Maybe There Aren't Any Other Kind

Yesterday’s post was titled: A Mellow Day in Marathon. After today, we’re wondering if there are any other kind.

We set off in the morning for a bike ride. We headed west from the marina to ride the “Old 7 Bridge” out to Pigeon Key, a round trip of 10 miles, all of which was FLAT, our kind of bike riding.

The Old 7 Bridge is the original railroad bridge built to connect the Keys to the mainland in the early part of the 20th century, and is so-named because it was 7 miles long. There were great hopes that Key West would become a major trans-shipment point for the Caribbean and South America.  Alas, it did not come to pass, but one wonders if anyone would have ever made the investment in infrastructure without the original grand dream.

The railroad bridge was first converted into a two-lane highway bridge and is now largely abandoned; the eastern most two miles is open as a pedestrian/bicycle bridge out to Pigeon Key. There is a small museum documenting the original railroad bridge construction and a marine science program for school children on the Key.

On the way back we stopped at Porky’s, a bit of a tradition in our family, for pulled pork sandwiches and lemonade. The whole family has been here at least once, Bob and Ryan on their Florida college tour fourteen years ago.

Porky’s has live entertainment every night. Its’ most famous entertainer is Rocketman who plays the guitar and a mix of Jimmy Buffet and other island music, and of course his signature song: Rocket Man.

The waitress says he only plays on Saturday nights now, “when he shows up”.  Too bad we didn’t know that, or we’d have come last night.

We ended the day by going to the 3rd Annual Sunset Celebration, a largely informal gathering of Loopers. There were over 120 in attendance and we enjoyed talking to folks who share our interest in our currant adventure. It was an interesting challenge to figure out how to arrive at a party a mile away, by bicycle, bringing our own beverage and an appetizer to share! Still lots to learn about life as cruisers.

Finally, friend Jim R sent us a link to a Wikipedia article on the Green Iguana, which he identified as the “weird thing” we saw in the water and documented in yesterday’s post.  The article confirmed that these guys really do swim, AND certain of the dominant males turn orange during mating season. Who knew?