Key West Florida
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Monday, February 14, 2005
Key West Fishing
Things are changing over at the Key West Kayak Fishing website. The site will be changing it's focus from being a kayak fishing charter to a sort of encyclopedia about fishing in Key West and the Florida Keys. Soon to be added will be extensive sections on all types of fishing trips: Deep Sea, Flats fishing, light tackle fishing, reef fishing, party boat fishing, spearfishing, and of course kayak fishing. I'm going to be really generous with the information. Suggestions and secrets to technique, equipment, and experiences will be included. Let me know if you would like anything else. I'm excited about the new effort, and can't wait to spill the beans. The whole site will also get a new look. Suggestions are welcome. Best Fishes!
Key West Florida
Key West Florida
Monday, February 07, 2005
The Real Estate Monster of Key West
Friends, last night, went on about the state of things in Key West. Change has sped up in a town who's once-most-endearing trait was it's slow pace.
The supply side of the housing equation has been rigged, driving the price of homes into stratospheric ranges. The Real Estate Monster of Key West has such an appetite, that it is beginning to eat the fiscal engine of the city: tourism. It has been quoted by city officials that 10% of the hotel rooms have applied to convert to luxury condominiums. When we sell off the hotel rooms, we sell off the visitors and all the amenities that go with it. Clearly, remove the tourists and you don't need three hundred fishing guides, twenty snorkeling boats, 40 attractions, and 200 restaurants and bars to service a population that isn't even on Key West for seventy percent of the year.
Maybe that does solve the affordable housing problem. Get rid of the industry, remove the workers, and you can have a retirement/speculator community, just without any businesses. There she sits, ninety miles from the mainland...Rising a few feet above the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. No people=no problem.
Everything seems to be for sale, and for prices that make people rich or priced-out of the community. This threatens the city in ways that no other community has experienced.
So, friends are discussing the foreboding change on Key West. And I'm reminded of what someone once wrote about the island, termed "sliding baselines". Basically, everyone gets here, looks around, and says "This is great! Look at this place". But in five years, they are saying "Man, I remember what this place was like five years ago. It's going downhill." Yet someone new is always arriving, saying the same thing, "This is great! Look at this place!". Sliding baselines.
I think that I remember better days in Key West, and then a true old-timer tells me of fishing for yellowtail snapper off of Mallory Square, the water being crystal clear up to the docks. And I remember, that my complaints about the good-old-days fit into the sliding baselines formula. Like our new neighbor down the street who looks lovestruck. He's fallen for Key West, and is happy he spent the $500,000 for the 500 square foot condo.
One thing I'm pretty sure. Speculative frenzies end with a particular smashing fit. Realtors are rabid on the island, popping up like mushrooms from cow dung. It is not widely known that the realtors have cornered the market. Homes put up for sale have a very good chance of being bought by a real estate agent, only to be quickly resold with a hefty tax applied. These home would have normally been bought by a local, community member. Today, most sellers having held their home for decades, calls a realtor, and doesn't realize that they are dealing with someone who's interests are not aligned with their own. The realtor ends up with these properties that are marketed to out-of-state, second-home buyers. A real shame, and I suspect that the current mayoral administration hasn't grasped the consequences.
Buckle up boys and girls, my hunch is this sure bet has longer odds. It's only beginning to get wierd. Get your rubbery neck ready.
The supply side of the housing equation has been rigged, driving the price of homes into stratospheric ranges. The Real Estate Monster of Key West has such an appetite, that it is beginning to eat the fiscal engine of the city: tourism. It has been quoted by city officials that 10% of the hotel rooms have applied to convert to luxury condominiums. When we sell off the hotel rooms, we sell off the visitors and all the amenities that go with it. Clearly, remove the tourists and you don't need three hundred fishing guides, twenty snorkeling boats, 40 attractions, and 200 restaurants and bars to service a population that isn't even on Key West for seventy percent of the year.
Maybe that does solve the affordable housing problem. Get rid of the industry, remove the workers, and you can have a retirement/speculator community, just without any businesses. There she sits, ninety miles from the mainland...Rising a few feet above the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida. No people=no problem.
Everything seems to be for sale, and for prices that make people rich or priced-out of the community. This threatens the city in ways that no other community has experienced.
So, friends are discussing the foreboding change on Key West. And I'm reminded of what someone once wrote about the island, termed "sliding baselines". Basically, everyone gets here, looks around, and says "This is great! Look at this place". But in five years, they are saying "Man, I remember what this place was like five years ago. It's going downhill." Yet someone new is always arriving, saying the same thing, "This is great! Look at this place!". Sliding baselines.
I think that I remember better days in Key West, and then a true old-timer tells me of fishing for yellowtail snapper off of Mallory Square, the water being crystal clear up to the docks. And I remember, that my complaints about the good-old-days fit into the sliding baselines formula. Like our new neighbor down the street who looks lovestruck. He's fallen for Key West, and is happy he spent the $500,000 for the 500 square foot condo.
One thing I'm pretty sure. Speculative frenzies end with a particular smashing fit. Realtors are rabid on the island, popping up like mushrooms from cow dung. It is not widely known that the realtors have cornered the market. Homes put up for sale have a very good chance of being bought by a real estate agent, only to be quickly resold with a hefty tax applied. These home would have normally been bought by a local, community member. Today, most sellers having held their home for decades, calls a realtor, and doesn't realize that they are dealing with someone who's interests are not aligned with their own. The realtor ends up with these properties that are marketed to out-of-state, second-home buyers. A real shame, and I suspect that the current mayoral administration hasn't grasped the consequences.
Buckle up boys and girls, my hunch is this sure bet has longer odds. It's only beginning to get wierd. Get your rubbery neck ready.
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Thursday, February 03, 2005
Key West Fantasty Fest
Well the party of the year, Key West Fantasy Fest, is still over six months away, but it's a good time to mention it. By the time the Halloween week is near, every hotel on the island is sold out. So for those of you planning on visiting us at our bawdiest, start looking at Key West hotels soon.
And what about costumes? I can't ever seem to come up with anything good by the time rolls around. Though through the year I think about it, and am reasonably sure that I'll come up with something, I've really failed these past few years. I usually blame the vague themes. I mean, how do you dress for "Delerious Dreams and Hillarious Screams"? There was a time a decade ago that the themes were easy to join in: "TV Jeebies" was a particularly good one.
This year should be different. The theme is "Freaks, Geeks, and Goddesses". Now I just have to pick one.
And what about costumes? I can't ever seem to come up with anything good by the time rolls around. Though through the year I think about it, and am reasonably sure that I'll come up with something, I've really failed these past few years. I usually blame the vague themes. I mean, how do you dress for "Delerious Dreams and Hillarious Screams"? There was a time a decade ago that the themes were easy to join in: "TV Jeebies" was a particularly good one.
This year should be different. The theme is "Freaks, Geeks, and Goddesses". Now I just have to pick one.
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Friday, January 21, 2005
Clintons Arrive in Key West
Former President Bill Clinton and his wife Senator Hillary Clinton arrived in Key West tonight amid suprised local islanders. Travelling in a motorcade of black sedans and SUVs, the Clintons were seen as they waved to revelers at Key West's famous Green Parrot Bar. The blues music thundering from the local hotspot brought a grin to the face of the former president, known for his love of soul music.
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Saturday, January 15, 2005
Audubon Prints
John James Audubon created one of the worlds greatest collection of scientific illustrations in his 19th century book Birds of America. These bird images are some of the most recognizable of any artist. Here is a good site to help you identify authentic Audubon prints.
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Friday, January 14, 2005
Author Annie Dillard Pens Poem on Key West Development
Local Key West resident and Pulitzer prize winning author Annie Dillard has witnessed first hand the rapid and drastic changes underway on the tiny island. In today's Solares Hill, a Key West newspaper printed once weekly, a poem by the writer comments on the state of her community.
Annie Dillard's Doggerel
From down Duval you see
A strand of open shore.
If a motel grows three stories
This grandeur we'll see no more.
Everywhere big buildings rise-
This fact fills me with awe-
Some few must have influence:
It's all within the law.
The scene gets poorer, while the rich
Find legal loops to use.
Richer yet, they still die bare-
Having wrecked, for all, the views.
The developer wants, the developer wants
The developer wants some more.
We can't say no! The city says:
Take wetlands, woods and shore.
HARC. HARC. The lark.
Contents itself with knickknacks.
HARC and TDC and Planning-
Could they be taking kickbacks?
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Thursday, January 13, 2005
Key West Pirate Museum
Pat Croce's private collection of pirate artifacts has been put on display at his Key West pirate museum called Pirate Soul.
Inside is a really well done, interactive exhibit. Think Disney. Animatronic storytellers, ornate sets, and of course, an exit that leads to the back of the gift shop.
The local press put up a headline saying "The Cruise Shippers are going to love this". True, true. This one is right up their alley. And if nothing else, this should signal the official Disney-ification of Key West. Croce has supposedly put over $10 million in the project, a number previously unknown to Key West attraction creators.
Inside is a really well done, interactive exhibit. Think Disney. Animatronic storytellers, ornate sets, and of course, an exit that leads to the back of the gift shop.
The local press put up a headline saying "The Cruise Shippers are going to love this". True, true. This one is right up their alley. And if nothing else, this should signal the official Disney-ification of Key West. Croce has supposedly put over $10 million in the project, a number previously unknown to Key West attraction creators.
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Tuesday, January 11, 2005
Key West Hotels
So often I am asked where to stay in Key West. You can choose from Key West Hotels, Bed & Breakfasts, Motels, and Resorts: they are aplenty on our little island. Beachfront full-service hotels are available and usually pricey. They include the Reach Resort, the Casa Marina Resort, and the Pier House (harborfront). I wouldn't stay at the Hilton because the cruise ships dock there and usually block your view of the water. Key West B&B's are a really nice option, nestled amongst the historic homes of Old Town. My favorites include The Mermaid & The Aligator, The Island City House, and La Habitacion. One thing you really want to avoid is staying in New Town (the east half of Key West) if you want to spend most of your time in Old Town/Duval Street/Mallory Square. But you can get a cheaper room in New Town.
The Merlin Guesthouse on Simonton offer inexpensive and clean rooms with a bit of Key West charm. Plus it's right in the middle of the historic area.
I'm off to go do some of that famous Key West fishing.
Gone Fishin'
The Merlin Guesthouse on Simonton offer inexpensive and clean rooms with a bit of Key West charm. Plus it's right in the middle of the historic area.
I'm off to go do some of that famous Key West fishing.
Gone Fishin'
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Friday, December 31, 2004
Key West Florida New Years Eve
For the rest of the country, New Year's Eve revilers who dare step outside are bundled in layers of winter clothing. But here at the United States southernmost point, Key Westers celebrate in sandals, shorts, and t-shirts. Here, the unusual is the norm and balmy winter nights are expected.
Residents and visitors in Key West have a range of options for New Years: from the semi-formal affairs at the luxury resorts to the down-and-dirty partying on Duval Street. Most people will end up on Duval Street anyway. There, the huge crowd has, instead of the famous Ball at Times Square, the option of seeing lowered at midnight:
Vehicular traffic is closed on Duval Street as the crowd numbers in the ten's of thousands and is packed in shoulder to shoulder. Key West, known for partying, will rage on until 4 am.
Peace on Earth (please!)
Residents and visitors in Key West have a range of options for New Years: from the semi-formal affairs at the luxury resorts to the down-and-dirty partying on Duval Street. Most people will end up on Duval Street anyway. There, the huge crowd has, instead of the famous Ball at Times Square, the option of seeing lowered at midnight:
- A Conch Shell (over Sloppy Joe's Bar)
- A Drag Queen, named Sushi, riding an enormous high-heeled shoe (over the Bourbon Street Bar Complex)
- A Pirate Wench from the mast of a tall-ship schooner (at the Historic Seaport)
Vehicular traffic is closed on Duval Street as the crowd numbers in the ten's of thousands and is packed in shoulder to shoulder. Key West, known for partying, will rage on until 4 am.
Peace on Earth (please!)
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Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Key West Pirate Soul Museum
Well the glorification of the pirate has been taken to new levels with Key West's newest attraction. Self-help guru Pat Croce has opened Pirate Soul, apparently a lifelong dream. Sporting a collection of maritime & pirate artifacts from centuries of history, the museum/attraction displays them in a Disney-esque setting complete with an animatronic head of Black Beard and the obligatory loop of "pirate sounds". Everything is really well done, no doubt about it. And kids will appreciate the exhibits.
But am I the only one who considers honoring pirates strange? Weren't they just a bunch of murderous thugs? And isn't piracy still a serious problem to sailors in many parts of the world?
But am I the only one who considers honoring pirates strange? Weren't they just a bunch of murderous thugs? And isn't piracy still a serious problem to sailors in many parts of the world?
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