The plan was to leave Wellington, FL 2 up on the multistraada with my friend holly, arrive new year's eve, camp, enjoy the sun and surf, and then return a few days later. Looking back on it now, it was a great trip, and the bike performed quite admirably.
We started off a little after noon on December 31st....what better way to send out the old year and ring in the new than on a Ducati...and more specifically my multi. For me, this was my first real "trip" 2 up. So, packing for 2 people plus camping gear was a slight bit of a challenge for me, but we managed, here's a pic of the bike fully loaded and my passenger.
Having taken directions from a Wellington local, we ended up getting lost around Miami and ended in stop and go traffic for most of route 1 down to the keys. This delayed us a bit....I had planned on reaching the campground around dark, due to the delay about the last hour and half of the trip was in the dark. So it goes...at least we didn't hit any alligators. Once hitting key largo, the traffic pretty steady all the way down to our final destination, the KOA campground at mile marker 19. (in case you didn't know, key west is mile marker number 1) So we arrived at the KOA, we didn't have reservations, but I figured that they could probably fit us in tent overflow, and sure enough it wasnt' too much trouble to find a spot. Actually.....at the price of $60 a night...I'm sure the campground wasn't turning away anyone....and they were filled to capacity that night, so they must have made a small fortune.
So, we got in, got settled, got the tent up, rested a bit and then headed into downtown Key West for some dinner and to watch the them drop the conch shell to ring in the new year. We rode the 20 minutes into town, found a nice seafood place (it even had motorcycle parking....always a good sign in my book) and had a nice dinner...our last one for the year.
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Having had our fill, we meandered down the wharf checking out the yachts moored there and eventually ended up at Duval street. Of course it was packed, but we made our way to a comfortable spot and watched the last 15 minutes of 2008 drift away....although in those 15 minutes, we were almost puked on(twice), saw a fight start, and noticed that the countdown clock was 3 minutes early....that's right...Key West, a place with a reputation for its laid back mentality rang the new year in early...ahhh well, who's counting anyways right?
Day 2: Having slept the previous night off, I rode the bike to the nearest grocery store (about 10 miles away) to stock up on food for a few days. Got back....made some tasty breakfast new years day breakfast including my home-roasted coffee.
That afternoon we made our way back into town to check out the sights in the daylight. It's amazing how different the exact same ride into town was in the daylight...I wouldn't have recognized it. Anyhow, we went to visit the southernmost point in the continental US, rode around the conch republic (tried not to hit the wild chickens and cats), got a milekshake at Denny's and proceeded to park the bike on Duval street (there's motorcycle parking only after 6PM..sweet) and check out all the shops and the people scene and settled on grabing dinner and drinks at a place called Mangroves. A good day.(here's the bike with the southernmost point in the continental US)
(here she is next to the world famous Sloppy Joes)
Day 3: Plan was to spend it on the beach at Bahia Honda State Park at mile marker 37. After a quick breakfast at the campsite we packed the side cases and headed out to the sandy oasis awaiting us. The state park itself was quite a treat...only $6.50 for 2 people for the day. Some nice places to hike...there's a couple nice overlooks of an old bridge that was part of the legendary Flagler railroad built around the turn of the 19th century. The beaches we pristine...the sun was clean..although the water was chilly...I made sure to grab a few beauty shots of the bike.
Having had our fill of sun, we stopped at an oversized tiki hut called Boondocks....a little pricy, but then again everything in the Keys is, but to our delight, it was half of martini night...and I'm never one to pass up a deal....so we made sure we have their martini menu a thorough thrashing before the night was over. Needless to say...I slept well that night, even if the campsite was on lumpy ground.
Day 4: Our last day in the Florida keys before we had to head back to reality...the last thing anyone wants while on vacation is a reality check! So, I headed into town to grab, some food for the planned afternoon canoe excursion, try some local coffee, and track down a tail light for the bike......yup, the running light went out sometime on the way down and the guy that was trying to tell me about was hanging out the window as he drove by...I just figured he was a drunk reveler...anyways, 20 minutes at the local key west yamaha and a few borrowed tools had me back together in legal riding mode in no time.
So, I got back...we sought out a canoe at the KOA...got some libations to fuel our paddling and headed out for an afternoon lunch around Sugarloaf key.
All was well, except we were paddling against the current and a stiff head wind on the way back....a bit of hard-earned sage advice should you ever have the urge to enter a canoe: rowing into the wind in NOT fun. So, we got back and rested our row-weary torsos...made some tasty ramen for dinner and spent the evening at the pub....yes, the KOA had a pub (I think they all should) the drinks were tasty, the tab was small, and there was live music....a perfect end to our short holiday in the keys.
day 5: It rained hard ALL night...like, noah's ark style rain. So, most everything out of doors had to be packed wet, and somehow we had accumulated things...so I have away the rest of our propane and food to the campers nearest us and holly and I hit the road with our fingers crossed hoping to dodge the ominous rain clouds. Well, 5 hours and a potty/slash fuel stop later, we arrived back at my home (aka-RV) stored in Wellington and the rain barely touched us the whole trip. What a relief! The past 5 days had flown by so quickly, but had been full of adventure, vistas, and memories I won't soon forget. The bike was beautiful the whole....and must have been the "hot chick" down there. There were gaggles of Harleys, yet vitually every time I parked there was an inquisitive on looker. Would I do trip again?......in a heartbeat.
Day 3: Plan was to spend it on the beach at Bahia Honda State Park at mile marker 37. After a quick breakfast at the campsite we packed the side cases and headed out to the sandy oasis awaiting us. The state park itself was quite a treat...only $6.50 for 2 people for the day. Some nice places to hike...there's a couple nice overlooks of an old bridge that was part of the legendary Flagler railroad built around the turn of the 19th century. The beaches we pristine...the sun was clean..although the water was chilly...I made sure to grab a few beauty shots of the bike.
Having had our fill of sun, we stopped at an oversized tiki hut called Boondocks....a little pricy, but then again everything in the Keys is, but to our delight, it was half of martini night...and I'm never one to pass up a deal....so we made sure we have their martini menu a thorough thrashing before the night was over. Needless to say...I slept well that night, even if the campsite was on lumpy ground.
Day 4: Our last day in the Florida keys before we had to head back to reality...the last thing anyone wants while on vacation is a reality check! So, I headed into town to grab, some food for the planned afternoon canoe excursion, try some local coffee, and track down a tail light for the bike......yup, the running light went out sometime on the way down and the guy that was trying to tell me about was hanging out the window as he drove by...I just figured he was a drunk reveler...anyways, 20 minutes at the local key west yamaha and a few borrowed tools had me back together in legal riding mode in no time.
So, I got back...we sought out a canoe at the KOA...got some libations to fuel our paddling and headed out for an afternoon lunch around Sugarloaf key.
All was well, except we were paddling against the current and a stiff head wind on the way back....a bit of hard-earned sage advice should you ever have the urge to enter a canoe: rowing into the wind in NOT fun. So, we got back and rested our row-weary torsos...made some tasty ramen for dinner and spent the evening at the pub....yes, the KOA had a pub (I think they all should) the drinks were tasty, the tab was small, and there was live music....a perfect end to our short holiday in the keys.
day 5: It rained hard ALL night...like, noah's ark style rain. So, most everything out of doors had to be packed wet, and somehow we had accumulated things...so I have away the rest of our propane and food to the campers nearest us and holly and I hit the road with our fingers crossed hoping to dodge the ominous rain clouds. Well, 5 hours and a potty/slash fuel stop later, we arrived back at my home (aka-RV) stored in Wellington and the rain barely touched us the whole trip. What a relief! The past 5 days had flown by so quickly, but had been full of adventure, vistas, and memories I won't soon forget. The bike was beautiful the whole....and must have been the "hot chick" down there. There were gaggles of Harleys, yet vitually every time I parked there was an inquisitive on looker. Would I do trip again?......in a heartbeat.
