 (Jan 15, 2012)
Usually after New Years all the visitors clear out and we have a nice quiet town for two weeks. This year, they didn't get the memo.

Unseasonal warmth has proven to be a powerful lure, and the past two weeks were like seasons of old when hordes invaded in December and stayed until Easter. My bike ride over to the grocery store this morning reminded me of Thailand, with bicycles and mopeds coming at me from six different directions at once. Once I got to the store, I had to lock my bike up a block away because there was no room left on the rack at the store.

I should appreciate this more, because if they are riding bikes, then they are not trying to run people down with their clownishly oversized SUVs. Also, the bike rental shops are doing great business, which means they will purchase new bikes and sell off the used ones in May for very reasonable prices. So there's an upside.

This week we have the sailboat races. There are some beautiful crafts in town, and apparently they are racing in all four categories again this year. There had been some grumbling last year about the lack of provisioning and the generally high cost of everything down here, and there was talk that they might just cancel the whole thing. That did not materialize.

After the recent tragedies of the power boat races in November, the sight of serenely quiet boats of all sizes skimming lightly across the harbor is very reassuring. It reminds one of a time when the only way to travel to Key West was under sails.
Click here to discuss this
(7 replies, Latest reply: Jan 15, 2012)

From Empty to Absolutely Mobbed in 24 Hours (Dec 25, 2011)
Three days ago, one could walk unattended down most of Duval Street. Now it's completely full on both sidewalks, and cars with visiting license plates are driving the wrong way down all the one way streets and making U-turns on Duval without warning.

Welcome to Holiday Week, our new tour-de-force in tourist economics.

We've been featured on CNN for our unusual New Year's Eve observances for about ten years now, and it seems that people finally got the message that it's a lot more fun to be partying in summer clothes rather than standing in three feet of snow in Times Square in New York.

Friends in the lodging business tell me they are booked solid for the week. Haven't heard from the retailers as they usually close on Christmas Day, but I imagine tomorrow will be an unenviable day to be in retail sales. For the first time in thirteen years, I won't be across the cash registers from snarling, drunken customers. Hooray.

Last year, this Holiday Week produced more revenue than Fantasy Fest, and took a lot of people by surprise. Hopefully they'll be more prepared this year.




Click here to discuss this
(6 replies, Latest reply: Dec 31, 2011)

Powerboats 2011 (Nov 12, 2011)
Tragedy this week as one of the local favorites flipped and broke up at 170 mph in the main harbor channel. This was to have been the last race meet for the 74 year old owner, who was at the helm. His driver, age 43, was also killed in the incident.

During races on Friday, another boat flipped at the same speed, but no one was seriously injured.

Finals are on Sunday.
Click here to discuss this
(4 replies, Latest reply: Nov 16, 2011)

Fantasy Fest 2011/Unwanted Guest (Oct 25, 2011)
An unusual late season hurricane is churning down in the Western Caribbean, and has already reached Category 2 strength. It is moving very slowly, which is good, except that slow movement over very deep, very warm water usually encourages growth.

Here in Key West, every hotel room is booked at high season prices for the upcoming events of Fantasy Fest. There are as many as fifty different events scheduled for this week, culminating in the giant Fantasy Fest Parade on Saturday. There are as many as 65,000 people on the island for the event.

Several factors are at play. Our temperatures have already moderated, dropping ten to fifteen degrees F last week as a cold front passed through. The high pressure cell behind it remains stationary. This should guide the storm more Easterly.

The hurricane has to pass over the Yucatan or Western Cuba to get here, which will deprive it of moisture and cause some shredding, since they are large land masses (relatively). If it has strengthened, that will take a lot out of it.

This will leave us with the possibility of a tropical storm passing on Friday or Saturday bringing lashings of rain and/or storm surge, depending on the air pressure when it passes through. This would be of no great concern, since we get lots of practice with tropical storms, even as recently as last week.

Unfortunately, this week we have 65,000 people in town who are unfamiliar with the tropics, our storms, measured response, level-headedness, or evacuation procedures. They are also mostly intoxicated, and will react with a fury if told they have to leave.

The Navy is a large presence here, and their sophisticated equipment and training gives them the upper hand in storm prediction and tracking. We will know to the minute exactly what will hit us and when.

The city fathers now have the unenviable task of deciding whether to evacuate the city in advance, possibly saving many lives, or let the party roll, possibly endangering thousands. They are literally damned if they do, and damned if they don't. The financial loss of an evacuation in an already tenuous economy would be nearly as devastating.

Of course, the elephant in the room here is the recent memory of Hurricane Wilma from October of 2004. Also originating in the Western Caribbean, it stayed down there and grew for four or five days before heading north, devastating the Yucatan and then swinging east to go ashore in Florida just north of us. We missed the storm itself, but got a four-to-eight foot storm surge, which left about 40 percent of the homes in the Keys flooded in salt water. 18,000 cars were ruined. As of 2011, we have not recovered financially from that storm - we don't need another like it.

So, here we are. Praying people are praying that it just peters out down there and leaves us with a mildly rainy weekend. Pragmatists are preparing for the worst without letting on that they are preparing for the worst. Tourists think it will be incredibly romantic to spend a tropical storm in Key West (Bogart and Bacall in Key Largo). The rest of us just have to wait and see.

Wish us luck...
Click here to discuss this
(3 replies, Latest reply: Oct 27, 2011)

Fantasy Fest 2011 (Oct 23, 2011)
And we're off! Thanks to some glorious weather and an expanded venue, Goombay 2011 was incredibly civilized. The addition of three blocks of Petronia Street plus the music venue out on the soccer field made for much easier travel and far less spilled beer.

During the planning this year the Fire Department and Emergency Personnel made a concerted effort for the expansion, just so that they could more readily respond to any problems during the festivities. This paid off handsomely, as it was actually pleasant to walk down instead of mosh pitting it all the way down Petronia Street.

Amazing assortment of Meat-on-a-stick, and some really good Bahamian specialities too.

A very worthy kickoff - kudos to all involved!
Click here to discuss this
(No replies)

36 Hours in Key West (Jan 10, 2011)
The New York Times has done an article about "36 Hours in Key West," and most of it is spot-on. There is a video about halfway down the page that features some of the restaurants and performers in town. (Mildly NSFW, drag queen channeling Mae West).

You may have to log in or register with NYTimes:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/travel/09hours.html

Please note Ft. Zachary Taylor (yoga), White Street Pier at Higgs Beach.
Click here to discuss this
(No replies)

Holiday Week (Jan 2, 2011)
CNN has been covering our New Years Eve for four years now, and it is becoming very evident that the coverage has led to increased participation in the festivities between Christmas and New Years in Key West.

We used to enjoy this quiet week before season, but this year we were treated to 70,000 extra guests, and it has quickly evolved into our strongest economic week of the year.

While Fantasy Fest and St. Patrick's Fest are good only for the hotels and bars, Holiday Week seems to favor all businesses about equally. There is a tremendous upsurge in families with small children this time of year.

It doesn't hurt that CNN coverage shows everyone freezing to death at Times Square in NYC, while our group are cavorting in shorts and t-shirts on Duval Street. The temps held around 75F/23C from Wednesday onward.

As usual, we were happy to see them come, and doubly happy to see them go.
Click here to discuss this
(3 replies, Latest reply: Jan 2, 2011)

Galactic Garden (Nov 30, 2010)
This garden is on the big island of Hawaii, and offers a representation of our own home galaxy:

http://www.galaxygarden.net/tour.html

It uses relative distances to portray travel across 100,000 light years. And, they have better hibiscus than we have here.
Click here to discuss this
(4 replies, Latest reply: Dec 4, 2010)

November (Nov 11, 2010)
After just a few days of peace and quiet in the first weeks of October, it seems that our seasonal residents decided to come back early. They usually wait for Thanksgiving, but hey, it's good to see them. I don't really mind that I can't zip in and zip out of the grocery store in the morning as usual.

The third week of October got unexpectedly busy as people who didn't want to pay five-night premiums for Fantasy Fest came in early and started their own little week-long parties. Restaurants and bars were full, and residents started smiling.

The coronation for Fantasy Fest King and Queen kicked off Friday night, and a new record was set for donations. Good Sign!

For the first time in recorded history, it did not rain during Goombay. The showers confined themselves to a short period between four and five a.m. on Saturday, and pretty much washed away the smell of stale Red Stripe.

Fantasy Fest herself was pretty much what it always is: ten days of debauchery, punctuated by some outstanding events. I'm proud to say that most of Key West got out the Lee Press-On Smiles(tm) and helped the visitors make the most of it. The crowds were estimated to be about 65,000 guests, and not a single one of them showed up on the sheriff's arrest pages. That has got to be a record.

We had no sooner got the last of the FF crowd out before the Parrotheads arrived for their little Jimmy Buffett jamboree. The crowds seemed a little thinner than usual, but they still had a good time and made some noise last weekend. Residents with mountains of FF tip money in their pockets can be very tolerant and still pleasant, even when they are completely exhausted.

Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were as still as a tomb. A serious wake-up-it's-chilly cold front came through and reminded us that winter is not far off. I am not very interested in a repeat of last year's record-breaking coldness, but watching the humidity drop from 90% to 50% can be pretty amazing all by itself.

Wednesday morning, the roosters crowed and the engines revved. We now have International Powerboat Racers in town, and the time trials have started. Tomorrow, they will have chase helicopters circling the inner harbor and we will be on Wide World of Sports all weekend. Woo-hoo!

After that, I think we get a week of quiet, and then it's Thanksgiving, when all the rest of the seasonal people get here. What happened to summer?



Click here to discuss this
(No replies)

Soggy September (Sep 16, 2010)
I'm not complaining. So far, we have avoided anything resembling a tropical storm or hurricane this season.

However, we certainly have been enjoying the moisture from a few that passed South or East of us.

Karl snaked his way through the middle of the Caribbean toward the Yucatan peninsula. Although still just rated as a tropical storm, the outer bands of precipitation are reaching us here in Key West. We've had squally weather all day, with very windy downpours at times. Of course, I had to take the bus out to the airport to get a new Florida I.D. card today, before it expires next week.

I think I'll just be content with the rain. There are currently two Category Four hurricanes in the Atlantic that could just as easily have come here.
Click here to discuss this
(No replies)

August Warmth (Aug 26, 2010)
At last the crowds have dwindled down, the streets are clear and life is calmer. It's time for the chorus of "Oh, no! Where is everybody?" as if this doesn't happen every year at this time.

Oddly, the crowds have tapered but not withdrawn completely. A fair number have been in my shop every day, and they tend to be the people who come at the same time every year to visit. Some just prefer the quiet time. It works for me either way.

There have been some special activity weekends lately which also drew respectable crowds.

The predictions for storms this year seem to be accurate, except that so far they are all taking a sharp right for the North Atlantic. And that's fine, too.

The one truly consistent thing about August IS true: it's hot. We're holding at 35C in the afternoons, tempered a little by daily thundershowers. There has been a breeze, and if you keep to the shade, it's tolerable.

So it's time to relax until the 16th of September, when the mighty crowds (17,000 or so) of Harleys hit town for the annual poker run and shake us out of our reverie.

Happy Summertime!
Click here to discuss this
( 1 reply, Latest reply: Aug 26, 2010)

Fourth of July (Jul 1, 2010)
Normally, we would just now be relaxing and unwinding after Memorial Day and the departure of the hordes. The 4th of July tends to be a very "hometown" holiday, free from the huddled masses and drunken refuse yearning to be completely out of hand.

This is not to be. Since the date falls on Sunday, Monday is the bank holiday. Many people apparently took this opportunity to extend the three-day into at least six days, and showed up in town yesterday.

I went out to get ice cream at ten last night, expecting a pretty quiet town. As I rounded the corner onto Duval Street, I was met by hundreds where I expected few. All of the bars were in full blare, and the idiots were everywhere, blocking traffic, stumbling over curbs, and weaving into pedestrians on the sidewalks. Many were accompanied by their school-aged children, of course. And strollers...

One must wonder whether the food and drink purveyors really planned for this onslaught - I don't think the retail people did. I guess we'll all muddle through somehow. If not, then they can all go home!
Click here to discuss this
(2 replies, Latest reply: Jul 5, 2010)

Memorial Day (Jun 2, 2010)
Ah, Memorial Day. Everybody finally gets to take a breather after a really long, really busy season. Everybody except those who work in restaurants, hotels, retail shops, emergency services and charter businesses; in other words, nearly everybody in Key West.

This Memorial Day was about the biggest I have ever personally witnessed. About noon on Friday, the giant vehicles from the mainland started arriving, and continued arriving in a steady stream until about six pm Saturday. The streets were packed with people, and all of the hotels were filled to capacity.

Of course the bars were filled to capacity, too. There was an enormous amount of drinking going on, accompanied by an enormous amount of drunken activity. That is lots of fun when you are working in the retail environment.

There are no special events on Memorial Day. Every other holiday or semblance of one has a parade, or fireworks, or themed parties or a combination of all of those. On Memorial Day, the people are left to their own devices. They can devise some memorable devices, let me tell you.

Anyway, it's all over. We sent the last ones back home today. The temperature was 88F/20C, but the heat index was 100 degrees. Now we settle in and wait for September, when we get to start the whole crazy tourist business all over again.
Click here to discuss this
(2 replies, Latest reply: Jun 3, 2010)

Our Growing Oil Spill (May 3, 2010)
Well, it looks like all of our worst nightmares are about to come true.

The blown rig in the Gulf of Mexico near Louisiana has been spewing approximately 128,000 gallons of crude oil a day into the water. Weather has hampered all attempts to corral the oil, and even to burn off what they might be able to.

The Loop Current of the Gulf of Mexico is part of the Gulf Stream complex. It circles the Gulf and flows through the Florida Straits before becoming part of the much larger Gulf Stream flowing up the east coast of the U.S. and heading over to Iceland, the UK, and points north.

We thought that they had about a month to try to corral the spill once the weather broke. They are now telling us that we can probably expect the first effects of the spill here in Key West in about four days time.

This will do what 9/11, hurricanes, and recession have failed to do; it will put us out of commission completely. This island is fueled by ocean and eco-tourism, and that is going to be over. They estimate that if it spreads this way, it will be twenty years before we are clear of the effects. Dead reefs, contaminated water, and big nasty globs of oil all over the sea floor are not good for tourism.

This should be an interesting week as corporate and government try to contain the damage before we are all out of business.
Click here to discuss this
(44 replies, Latest reply: Oct 7, 2010)

Season 2010 (Mar 29, 2010)
Well this year's seasonal swell started with a freezing cold bang and is already going out with a whimper. We usually get to enjoy the crowds until Easter, but everyone is taking the warmer weather here as a sign that maybe it's time to head home up North for the summer.

I've been in the same job since 1999, so I always have a group of seasonal acquaintances and time share repeats that come in to the store at the same time every year. All of them are pretty delightful, and I really look forward to seeing them each year. They're all Key West trained and very happy to be here.

This week they've all been coming in and telling me goodbye for the summer, and I just can't believe it's time already.

That means that it's time to brush off my Lee(tm) Press-On Smile and get ready for answering the same ten questions over and over and over...until Memorial Day, when we can go back to worrying about hurricanes!
Click here to discuss this
(No replies)

The Front Page (Mar 16, 2010)
Could hardly get past it this afternoon. Such a lot of hot topics we're bound to see fireworks ere this week passeth.

Speaking of, we're living through what I can only refer to as "St. Patrick Fest," since the merrymaking commenced on Friday last, continued through the weekend at an egregious clip, and will not terminate until the last green pint is consumed on Wednesday.

Most notable, a group of spring breakers rented the apartment behind the funeral home, and took to hanging out in the tree overlooking the street three days ago. The only response that they will share is a sort of wild bird "tee-kraa" if addressed, and they seem to be shedding clothing daily (!) which is probably OK if you are 25 but not so much if you are my age.

They made YouTube the first night, can't imagine where those images have got to by now...
Click here to discuss this
(No replies)

Uniquely American (Mar 14, 2010)

Be thankful that Greenwich Mean Time is always GMT.

I just spent an hour (literally!) going through my clock collection re-setting the time an hour ahead to be accurate in the morning. Daylight Saving Time is our antique from the last great war (1941-1945) to keep America Working an hour past when most of the rural population did not have electricity and needed to assist the war effort overseas.
Click here to discuss this
(5 replies, Latest reply: Mar 19, 2010)

Key West has a Winter (Mar 13, 2010)
January and February of 2010 are now offically the two coldest months on record for the entire state of Florida. Miami hit the freezing point on two occasions, and Frostproof no longer qualifies for the name. Pensacola had the first snow day in the history of the school board, when two inches of snow fell and stayed on the ground for twenty-four hours.

Inland temperatures tend to be lower, because the cold air gathers in low spots and doesn't dissipate as quickly. Out here on the island in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, the warmer ocean water tends to mitigate colder temperatures. At least it usually does. This year the Arctic blasts just kept coming in the form of 35 and 40 knot winds from the north. Extended cold air blasts plus water equals refrigeration 101.

I know that 42/5 degrees doesn't sound cold to most, but when you are accustomed to temps in the upper 70/20 range for this season, it gets old in a hurry. Nobody has clothing for more than two or three days of this, and there is generally no heat in the houses. Coupled with the ceaseless wind chill, it is a very unpleasant experience.

Temperatures are now finally warming up, and I got to go to work without a jacket and jeans for the first time in three solid months. My "cold weather" clothing has been worn so much I'll probably throw it away.

Naturally, the first day it felt nice outside I spent the day at work listening to people from colder climes complaining about how "hot" it was. I think I sprained my eyes from rolling them. I mostly refrained from telling these folks to go home and take the cold weather back with them.






Click here to discuss this
(10 replies, Latest reply: Mar 16, 2010)

Water Water Everywhere (Dec 20, 2009)
Friday the 18th turned into a perfect storm for us - unusually high tide around noon, then about four inches of rain in an hour and a half. The street in front of my store backed up about a foot deep and took five hours to recede. It missed coming inside by about a quarter of an inch.

Since we had no inclement weather this summer, I think the Universe was just reminding us not to get smug. OK, I get it. No smugness here.
Click here to discuss this
(2 replies, Latest reply: Jan 1, 2010)

The Computer (Apr 30, 2009)
Is resisting all attempts at being corrected. In fact, has made a grown man technician weep. Still lurking at work.
Click here to discuss this
(No replies)