Winter Relief!

                                                         Winter Relief!!!!

It's been a very difficult winter this year for most of the United States. Fortunately, here in Key West it's been fantastic, so we've been blessed!

Today, it's sunny and 82 (28C) degrees. I felt perhaps a bit of music from the Keys, as well as pictures, might go well!

Hope you enjoy!










 


































 


 


 
















 


 

 


 







I hope that helps a bit! All the Best From Key West and the Florida Keys!


To obtain my music:

My CD is available on iTunes, CD Baby, CD Universe, Rhapsody, and Beachfront Radio.
Search: Key West Chris

Thank you everyone!!

The Bucket List,The Dry Tortugas! Fort Jefferson

Bucket List

In English, there's a slang expression which is "Kick The Bucket". For those who read this blog where English is not your first language, to kick the bucket means to die. The origin dates way, way back, with the theory that if someone were to hang themselves, get up on a bucket with a rope around their neck, then they would kick the bucket away and that would be the end of things. Here's Shakespeare in Henry IV Part II, 1597: "Swifter then he that gibbets on the Brewers Bucket." "gibbets" is an Od English word meaning hang. However, it must be noted that in today's use, "Kick the bucket" only means to die, it doesn't mean suicide.

The "Bucket List" is derived from the aforementioned phrase. It's widely viewed as a phrase that the movie "The Bucket List" may very well have coined itself in 2007 when it was made and today has become part of the English lexicon.

What the bucket list is, is a list of things one wants to do before they die. For many, death could very well be fifty years away, but they still have a bucket list. As for myself, I've never actually sat down and written the things I want to do before I go, but I do have them in my head. 
One has always been to go to The Dry Tortugas!

The Dry Tortugas are a cluster of key islands, the furthest west of the Keys archipelago. Today it is a National Park. They lie seventy miles (113km) west of Key West.  Discovered in 1513 by Ponce de Leon, he named them Las Tortugas. or translated into English, The Turtles, because of the abundance of turtles in and around the islands. Many years later the word "Dry" was added, as there is no fresh water on the islands. Today there are seven islets, which are actually an atol. In the past there have been as many as eleven at one time. However these islets have come and gone, then come back again over the centuries. It's a common thing in the Keys actually. Shifting sands are always a common occurrence down here, be it in the Dry Tortugas, or Key West. The islands they come and they go.

My girlfriend Dani and I were up early and checked into the Yankee Freedom III catamaran around 7:15 am and before we knew it, we were off. The Yankee Freedom runs quite fast and the seventy mile trip to The Dry Tortugas was about 2  1/2 hours'

About nine miles out we passed Ballast Key, which is the southernmost point of the contiguous United States. It's owned by a man named David Walkowski, a Key West resident, known for wise real estate investments and developments. He also has a house he built on Ballast Key, which is currently on the market for $15,000,000.00. Regretfully, I'm a few bucks short.



Ballast Key

The entire day was a bit overcast. Every now and then a few drops would blow by, but never warranted a rain coat or shelter. On the way there we passed other un-inhabited clusters of the Keys, including the Marquesas Keys, which I named in my song "Sailing".



The main Island of the Dry Tortugas is named Garden Key and is the sight of Fort Jefferson, which began construction in 1846. This was about the same time that Fort Zachery Taylor (Fort Zach) and both East and West Martello towers were built in Key West, by the U.S. government. Consequently, their styles are quite similar. The biggest difference is size. Just a guess here, but you could most likely fit five or six Fort Zacks inside Fort Jefferson!

It turns out that Ft. Jefferson is the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere! sixteen million bricks were used in the construction. It actually takes up virtually the entire island!

(picture from Wikipedia)

The fort was actually never completed, although it was put into service. Like Key West's installations, it remained in Union hands during the American Civil War.

Dani rented gear and went snorkeling while I explored the fort further. She reported later that the snorkeling was fantastic! All kinds of fish and coral. I saw her from the top of the fort and snapped a few pictures of her with the zoom lens!



I love historic things and history itself. I recall going to the Coliseum and the Forum in Rome, Italy and I was just astonished! While this was not the Coliseum or the Forum, it did strike that same chord in my for my love of history. I loved every minute of it and I highly recommend the trip for anyone visiting the Keys!






It even has a mote!





The day we went, the water was amazing! It had a silver look to it, quite unlike the water in Key West.













Most of the guns were sold for scrap in the early 1900's, after they were obsolete. Several remain however. The biggest guns at the time could fire about three miles (5km).



View from the top of the fort. The Yankee Freedom III is at the dock.




Okay! So I achieved knocking one off of my bucket list! While I do have others to go on that fun list of things to do, one thing is for certain, I will return to the Dry Tortugas!


Again, I highly recommend the trip to the Dry Torguas! We took the Yankee Freedom III there and the entire crew were nothing short of first rate! You catch Yankee Freedom III at the beginning of Grinnell St. right at the dock.

You can also fly there via seaplane that leaves fron the airport in Key West.

For those who like camping, camping overnight is available also. Bear in mind two things here however. As it is a national park, alcohol of any kind is not permitted. Also, it is not called the Dry Tortugas for nothing, so be sure you bring enough drinking water with you for your stay!

Enjoy!

Thanks again for taking the time and interest in reading my blog!

Key West Chris Rehm





To obtain my music:

My CD is available on iTunes, CD Baby, CD Universe, Rhapsody, and Beachfront Radio.
Search: Key West Chris

Thank you everyone!!

This Isn't The Real World

Well, Labor Day Weekend is upon us. I recall up in the United States the common belief is Summer starts on Memorial day and finishes up on Labor Day. Perhaps the biggest reason I live here is my way of flipping my nose at that philosophy. My late cousin Joe Connolly used to say "There's no reason whatsoever to live in a clod climate!" and I believe he was right! So, here I am in the American Tropics, Key West.

Walking the dogs today I stopped by The Bottle Cap Lounge liquor store, outside the bar. They're great lovers of dogs there and always have treats for the dogs at the walk up window. Chuck was there and we shot the breeze while Tooloulou and Cajun enjoyed a biscuit. While chatting, Chuck used a phrase that a very sage and respected friend, Richard Van Der Mude has used from time to time when describing Key West and the Conch Republic as a whole. When talking about why we live here, he explained "This is not the real world".

A more true statement couldn't have been made. This is a main reason that when visitors come, after they leave, they have to come back. This is why those of us who live here, likewise feel the invisible magnetic draw to return as soon as possible.

I wouldn't dream of arguing that places such as The Grand Canyon, or NYC, or Cape Cod, The Great Lakes, Texas, California.. I could go on, but I wouldn't argue that any of these places are just wonderful places. However, they are The Real World and that's perhaps the most rudimentary difference between Key West and everywhere else. Living in the Conch Republic is almost akin to living in some sort of cartoon world. Yes, the laws of physics still apply here. If someone visiting gets so drunk that they fall down face first on the concrete, they're going to get hurt. The hospital here actually opens up an entire wing for tourist season. Likewise, if a group of visiting tourists rent a fleet of scooters and ride down the street all grinning like Alfred E. Newman honking their horns, guess what? They are still a bunch of jackasses.

However, down here is still a completely different mentality than anywhere else, not only in the U.S., but in the world. People realize it as well. Everyone's mindset changes when they get to the Keys. More time than not, they subconsciously realize that they are no longer in the real world. This is why everyone wants to come back, because this is not the Real World.


A great surprise this month over at The Key West Bait Shop's Live Bait Lounge this month. Every month they have their Beer of The Month and this month they featured "Casa Beer" from Casablanca, Morocco. As the sporting sort, I gave it a try, expecting it to fall on the 3, maybe 4 range of the 1- 10 scale. Surprise! Easily a 7+ and a perfect beer for a hot, summer day. Absolutely stunning label as well. Bottle and label rating is a solid 10. It's absolutely stunning, emitting style and design that captures it's origin perfectly. The Key West Bait and Tackle is located right at Land's End, which also hosts Turtle Kraals and The Raw Bar. Proprietors Chris or Joe are always there and Beccy is usually behind the bar. Stop by for a beer! ... Oh, they have all of your fishing requirements too! :-)

Key West and Havana, Cuba

Back around 1994 I's say, I was living in Miami and read a fascinating story in New Times, about a sailboat, I believe it was, that would take passengers from Key West, to Marina Hemingway, in Havana, Cuba. I found this incredible and went so far as to mail the article to a friend of mine who had a 38ft. sailboat, suggesting he do it to. My friend, Rick, thought I was daft, regretfully and never took me up on the idea. More regretful than that, was that I never pulled the trigger myself and came down to Key West to cruise, if I could, even in steerage if need be and see the forbidden isle of tobacco, sugarcane, and my all-time favorite, all things Hemingway. When I finally did move here I searched it out, but apparently it fell by the wayside/quayside somewhere in between.

I posted an old picture postcard from the Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Havana (This is the bar that Joe Russell named his bar after in Key West) on my facebook page and learned quite a bit more, thanks to replies by Bill Blue and underlined by Pati Crimmons, there were also Key West – Havana fishing tournaments, as well as a sailboat race. In my foggy memory of the New Times piece from the mid-nineties, I’m thinking that the sailboat race may have spawned the idea for the passenger sails. It rings a vague bell. Bill mentioned that his friend won it one year and the dolphin he caught hangs at Sloppy Joe’s bar. Both the sailboat race and the fishing tournament have since also fallen by the wayside/quayside as well.

The thing that started all of this posting was a conversation with my friend Mike Del Portillo, who lives in Texas, but was born and raised in Miami, albeit conceived in Cuba. He sent me an e-mail about an enterprise resort he wanted to start in a Free Cuba. That’s what harvested the old memories of the New Times piece. Then, by funny chance, the very next day I stumble across a piece about President Obama relaxing a couple of regulations regarding Americans traveling to Cuba. Nothing major, mind you, but a step in the right direction, in my opinion. The new rules allow students and religious groups to visit Cuba.

Well, all of this got the grey matter churning. Here we are, while it’s still bubbling away and far from a complete idea, this is what I’ve come up with thus far. The sailboat race is educational for many on board. A trip to Cuba is educational for any American on board, therefore, all classify as “Students”. In addition, if Scientology can actually get away with passing itself off as a religion in the eyes of the IRS, a government institution if there ever was one, can’t fishing do likewise? If you have any doubts, just listen to The Conch Republic’s own Mike McCloud and his song “Fishing Fool” and any argument against it will quickly be put to rest.

So, we re-instate both the fishing tournament and the sailboat race as a start. Perhaps a Hemingway tour can be added in the near future as well? After all, companies from The United States of America recently restored Ernest Hemingway’s boat, Pilar and also his home in Cojimar, just outside of Havana, Finca Vigia. Additionally, what would a Hemingway trip to Cuba be without a stop or few to La Floridita Bar? This was his favorite hangout and also where the Daiquiri was invented. The last I heard, the Sloppy Joe’s in Havana was being restored, so naturally that would be part of the educational student tour as well.
In times like these we also will require alternative methods to facilitate the modus operandi. My suggestion is that all traveling to Cuba, at this time, can only do so through the Conch Republic. In leaving from the Conch Republic, all traveling must have an official Conch Republic passport that must be stamped and logged by U.S. Immigration on both departure and return. A US passport must also be carried, however it will not be stamped by either US or Cuban immigration. All people traveling on these trips must be US Citizens. http://conchrepublic.com/



This is where we are at the moment. Any suggestions please e-mail to:

keywesthavana@gmail.com

Suggestions for Visiting In Key West

SUGGESTIONS FOR VISITING IN KEY WEST

This is certainly not the end all, spoken from the oracle, by any means, just off the top of my head, at the moment. Having issued that disclaimer, these are worthy of attention, I feel. No doubt, I’ll forget a bunch, but I can always stuff them into subsequent blogs. Hope you enjoy and hope it helps!
GETTING AROUND KEY WEST:
Believe me, the very last thing you want to do in Key West in order to get around, is drive your car. Parking just flat out sucks, to begin with. If you don’t take this advice, trust me, you will agree you were a phucking idiot for having not heeded the warning.
No one would argue that Key West is one of the most beautiful towns in North America, and perhaps the world. There are more homes from the 1800’s here, than anywhere else in Florida, for instance. Additionally, there are so many historical points of interest, sometimes you don’t know where to start. With that in mind, far and away the best way to see this island is on foot. Yes. On Foot. On foot, you miss the least and when you do see something of interest, you stop. You don’t put the brakes on, slow down, and turn around and go back. You just plain stop and take it in, plain and simple. With obesity on the rise and so many of us are just a bunch of lazy blobs(myself included), walking from point A to point B is a cultural change, but trust me on this, it’s the best way. And if you’re in a rush to get everywhere you want to go, you should have gone to Los Angeles for your vacation. This is an island and it’s laid back.
If walking just plain doesn’t work for you, the next best option is by bicycle. Lots of places around town rent bikes too and the rates are quite reasonable. Ten – twelve bucks a day, is the norm. Biking is great in this town as well. I will stick my neck out and say that we’re one of the largest biking communities on a percentage basis, in both the U.S. and the Conch Republic. I can safely say that I have never had an issue parking my bike here, regardless of event, even Fantasy Fest. It’s 100% environmentally friendly and great exorcise at the same time. Welcome to the island and hop on a bike!
Electric cars are somewhat popular and they have virtually no impact on the environment here. Available in 4,6, and 8 seats, they are quiet and efficient. Like cars, parking is a pain in the ass, though perhaps a bit less, as you will be able to park electric cars in spots that cars just cannot. For instance, I’ve often seen electric cars parked on Lazy Way at Schooner Wharf and they’re not in the way at all.
Scooters are the noisiest, most polluting vehicles on the island. Smokey, noisy, two cycle engines on them, they are usually rented by groups of two or more. A lot of locals have them as well, especially those who live in Mid-Town, or New Town and have to get to work in Old Town. They provide good, economic transportation to work and back. The city of Key West also provides specific parking spaces for scooters as well. The locals ride them every day of their lives. Visitors often have never ridden one before in their lives. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen a tourist wipe out on them. Believe me the tarmac in Key West is just as hard as anywhere else. Injuries will happen. Broken bones and road rash cases will be taken care of at the Key West Hospital. Serious injuries will freight you up to Miami, which have excellent hospitals for dealing with trauma. Often that little extra you didn’t expect for your vacation is the most memorable, such as a few days or weeks in Jackson Memorial Hospital in downtown Miami. It’s a beautiful facility and if you’re conscious, you can admire it as the orderly wheels you about the hospital to get various scans and tests.

CAMERAS:
Do not, I repeat DO NOT leave your motel, bed and breakfast, guest house, wherever you are staying, without a camera, EVER. There will always be loads of things and people to photograph in this town! Bring extra memory chips for your camera as well. Shoot at about 3.5 megs or so. You’re not going to print them and between 3 and 4 megs takes up a lot less room on the chip (a.k.a. =more pictures), as well as your computer when you get back home. I promise you, if you leave without a camera, you’ll be cursing yourself all day long. Likewise, all the pictures you take will be a lifetime’s worth of memories. Simple fact is; Even if you take 900 photographs, you’ll end up wishing you took 1,800. Take the camera and shoot away! And don’t worry about looking like a tourist. I’m a local and I’m always snapping pictures, wherever I go. There’s ALWAYS something new. Three months later, when work’s been trying, just grab a beer, sit back and look at all those pictures you took in Key West and I guarantee one, possibly two things will happen. A) The stress of the day will vanish. B) There’s a good chance you’ll book your next trip down!

More to come in future blogs!!!!