A Memorial Trip to Key West

I have been longing for a vacation for quite a while now. Between the stress from work, everyday life and the economy, I have just needed a break. The kind of break where I just chill out and relax, without access to email and the internet. This past weekend, El Hombre took advantage of the long weekend and headed down to Key West to see friends and have a mini-vacation.

If you don't already know, it is virtually impossible to be stressed out in the Keys. That vibe just doesn't exist there and that's why I love going. This was actually my third time staying overnight, but I had many first-time experiences. Including trying oysters, which I have always been too grossed out by the texture to even try them. But I wasn't given a choice. El Hombre and I went with one of his friends to Alonzo's Oyster Bar and got a medley of tasty, very fresh seafood. There's nothing better than sitting down at a table overlooking the water after a blistering hot day, having a glass of wine and chowing down on sesame seared tuna, conch ceviche, crab claws and oysters.

Fishing, as evidenced by this pic, is a huge pastime and industry in the Keys, so you know your seafood will be good:


While there we rented bikes to get around, which is the best, and arguably the only way you should see Key West. Forget scooters, you can get horribly injured, and parking a car is a nightmare. With bikes you can get around everywhere, tie them to any loose pole and explore. Riding at night is my favorite, once the temps in the 70s and 80s, the wind blowing and the only sound is the occasional creak of the bike, the crickets and the frogs.

While there we also got to see one of my favorite bands, Suenalo, play two nights at the Green Parrot, a local dive on Whitehead Street. As usual they were awesome. I dance half the night away, hurt knee and all. Saturday night the bar was packed, so we stood outside. The rain opened up, cooling off the whole scene, and the band played on, through the thunder and lightning. It added a whole different vibe to the atmosphere as everyone packed in.

On the way to the Green Parrot from Alonzo's, I had to stop and be a total tourist. It's just in my nature:

The most photographed and most stolen sign in Key West

Another restaurant we tried was Bo's Fish Wagon. This place was built up all weekend, and we were not disappointed when we finally tried it. They had the best conch fritters I have had so far. Super delicious. They also have a blackened cheeseburger and a fried grouper sandwich, both are awesome. This is a small building, built off a wagon across from schooner's wharf. It started out as an actual wagon on Duval, but about 10 years ago the owner moved it across from the West Marine Store. I highly recommend it. Plus it's cool looking:



And on Memorial Day I finally got to go boating. I have been in South Florida for 5 years and have not been on a boat yet. It was amazing. The water was perfect, the weather was perfect. We boated out to a sandbar and hung out, swam and repeatedly coated ourselves with sunscreen with a few other people who apparently had the same idea:




And on our way back home to Miami, I saw the greatest sign ever.

The three things you always need to get in drive through, right?

Bike Miami Days

Last Sunday was the last Bike Miami day of the season (whatever that means) and for the first time I was actually able to go. After living in Charleston, SC for four years without a car, I am a big advocate of alternative means of transportation, particularly via bicycle.

We parked the car on South Miami Ave, close to Key Biscayne and biked into the city. First of all, South Miami Ave has a nice bike path, but it needs to be longer. But it's a pretty drive, especially on the weekend when traffic is light.

Biking through Brickell and Downtown is cool because you see the city from an entirely different perspective. It was a hot day with a nice breeze which was both cooling and added resistance to the ride. We stopped by displays to sample empanadas and iced tea, saw some bands, and witnessed the dance-off for the free bicycles, proving once again, that people will do anything for something free

One nice little touch was the communication via chalk on the sidewalk, old school style:






Speaking of the river, these are some pics I snapped from the bike. I have never really explored the river area and I liked it.



And in case you haven't seen the video yet, these people pulled a Ford Fiesta with a bike. I bet his legs were hurting later!




And before we biked back to the car, we rode down to the bay to check out the boats by Bayside and relax by the water:




And as tempting as it was, we didn't stop in on our way back... But I never realized how brightly painted the building is...

Shark Valley

I love the sun, I love being outside and I love being active. These are some of the many reasons I appreciate South Florida so much. Usually on the weekend, I end up walking around outside, either in my neighborhood or on the boardwalk or something.

This past weekend we did something different. We went about 17 miles past Krome on Tamiami Trail to the Everglades and went biking in Shark Valley. Shark Valley is part of the Everglades National Park, within the park there are tram tours, an info center and a path through the park. But it's not for the faint of heart, it's a 15 mile path, with some offshoots to see bobcats and otters (we saw neither.) But on a nice day, it's great for biking because its a wide, level paved path. I wouldn't recommend it for the summer though, as very little of the path is shaded.

It's fun though, because the scenery is beautiful and you can see alot of wildlife. Some of my pics I took from my bike, others I swung around and jumped off. Here are some of my favs:





(a long road ahead of us)



(baby croc)

The marshes made me nostalgic for the South Carolina lowcountry. So peaceful



The view from the 7-mile halfway point.

If you are into biking, it's totally worth going. The path is long enough that you can coast and absorb the scenery around you, but it's also perfect for those moments when you hunch over the handlebars, throw it into gear and tear down the path with the wind in your face. Just don't forget sunscreen and water.

UBike and Zipcar

The University of Miami has picked up on the trend across US college campuses of selling bikes and leasing "green" cars to students to alleviate the horrible parking situation. Recently there was a good article about this program in Veritas. It's a great idea!

BikeMiami

I have often ranted and raved about the absense of usable public transportation in this city. I have also lamented the fact that I drive so far for my job, and while I can take public transportation ALMOST there, I have to either walk or bike approximately 3-4 miles on a street that is not bike-friendly.

So this post by Transit Miami makes me happy.

IMO, one of the reasons why we have an obesity epidemic in this country is because we rely on our cars to go a quarter of a mile instead of walking or biking. Part of this is lazyness, another is that many cities are not pedestrian friendly. Our culture doesn't understand not wanting to use your car. I tell people that one of the benefits of my new apartment is that I can cycle to the gym, grocery and even the park or some shopping malls if I feel adventurous and I am usually met with a stare and a, "Why would you do that when you can drive"

So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this event will become a regular thing, and perhaps we can change some perspective.