Mangia!

So, last night (Monday) was a Taste of Key West.



With thunderstorms spread throughout the day, I'll bet organizers were having heart attacks, but the last downpour for the day passed through around 3:30pm (the event started at 6pm), and it stayed clear the rest of the night. Whew!

This had to be the most organized, widely attended event—by businesses and locals/visitors—Key West has thrown yet (since we've been here). Many restaurants participated, including many we'd never heard of (which is saying something on such a small island). You bought tickets and then each item (food or drink) cost a certain number of tickets. Since we had assumed that dessert items (right up Michael's alley) would be the only options for vegetarians, only Michael went, but there turned out to be several other vegetarian options after all. Michael managed to nosh his way down the street, experiencing a variety of yummy foods—all at respectable "sample" sizes. He said he drew his line at 2 tickets for mac & cheese though. Of course, his first stop was the beer tent.

Then he ran across some "healthy mediterranean cuisine" from the Kennedy Cafe. He tried the

Bed Racing - Wahoo!

So today was the much talked about bed races. We get there way too early, so decided to fill our time eating a Kilwin's ice cream. I eat sweets about once a year (I prefer salty pretzels or popcorn) and decided today was the day. It was yummy, but then this happened. Hrmph.



Oh well, nothing a little water couldn't fix. I wanted Michael to climb this tree so we could be sure to get some good shots (I was wearing a dress), but he wouldn't do it. Party pooper. While we waited, several biplanes went overhead (pilots give tours). Every time they did, we thought they'd "poop" toilet paper.

Just about the time we forgot what we'd been standing there for, it was time for the action to begin. There were 10 racers (apparently down from 20 a couple of years ago). First up was the parade
so we could get a good look.

Independence Day

Well, that was fun. Only in Key West would you put together a quite coordinated battle reenactment of a battle that never really happened. We figured out that the best place to watch the whole shabang was from Sunset Pier and headed over there. We were quite surprised to see the entire pier closed off for a wedding party. Hrmph. I'm guessing it was pretty cool to have a reception with a battle as a backdrop though. I found a great spot anyway and hunkered down.

I was ready with my newly acquired "pearls." (You'll recall I obtained them at the parade last night).

Hey - is that big ol' Coast Guard ship with the aerostat surveillance blimp going to participate?! Nope - boo.

We knew something was happening when the Conch Republic Navy's planes flew overhead ("a farce to be reckoned with"). It was really crazy to have at least 10 shiny, antique planes, including a not-so-old seaplane, fly over, circle, and in a few minutes start dropping a surprise.



It wasn't long before the pirate ships starting showing up. A couple of small Coast Guard boats did participate (screw the sequester) and the battle began. When the first cannon went off,

I Love A Parade...

Hallelujah!

First of all - can I get a Hallelujah?! The humidity broke on Tuesday as promised, and we're no longer living in a sauna. The sun is pretty hot if you're out in it, but we haven't had to run the a/c, which we're quite happy about. Last night was a good night for a parade, the "World's Longest Parade," to be exact. The idea of the parade was for everyone along the street to just jump in, and while we didn't see much of that, there were still quite a few participants. Since it was dusk, I'm back to the world of blurry photos, but I'll post a few anyway. Note that MileZero was smart enough to take some photos at the start when it was lighter out and no one was moving (plus he has a fancy camera).

First it was time for the police to close down the street. I thought that this was funny - do you suppose they don't have cops where they live?

First up were folks on bouncy shoes - from Cheeky Fitness. They specialize in pole dancing, but I'm guessing that would have been difficult to emulate while walking down the street.

 

Then these 4 people walked by, trailed by this poor man pulling the cooler.

Schooner Wharf & The Mile Marker 24 band had quite a contingent with sword fights,

Pet Stroll

Today was the day - the Pet Stroll. The categories were Conch Dog (to represent Conch Independence Day), Look-Alike (owners and pets), and Children. Get the Who Let the Dogs Out song in your head and let's enjoy some cute mutts, shall we?

I love how

Earth Day

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Happy EARTH DAY! Ride a bike. Impress some chicks.

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Yesterday was quite a pleasant day at the beach. There was a slight wind that, while very warm, made hanging out in the sun bearable. The water has warmed up enough that I got in up to my knees and you can see a lot more people were in the sea this time. I told Michael the water had to be over 80 degrees, which is amazing considering just a month ago it was in the low 70s. I checked this morning and the water is 83 degrees. Wow. I can usually get in no problem at 84 and over, so our next beach visit should involve some soaking. We have some family coming to visit in a couple of weeks, so maybe we can do a kayak or paddleboard trip, maybe get some snorkeling in.

We missed the car show and MileZero doesn't have a whole bunch of pics, so I'm not sure how many participants there were, but the Conch Republic posted this one. I see this truck around quite a bit. Bet that's not easy to clean - watch those sharp objects!

We're looking forward to the pet stroll tomorrow.

Vroom Vroom in Heels

Independence Day celebrations in Key West started Friday with the Conch Republic flag going up at Fort Zachary.

Saturday brought a Bahamian Festival at the San Carlos Institute. We'd always wanted to go inside this place, they sponsor quite a few events, so decided to check it out. Plus, we were curious what kind of food they'd have for this event - most of it turned out to be conch. The guys making rotis really need to stop cheating with the tortilla wraps.

The institute is described as being "founded in 1871 by Cuban exiles of Key West as an educational, civic, and patriotic center. The San Carlos is a multi-purpose facility that serves as a museum, library, art gallery, theater, and school."


 

The architecture is quite pretty, there's a large theater I didn't take a picture of for some reason, and lots of statues or pictures of stoic, unsmiling Cuban patriots. This picture just scared the bejeebers out of me. Talk about a "caption this" opportunity.

Now I know why they weren't smiling in any of their other photos.
I'm waiting for him to go:  Mwa haha!!

Then we headed down to the Bourbon St. Pub to watch the first round of drag races, and when I mean drag races, I mean drag queen races - remember, this is Key West. I have no idea how some of them wore the heels they did just to stand in, let alone run. It was crowded and pretty difficult to get pictures, so I'll have to borrow from a few others who had a better spot (MileZero's got some).

These guys kept us entertained for a bit.


   

The MC was a hoot.

 

And then the train came in bringing the competitors.


   

A little stretching before the big event, and then it was time to get ready to hit their marks.

 

The course included shopping carts and tires and these guys (gals?) were not kidding around. These photos are from the Conch Republic or LezliesWorld blog.

 
  

I give these guys credit - not only for their get-ups, but for being able to do this in the heat. It's been really hot and humid - we've set a record for highest low temps every single night now for almost 2 weeks. As a matter of fact, the evening was capped off around 11:30 last night with some lightning, thunder, and a little rain. It did bring the temps down a bit, but supposedly a stalled cold front (how ironic) is going to keep funneling in this hot, wet air until early next week (watch for waterspouts).

Today's event is the Cruiser Car show at Schooner Wharf. A different kind of engine revving.