Last Post- SNOW IN NIAGARA (Feb 25, 2011)

Last Post- SNOW IN NIAGARA (Feb 25, 2011)

Just thought I would post this photo of the house, that is not white sand for all those enjoying warmer weather.  A major snow storm South of Lake Erie brushed the Niagara area with 25 to 30cm of SNOW, started after midnight and ended by about 2pm.  Just waiting for the driveway to be plowed out by Steve who does our landscaping.

Day 26 - Home (Feb 22, 2011)

Day 26 – Tuesday, February 22, 2011 - Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON (Home)

After our last few days of getting away after 9am, a unilateral decision was made (that would be a "field decision") to get going by 8am.  Well almost 8am, try 8:30am, we are now on the home stretch, US#19 from Beckley to Sutton, WV on through Pittsburgh, PA, Erie, PA and Buffalo, NY.  I-79 passes Pittsburgh to the West of the city, so you never actually go through the hart of the city.  From past trips Pittsburgh has a very interesting centre core, and again with better weather and more time a good spot to visit.  

I mentioned weather, it changed overnight, heavy cloud, fog, heavy rain at 2am and FOG!, made for an interesting run through West Virgina.  But just as we approached Pittsburgh the sun came out and it was blue skies and +3C all the way home.

We were in Erie, PA at 15:15 and home in Niagara-on-the-Lake at 17:50, would we do this again - you bet, having the motorcycle in Key West was a blast and it was worth some of the aggravation the trailer poses on a trip like this.

Here are the statistics:

• Total Distance: 6,208km
• Total Driving Time:  83hrs 6mins (That is when the engine is running)
• Avg fuel in Liters/100km: 16.6
• Avg Speed: 75kmh

Ken and Karen at Home - Pinewood, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Day 25 - Beckley, WV (Feb 21, 2011)

Day 25 – Monday, February 21, 2011 - Beckley, WV

Another route change, based on a better weather outlook for the Erie, PA / Buffalo, NY area.

After leaving Waren-Robins, GA we are heading Northeast to Beckley, WV, but we are taking the back roads, like the ones I would chose if on the motorcycle.  At Macon, GA, is US Route #129 that runs North to Athens, GA before becoming US#441.  Interesting town enroute is Gray, GA, with its historic RR station.

Athens, GA was one of the largest industrial city of the great South back in 1860, during the Civil War it was the source for most if not all the gun powered manufactured for the war, in fact the smoke stack is still standing, on the campus of George State University.  Athens also turned out railroad equipment along with iron plates, used to build the first battleships of the South.  I just wish we had an extra day or so to explore.

North of Athens it is on to I-85 North to Greenville, SC and on to US#25 (US#19) and I-26 through Bristol Tennessee to I-81 North.  There was one interesting town called Erwin, TN, very industrial with a very active CSX railroad line, and terminal station complex.  This was the end of a main line and the main business in Erwin was the manufacture of plastic pipe and other plastic parts, with lots off cylindrical hopper cars carrying plastic pellets, again worth a future review as well.

Once on I-81 it was about two hours to Beckley, WV via I-77.  I was glad to reach Beckley as driving a night on hairpin curves is not fun with the trailer in tow, as tipping over on curve taken too fast is a possibility, and one to avoid!

Beckley is reached just after 7pm, but all the ice and snow of 3 weeks ago are long gone, and they had a lot of snow.

Key West Underwater Photos

Click this link to view a collection of underwater photographs:  Key West Underwater 

Day 24 - Warner Robins, GA (Feb 20, 2011)

Day 24 – Sunday, February 20, 2011 - Warner Robins, GA

We have decided to alter our return route, we are going to take I-75 North into Ohio and then head East for Erie, PA and Buffalo, NY.  Did this for several reasons, flatter route, not through the mountains of West Virgina and I have never seen this part of the US before.

After leaving St. Petersburg this morning we are stopping at our neighbours winter home in Clearwater, which is about 20 minutes North of St. Pete's.  Nancy and Glen live across the street from us and spend about 4 months in Clearwater each Winter.

We are underway again at 11:30 and heading North into Georgia, by 6:30pm and 634km of driving it is time to call it a day.

So here we are in the Hampton Inn in Warner Robins, GA.

Day 23 – St. Petersburg, FL (Feb 19, 2011)

Day 23 – Saturday, February 19, 2011 - St. Petersburg, FL

Another wonderful +27c Sunny morning in Key West, but we must say good by to Key West this morning, so at 9:30am, the trailer is attached to the SUV and we are now heading to our next stop which is St. Petersburg, FL.

US#1 Northbound is fine, some traffic, but going into Key West or South, that was a totally different story - stop and go.  Looks like all of Miami is going to Key West for the 3 day US holiday (Washington's Birthday), cars, trucks, boats, RV's and Motorcycles (lots of them).  Even saw a group of about 15 as a big pack heading South.

On advice of the tourist information centre in Florida City, we did not take our planned route on US41 to Fort Myers, we went North on FL#997 and got on I-75 and went West all the way to St. Pete's.  I-75 is 70mph and the traffic just moves (no turn signals of course).

We crossed over the beautiful Sunshine Skyway Bridge just as the sun set at 18:23, out of this world.

We are visiting my cousin Klaus and Diana who live in St. Petersburg.  We went to dinner with them, at Captain Kosmakos, 9610 Gulf Blvd, Treasure Island, FL.  (captainkosmakossteakhouse.com/ )  Nice seafood, and right on the water.

Day 22 – Key West, FL (Feb 18, 2011)

Day 22 – Friday, February 18, 2011 - Key West, FL

This is our last full day in Key West – which is a bit sad as we had a lot of fun in this place that obviously has no rules – especially when it comes to driving skills (or lack of).

We are going to visit the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum just off Mallory Square (http://www.melfisher.com/). Mel Fisher spent his entire lifetime to finding the treasure of the Spanish merchant Ship the Atocha (1622), he found it all right and $2 Billion in Gold, Silver and uncut Emeralds. So the museum is full of rather interesting items and a gift shop, with some items starting at $250,000, so this is not 3 t-shirts for 10 bucks kind of shop. If you want to dive the wreck, you need to be an investor cost is $10,000 for 1/8 share and you get to keep what you find regardless of worth. The wreck is only in 15ft to 30ft of water.

Next on our agenda is shopping on Duval Street, making some last minute purchases etc and visiting the Flagler Station Museum, which is all that is left of the famed FEC Railroad line to Key West.

Rest of the day is securing the motorcycle in the trailer and packing.

This evening we are having our last supper at New York Pasta and Pizza on Duval Street.  The main reason for our return is so I can get some pictures of the two Macaws, this restaurant has two one is a scarlet macaw and the other is a blue and gold macaw.  These guys are very large about 36 inches and loud too.  Around 8pm the owner put a pole out to the birds they climbed on and they were off for the night.  They love peanuts by the way.

Ken and Karen in Key West, FL – last post from Key West

Day 21 – Key West, FL (Feb 17, 2011)

Day 21 – Thursday, February 17, 2011 - Key West, FL

We are taking it easy today, no up before the sun for a scuba dive or a ferry ride. Today we are going to point the Motorcycle EAST and just ride US#1 to Marathon for Lunch and to photograph some old FEC Railroad Bridges and just have a great day on the road. This is a NO AGENDA day.

I should note that since our arrival almost two week ago there has been no rain, and today it is sunny and +22c at 9AM, this will go to a high of +27c by 1pm, so it is “hot and sunny”, not much traffic again on our Eastbound journey and if fact we reach Marathon (MM#50) in about 1 hour and 15 minutes. We stopped at Pigeon Key as there Tourist Information Centre is in a old FEC Passenger car, it has trucks (wheels) date marked 1915, and there was a complete passenger train “stuck” which was blown over in the hurricane of 1935 in Marathon, so is this has to be one of the cars ??

Karen with the motorcycle at Seven Mile Bridge (Florida Keys)

We found an interesting restaurant called Herbies at 6350 Overseas Highway, Marathon (MM#50.5) Tel: 305-743-6373 (Open Tues-Sat 11am to 9pm) (www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34347-d821752-Reviews-Herbie_s_Restaurant-Marathon_Florida_Keys_Florida.html)   GPS: to follow.

It is on the North side of US1, again this restaurant features a lot of great seafood and I would recommend a visit if passing by.

At 1:20pm, we are starting our return to Key West on US#1, remember there is one road out and the same one back.

We stopped at Seven Mile Bridge (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Mile_Bridge)  to take some motorcycle photos of Karen and I with the motorcycle and a few promo shots of Boris and Theodore, and again we stopped at Big Pine Key to do some more shots.

I am beginning to really like Big Pine Key, perhaps that is a future site of “Pinewood the Island Resort”, as some of you know our home in Niagara-on-the-Lake is officially named “Pinewood”.

Karen is becoming more comfortable on the bike, and now talks more on the headset radio than ever before that is when she is not sleeping – and yes she can sleep on the back of 100kmh motorcycle and not fall off. I am not sure that she would ever take up motorcycling, but I did offer to buy here a scooter (has to be red to match my bike), so the offer is on the table.

On our way through Big Pine Key we did stop at the Liquor Store as we had run out of wine for the evening – and that just does not happen in Key West - that one is out of wine (in fact one could be “sent packing” if this incident was ever to get out the locals here).

Spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool here at the condo – doing nothing and soaking up the +26c sunshine, sweat.

Ken and Karen in Key West, FL

Day 20 - Dry Tortugas, Gulf of Mexico (Feb 16, 2011)

Day 20 – Wednesday, February 16, 2011 - Key West, FL

This will be an early start today as we are taking the 8AM, ferry the Yankee Freedom II to the Dry Tortugas. I have wanted to go to these islands since the last trip to Key West some 13 years ago.

What is special about this place:

• 70 Miles WEST of Key West in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico and in Central Time Zone
• Middle of nowhere (kind of) it is part of the extreme western end of the Marquesa islands
• Has the largest masonry (all brick) fort in the US (Fort Jefferson), there are over 1,000,000 bricks in this fort, all brought in by ship in the 1860's)
• No phones, no water, just out there!! (it has a Satellite Pay Phone and a Weather Radio in the boater registration station)
• Is a National Park, and is one of the most remote in the United States.

The trip on the ferry is about 2hrs and 20minutes on a high speed catamaran, with about 120 passengers, they serve breakfast and lunch on board.

Upon arrival at Garden Key, we take a tour of Fort Jefferson, which is most interesting as this one site controlled all shipping in the Gulf of Mexico and controlled access to New Orleans and other US ports. I played a role in the Spanish American War as well as a military prison during the Civil War for the Union Army (the North), the famous prisoner was Dr. Mudd, who was accused as part of the Lincoln Assassination.

Make sure you visit this web site to learn more: www.nps.gov/drto

The fort is massive, and was never finished and the US Army abandoned it in 1874, it became a National Monument in 1935 and a National Park in 1992. You can camp here but you must bring in all water food, fuel, etc.. It is a harsh environment, but the waters and surrounding area are unbelievable. Most Loggerhead Turtles nest in this area either on Loggerhead Key or on Hospital Key, as well Bush Key is home to 30,000 Frigate Birds and then throw in a Nurse Shark Breading area, you have so much traffic both in the air and underwater that it is truly amazing.

The boat returns at 2:45, but Karen and I do get in about 1 hour of snorkeling in the area West of the old West Coal Dock, the water here is clear but about 5ft deep, other than a nosy Barracuda there is not that much sea life, just not deep enough.

Ken and Karen in Key West, FL

Day 19 – Key West, FL (Feb 15, 2011)

Day 19 – Tuesday, February 15, 2011 - Key West, FL

Today I am scuba diving on the sunken vessel the Vandenberg. The Vandenberg was a US Air Force Missile Tracking vessel, it has large satellite dishes and other antennas on it decks. It was sunk about 18 months ago, so it is a new underwater reef, in fact it is called an artificial reef.

The dive profile is go down to 100ft, which is the main deck depth, then after about 20 minutes start a slow assent to the surface. The visibility is disappointing at about 30ft, so that is normal for what I have seen for the other dives so far here in the Key's. Lots of Barracuda's on guard, but was impressive was the 5,000 bait fish swimming as a ball, they blocked the view of the bridge, anyway I did swim through the bridge and explore the antenna, as on my decent I landed in the middle of one and had to swim out (up). That was unexpected.

The second dive is back on the Vandenberg, which is a plus and I am glad not doing a shallow reef dive again, which would have been the case in the Cayman's, so after an hour surface interval it is back down. This time we are spending more time mid ship, this vessel is over 700ft in length, this time we are exploring the lower bridge area and some of the antenna arrays, but the ball of bait fish is still hanging around as are the barracuda's, a slightly different dive profile, as we bottom out at 89ft, vs 100ft, assent will be the same. I am diving on mixed air NITROX at 32% oxygen, so my decompression time is reduced.

In the afternoon we are going the “Little White House”, in Truman Annex. BTW Truman Annex is now a very high end gated community (http://www.compass-realty.com/) for more info.

When Harry S. Truman was President of the United States, he spent a lot of time (175 days in total) in Key West, he had a vacation place at the time inside of US Navy Base at Key West, this home has been turned into a Presidential Site, and the tour is well worth the 1 hour. All the rooms and furniture are authentic as his the President's desk with my favorite sign “the buck stops here”. I lived by his motto most of my working life, not sure my bosses liked my approach, (ruthlessness) but it worked for me for 40+ years. So check out this link (www.trumanlittlewhitehouse.com/key-west/historic-home-museum-tour.htm) My other favorite line for WWII, is “we take no prisoners”, that worked too.

In the evening we had dinner with Frank and Norma Delogu from St. Catharines, at Cafe Marquesa (www.marquesa.com)  600 Fleming St.  This restaurant was outstanding, very intimate with about 15 tables, excellent wines and just far enough away from Duval Street, so it was quite.

Besides the railway connection, Frank was heavily involved in the Niagara Bruce Trail Club for a number of years as I and is an active hiker even at age 80. Frank is out on most of our railway trips so his age is not slowing him down.

Ken and Karen in Key West, FL

Day 18 - Key West, FL (Feb 14, 2011)

Day 18 – Monday, February 14, 2011 - Key West, FL

Today is one of those days to sit out at the pool and watch the fighter jets go by and do nothing.  We are planning on doing Mallory Square for sunset this evening. 

More later.

Ken and Karen

Day 17 - Key West, FL (Feb 13, 2011)

Day 17 – Sunday, February 13, 2011 - Key West, FL

Today Karen and I are go on a motorcycle trip with the Southern Cruisers Riding Club #422 of Key West, FL.

We are meeting at Truman Ave., and White St., for 9am, BUT (and there is always a “but” here in the Keys) – no one shows up. We did get a text from Wayne he can't ride, his son is down from Orlando. So we wait, at 9am a car slowly cruses the parking lot, the very attractive woman ask if we are waiting for a group of motorcyclists ? “Yes we are”.

Hi - I am Jane, I usually ride a Triumph, not riding today, so my question is were are others ?, simple answer it is too cold – it is +17c, no sign of black ice, no snow, it is sunny and there is a North wind at 20kmh.

Well down here in the Keys, unless it is above 21c (70f) no one ventures out, for us Northerner's who have faced the snowstorms of Nevada on US#50 in late May, this is excellent bike weather. Jane tells us that her mother lives in Crystal Beach (ON) – so she is the first person we have meet in this entire trip that knows were Niagara-on-the-Lake is. She gives us a tip for a good restaurant on Big Pine Key, so we are OFF!! – EAST on US#1. I would bet that Wayne asked her to drop by, she was an excellent ambassador of the club and of the Keys.

The ride is fantastic, very little traffic and we enjoy the road (US#1) which by the way is now a National Road - Byway, much like sections of old Route 66. We cross a number of Keys and Bridges before reaching Big Pine Key in about 40 minutes at MM30 (MM is Mile Marker). Of note Big Pine is home to the National Key Deer Refuge, not that we have seen any yet, but we are told they are the size of a dog.

Following Jane's recommendation, we are having breakfast at Big Pine Restaurant, which is a very busy family style restaurant – one that we would recommend. The coordinates are as follows: North side of US#1, MM30 – Big Pine Key, (305) 872-2790. It is next to the Big Pine Post Office (29959 Overseas Hwy). GPS: 24.67006 , -81.36407. I don't think they have a web site. So if traveling to or from KW this place is worth the stop – busy place, great food, you won't be disappointed.

After our breakfast (brunch) we start our way back – but take a detour down a paved road

(Middle Torch Road, then left onto Dorn Road) to “somewhere” - remember this is no agenda trip. We are on Big Torch Key, but to reach the end of key, which is a long one 16km, you have to cross Middle Torch Key and then Big Torch Key with lots of 90 degree turns. There was NO traffic (ie cars) at all, and we are able to stop and get some photos of the salt ponds with the Mangroves and some of the fantastic sea birds of the Florida Keys – we were not disappointed in this off the beaten track excursion, in fact I would recommend this to anyone as well. I will post the GPS tracks soon, it is another diversion that is worth the ride. (what is that saying it is the “journey” not the “destination” - I agree!)

We were back at our condo just after 12:40, so we had a excellent ride thanks to our friend Jane and her recommendation.

For the rest of the afternoon we sat on the deck and watched another fantastic sunset in Key West.

Ken and Karen in Key West, FL

Day 16 - Key West, FL (Feb 12, 2011)

Day 16 - Saturday, February 12, 2011 - Key West, FL

Big change in the weather - cloudy and cool 16c - small craft advisory is up - so no diving today.

Today was to be the dive on the wreck of the Vandenberg, which as an old NASA tracking ship used in the 60's to the mid 1980's (http://www.keywest.com/vandenberg/).  It was purspose sunk 18 months ago for divers.  It sits in 65m of water but the upper deck is at 30m or so and part of the tracking dishes are at 20m.  It is one of the "must do" dives in Key West.  Now rescheduled for Tuesday - weather permitting.

We are off into town, visiting the Ernst Hemingway House (www.hemingwayhome.com)
he lived in the Key West for a number of years. The person who was our guide made the home and his life come alive, this was a very interesting person, who had 5 wives and cats with 6 or 7 toes. There are still the poly toe cats all over the place.

Ken and Karen

Day 15 - Key West, FL (Feb 11, 2011)

Day 15 -  Friday Feb 11, 2011 - Key West, FL

Weather change today, temperature is dropping and it is cloudy, down to 20c, and for Key West it is parkas time and it funny to see people wearing parkas in the middle of "summer".

This morning's dive is on a wreck called the The Cayman Salvage Master (http://www.techdivingkeywest.com/divesites/key_west_wreck_dives.htm)  This ship has had a sorted past, everything from Cuban refugees to laying mines in WWII, etc..  The wreck sits at 33m (or about 100ft) so this will be a Nitrox dive, with an 8 to 10 deco time on assent, surfaced after 40mins with 1,000PSI, so I am OK, but that water is cold.  Of interest was the jew fish that was off in the distance, we are talking a major fish here 10ft long by 6ft high, with over 1,000 cleaning fish in tow, I have never seen anything like this in all my diving.  BTW this was dive #59 for me.

Dive #60 was on the "ball and chain" reef, yes there is a story here as well, but this has a cave swim through, which of course I did.  Was down for 58minutes, max depth of 10m, with lots of fish, got some fantastic photos, which will be posted. 

Ken and Karen in Key West

Day 14 - Key West, FL (Feb 10, 2011)

Day 14 -  Thursday Feb 10, 2011 - Key West, FL

Another sunny day with a temperature of 27c, dive trip from this morning gets rescheduled for the afternoon, looks like me and two others are going out.  Things are very slow at this dive shop, there is no one diving or tourism is very bad.  There are two cruse ships a day in the harbour, but they are here from 8am to 5pm, and that group is usually not into diving.

The afternoon dive goes as planned, visiting two reefs about 5km from shore in about 10m to 15m of water, water continues to be cold by my standards (20c or 68F), visibility which the dive shop keeps raving about is only 20m, anyway, with my new neoprene hood, I don't feel cold anymore, so it is very enjoyable.  Saw another nurse shark hiding under a overhang, he (or she) moved back in as we approached.

Saw a number of fish that I have never seen before, and we don't have our reef fish book with us, but I did get photos, so it won't be that hard to identify.

For dinner this evening we went out, I wanted pizza, as all I have had is seafood every night, I should not complain as it all is excellent and fresh, which I will not get at home, so we went to New York Pizza Cafe on Duval Street, here is the link: (http://www.foodreference.com/html/k-new-york-pizza-pasta.html), pizza was great, and for desert Key Lime Pie (2 forks).

Ken and Karen in Key West

Day 13 – Key West, FL (Feb 9, 2011)

Day 13 – Key West, FL

Construction at the condo continues, this had to be the worst, dust was so thick you could not see the hall or the door, we are now planning to move out on Saturday – this is a nightmare for us.

Today Karen and I are motorcycling into town to meet with Wayne Miller who is the First Officer of SCRC #422 (Southern Cruisers Riding Club) here in Key West. Wayne presented us both with the official SCRC Mile 0 Key West patches, we were to have lunch together but Wayne had unplanned teleconference so we will get-together on Sunday with the club for a group ride to Marathon for Sunday Brunch at MM 50). Always remember that there is only ONE road in and the same one out, so riding options are a bit limited.

Karen and I have lunch a great spot call Bagatelle on Duval Street, (http://www.bagatellekeywest.com/).

After lunch we explored the Mallory Square area and the historic Sea Walk, of interest was a 130ft long twin masted tall ship called the Western Union, built in 1939, and in perfect condition, lots of well varnished wood work and brass – available for cruising, catering, and special events etc..

Also of note I found the FEC Railroad Station at Caroline St. and Margaret St, called Flagler Station, named for the owner of the FEC in 1912 and who had the vision to build a railroad 160km from Homestead to Key West. All that is left is one section of rail out front of the station, a switch stand and the station building - that is all that remains of the historic Overseas Railroad, too bad more wasn't preserved.

We motorcycled home via the Southern Most Point marker (tourist attraction), what a zoo, the city has to have a mounted police officer there to keep traffic moving.

Ken and Karen in Key West, FL

Day 12 - Key West, FL (Feb 8, 2011)

Day 12 – Key West, FL - FEB 8, 2011

Construction at the condo is becoming a pain – another morning of jackhammers and dust).

Karen and I head North on US#1 to Bahia Honda State Park at 9am. This park has the 5,500ft, Bahia Honda Railway bridge built in 1909, still standing, with the original US#1 highway built on top of the railway bridge – see the photo and you see what I mean. The highway was used into the mid 60's, so I am told.

As well this is the jumping off point for the boat trip out to Lou Reef, so Karen and I are going for an afternoon snorkel trip out to the reef which is about 7m deep and about 5 to 7km from shore. We see lots of fish, no sharks, but cold water and last night a cold front went through so our daytime high was 22c, made for a cold afternoon, but an excellent snorkel trip.

Ken and Karen in Key West, FL

Day 11 - Key West, FL (Feb 7, 2011)

Day 11 – Key West, FL - FEB 7, 2011)

Because of construction at the condo we are renting, (jackhammers and dust) we had to get out by 9am the noise was something we could not stand, so we found an open WiFi area at the rear of the Double Tree Resort, which is behind out condo and from the car we have internet access.

In the afternoon I am on my first dive trip for 2011 (and the first one since the Cayman Island trip of February 2010). This is a reef dive about 5km from shore, the water is reasonably clear (a visibility of about 15m) but the temperature is “cool”, it was around18c to 20c, in fact I would say “cold”, even with the 3.5mm full wet suit it was unpleasant after an hour in the water. The reef was only 30ft deep.

The highlight of the dive was seeing a 12ft long and really big nurse shark on the bottom in the sand, as we approached he swam away, not sure if I got the photo, I was just so surprised in the size. What I need is a 3mm dive hood to keep in the temperature of my body, I could feel a loss of core temperature by the end of the dive, that is one reason I did not do a second dive after that.

At 7pm we met up with a very long time friend from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Andy and Dominica Panko and Dominica's sister Roxanne for dinner at La Trattoria Venezia on Duval Street in the hart of Key West. Karen and I have been doing this for several years now, meeting up with friends or neighbors on vacation in different cities – kind of fund. Andy and I have been Presidents of the Canadian Railway Historical Association some years back and we both have model layouts and spend a few weeks (or months) a year roaming around photographing trains. Tonight our interest is focused on the Florida East Coast railroad which reached Key West in 1912 and was abandoned after a hurricane in 1935 – so question is where is or was the train station in Key West – I may have found it – stay tuned.

Ken and Karen in Key West, FL

Day 10 - Key West, FL (Feb 6, 2011)

Day 10 – Key West, FL - Sunday, Feb 6, 2011

This is our first full day in Key West so like yesterday there is no set agenda, so we checked out dive shops in the morning. I will be diving with Key West Divers (http://www.divekeywest.com/), as they seam to have there act together and have a very well stocked dive store, Karen already bought something and put it on my tab.

In the afternoon, we spent some sun time on Smathers Beach which is about 2km from the condo, nice sand, but dirty water and the bottom has 3” of slit or mud, not that attractive for swimming.

Around 5pm, I decided with 90% of Key West watching the super ball on TV it would be a good time to explore Key West on the motorcycle so out of the trailer and I am off!! I am riding Key West style, which is t-shirt, shorts, and skate shoes, except I am wearing a helmet and gloves. I have seen some funny stuff on bikes down here, the most common footwear is sandals on a big Harley and of course no helmet. Now the people on scooters is a whole different story, sandals, shorts and talking on a cell phone while dragging a foot on the ground, remember is said flip flops – this is so Florida.

Heading downtown I am taking Roosevelt Drive along the South Shore of the key. I wanted a picture of the concrete monument of the Southern most point in the continental United States. Got the photo, see below. Also traveled down Duval Street, which is a must do on a cycle, this is a place to be seen.

Ken and Karen in Key West, FL

Day 9 - Key West - MM 0 (US 1 End/Start) Feb 5, 2011

Day 9 – Key West, FL - Saturday Feb 5, 2011

Today with only 80km to go to Key West we decided not get up at 6am but instead take our time, we did as we did not depart from Marathon to 10:25am, and that includes re-loading the car, and taking the bike out of the trailer and hooking up the radio equipment.

I would say that the highlight of the days ride (for me) was crossing 7 mile bridge and seeing the parallel old railroad bridge with its stone arches, of which most are intact, despite the hurricane damage of 1935 which shut down the railroad after about 23 years of operation.

We got to Key West right at 12 noon, the motorcycle ride was a fantastic 160km from Key Largo to here, it is one of those epic motorcycle adventures for sure.

After lunch on Duval Street, we toured the downtown of Key West, bought some groceries and retired to our condo for the evening of watching the sun set in west with wine of course.

We have no internet in the condo, so these postings will not be daily, but then again we are not moving from place to place either.

Ken and Karen now in Key West, FL for the next two weeks

Day 8 - Marathon, FL (Marathon Key MM# 54 US# 1)

Day 8 – Marathon, FL (on Marathon Key)

The mojo is back !! - yes this was my first motorcycle riding day for 2011, and I was not shoveling snow to ride either.

We left our overnight stop in Melbourne, FL around 9:30, after reteaching the trailer, we headed south on I-95, which is 4 or 5 lanes in each direction with lots of traffic. Our only stop was at Oakland Park, which is a suburb of Fort Lauderdale. We are stopping a the famous “screwdriver”, (ie. Bells CB) the master of all things CB Radio, I had sent my Midland CB in for a tune up a few days back. The store is a store front + garage, about 20ft wide by 100ft long – except piled from floor to ceiling with CB radios and every item you can imagine to tune, repair and customize. Did I mention “customize”, will when I told the guys that I had a motorcycle and needed a way to mount an antenna, that was it, two guy in the back of the trailer and underneath the rear of the bike, 20 minutes later, a custom made mount for my trunk box plus the ground strap in copper (also custom made), the bracket in stainless steel, and the 3ft whip antenna. Also add an SWR meter and a very quick lesson on how to tune an antenna. Price – priceless!!

If you need anything CB for your car, truck or motorcycle, then Bells CB is the place and they do ship by post office to Canada. I can't say enough for these guys, the “screwdriver” is ex-navy submarine radio tech. http://www.bellscb.com/

After a brief stop for lunch in Homestead, FL we headed down US# 1 to Key Largo, in Key Largo we stopped and unloaded the motorcycle from the trailer. Len a local on a Harley stopped by to ask if we needed assistance, and we talked about life in the Keys, he has been here since 1971, I guess if I had 4 or 5 hours I would have a book of stories and would never get to Marathon.

Anyway with no time to spare, I am off with Karen bring up the rear in the SUV+Trailer, nice to have your own rolling road block behind one. We also tested out some new radio units for the first time. We are using Motorola FRS/GMRS radios with the IMC headset interface, the range is is miles++ and no interference, no sound quality issue. Only thing is I need to finish my secret project to connect these units together I call this “Contnext”, more on project “Connext” when I get back, I made seek out a patent as well, as this has the potential of being big in the motorcycle world, as it appears that no one has done this before. This trip is a bit of a test bed for new communications equipment for the August 2011 ride on the Natchez Trace.

I covered the first 80km, from Key Largo to Marathon, in about 1 ¾ hours which was not bad, and still arrive just minutes before the sun set in the West, tomorrow, we will be crossing the famous 7 mile bridge, so the video camera will be rolling.

Tonight we are in Marathon, FL (MM# 54) staying at a brand new Holiday Inn Express, that opened on January 20^th. We walked across the street to a restaurant called The Island Fish Co (http://www.islandfishco.com/), the meal was excellent, as was the coffee and Key Lime pie (forks for two).

So day 1 (or 4 hours) in the Keys are great, motorcycling is different, but outstanding, as are the views from the bridges linking the keys, remember these were built in the 1930 to bring the FEC (Florida East Coast RR) to Key West, worked until a hurricane in 1939 took out a number of the bridges, and the cost to repair was too much. Anyway more on local history in another posting, remember, we are in Key West for two weeks.

Ken and Karen in Marathon, FL

Day 7 - Melbourne, FL

Day 7 - Melbourne, FL

Today we are moving from Savannah, GA to Melbourne, FL, all day on I-95, a bit boring, but we drove 458km.

We stopped at Destination Daytona, this is the shopping mall of motorcycles, there are about 6 major retailers in this mall which can accommodate 100.000 bikes.  Remember that bike week in Daytona is March 4 to 13, 2011, check out the link http://www.ridedaytona.com/.  This event see about 500,000 motorcycles and riders each year - it is big!!

I did make my pilgrimage stop at J&P Cycles store in Daytona, it was 5 times bigger than the store out in Iowa that I stopped in at on my return from California (Route 66). Did buy a few items which I had been looking for, and of course a 70th anniversary t-shirt for the Daytona Bike Week, save having to come back in March.


The weather today started out cool, around 10c, with light showers, by the time we reached Melbourne it was 24c and partly cloudy and it was humid too. Don't here the word "humid" in the winter do you.

We stopped for night here, as we want to be at the top of the Keys (at Key Largo) on Friday night, which about another 200miles from here. 

I think we will drop the trailer and head into town for dinner at 7pm or so.

Ken and Karen in Melbourne, FL

Day 6 - Savannah, GA

Day 6 - Exploring Savannah, GA

Today we said goodbye to Hilton Head and drove South 45km to Savannah, GA.  We dropped off the trailer at the Hampton Inn out by I-95, checked-in and were downtown all before noon.  Our first stop was at the Savannah Roundhouse complex, part of the 1860's Central of Georgia Railroad which started in Savannah and went West to Atlanta.  Some very well preserved pieces of railroad equipment are on display, including some steam locomotives and some diesel locos.

After a brief stop at the Savannah City Tourist office, which was the old 1870's passenger station again very well preserved.

It was time for lunch at the historic River Street Inn (http://www.riverstreetinn.com/ ) built in 1853, as a cotton warehouse, this inn was recommended by our neighbours Nancy and Glen May, - thank you, an excellent place for lunch.

After lunch we continued to explorer taking a historical house tour of the Andrew Low House (http://www.andrewlowhouse.com/), you have got to see this place, built in 1847-1849.  It faces Lafayette Square, which is  one of the 24 squares in the city of Savannah.

After walking all over Savannah we returned to our hotel for some rest before heading out to dinner at the "famous" Pirate House Restaurant (http://www.thepirateshouse.com/), which is a preserved national landmark, I get the feeling that everything in Savannah is "historic", "famous" or "national land mark", anyway excellent food, and a great place to have dinner, it can accommodate 600+ for dinner in 9 buildings.  There is a history on the web site, so you can get a sense of the place and of course it is haunted too.  I didn't see any ghosts, like I did in Osgoode Hall one day in Toronto.

And to round out a beautiful day in Savannah, you need to have an ice cream at Leopold's 1919 Ice Cream Shop (http://www.leopoldsicecream.com/) at 212 East Broughton Street. 

There will be more pictures posted of Savannah in a few days once I have downloaded form the other cameras, I have three cameras on the go right now.

Tomorrow we are on the road again, heading for Daytona area, I hear there are some good motorcycle stores in the town.

Ken and Karen

in Historic Savannah

Day 5 - Hilton Head Island, SC

Day 5 - Exploring Hilton Head Island, SC

Today we are just staying around Hilton Head Island (or HHI), today is quite cool (12c) and light rain and fog.  We all went to the beach this morning, which was this great expanse of gray sand and sky, so it made for a very low contrast, especially for pictures, and it was down right cold!!

This was our last day with our hosts so we took them to dinner at the Sea Grass Grill (http://www.seagrassgrille.com/), in Hilton Head.

I also checked in my trailer and motorcycle over at Public Storage, and transferred some helmets to the trailer to get some more space in the SUV, we have lots of gear, beside all the motorcycle stuff there is all the scuba diving equipment as well.

Ken and Karen in HHI

Day 4 - Beaufort, SC

Day 4 - Exploring Beaufort, SC

Today we are exploring the historic city of Beaufort, SC with our friends Sheila and Ted.  Beaufort is about 40km North of Hilton Head.

The City Beaufort is 300 years old, founded in 1711, but it has a numerous awards, such as (but not limited to):

• Top 10 places to live in
• Top 25 places to retire
• Top 10 secret beach
• Top 10 movie filming centers
• Top 25 places for outdoor adventures

The photo above is just one of the over 300 original southern homes, which is well preserved, I can see why so many films have been made in Beaufort, like Forrest Gump, The Great Santini, The Big Chill, GI Jane, Platoon and Forces of Nature – to name just a few! 

The town is rich in history from the American Revolution to the Civil War.

When you spend a day roaming around the back streets along the water front you will get a sense that time stood still about 100 years ago.  Some of the homes date back to the early 1800 and most are in good repair, but some are in of a Major capital dollar infusion, but that is the charm of this area.

This website has all the information on Beaufort, so check it out:  http://www.beaufortsc.org/

Ken and Karen on the road.