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Heading South! The Adventures of Capt. Itch and GatorBait aka Chickie
In an attempt to warm up a little from the colder weather we have had in Tennessee, and to be able to scratch that riding itch, I had put on my tinfoil hat and that dim bulb started to glow "Go South, young man". What a great idea go see my sister in Clearwater, Florida. She has a spare room and she and her boyfriend both ride. So I loaded up the trailer with the bike, in search of warmer weather, swaying palm trees, the ocean, and well maybe a few bikinis. As the trip down was pretty uneventful, I could not help but notice it really ain't getting any warmer. Sure enough the cold front was on my tail. As I made my way down to Florida I received news that a very good friend of mine had passed away, John Klausing, the General Manager from Sloppy Joe's Bar in Key West. They were having a Celebration of Life for him on Wednesday, so that was a must for me to make. John was a very fine man and a friend. He and his family always welcomed you with open arms, and I am very serious when I tell you he had friends from all over the globe. So down the road I head, south to Key West, a 400 mile trip, the bike is running good...let's go. While riding across Alligator Alley that very familiar feeling came over me like coming home again, as South Florida and the Lower Keys were my play ground for some 33 years. Wow, it sure was a nice morning. No traffic, the sun rising, birds, gators, and the road all to myself. The Everglades have always been in my heart with its primitive beauty, and sounds, Mother Nature the way it is supposed to be for the most part.
So down the road
we go, me, the bike, and that
Rubber As I arrived in Key West everyone of course is running around in shorts and bitching about how cold it is. Some things will never change in the Keys. To those of you that don't know, Key West is a drinking town with a tourist problem. So with a little time to waste I decided to seek out some old friends from my days of living on my Houseboat, and here are a few pictures from some of the finest people that you could ever meet. The service for John was very nice and there was not a dry eye in the place. He will truly be missed very much. The ride home was pretty uneventful except for the fact that I had to stop at one of those airboat ride places for the tourists and borrow a little gasoline to make it across Highway 41. We won't dwell on my stupid antics, just happy the wife was not there to start bitching.... Until the next time ride and be safe. Capt. Itch January 23rd, 2009
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Chicken that I often find
myself with. After looking at the
canal next to the road and seeing all the Gators in there I
figured that that chicken needed a name. So from now on that
rubber chicken will be referred to as
"GatorBait" after seeing those
nice pearly whites on them Gators, I thought that was a
pretty fitting name.
