Friday I took off around 12:30 for the motorcycle ride down to Key West. Of course I was a bit nervous about such a ride but to be hones I just needed to get out of here for a while and I haven’t seen my old surf buddy Dan in quite some time. The first leg was obviously the fastest; Florida Turnpike down to Miami then on to the 45 mile per hour section of the trip.

85 on a motorcycle for an hour or so can be a fun ride though and the only real pain in the ass was the tolls. Every few miles it was stop, take off a glove, dig for a dollar then hit it again. By the time I got to the keys my right hand was numb and so was my ass but it was all good. I bought a little piece of plastic which allows me to just rest my hand on the throttle instead of gripping it the entire time which helped immensely. Like an $11 cruise control.

Once in the keys it took about three hours to get to Key West. I had to stop for a beer about halfway down to give my butt a rest but other than that it was a beautiful ride and I’d recommend it to anyone with a bike. Gorgeous.

Dan and Mary were kind enough to house me for a couple days which was really cool of them. I finally got to hang out with ole’ Danny boy and catch up. So good to see him. Since he’s got a little one in the house it was tough to really go out and enjoy the scenery but how much is there really to see that I haven’t already on my last trip. We went out on Friday night for a few drinks which was pretty cool.

The ride back was just as beautiful. I wore full gear all the way back since I felt like I was covered in bugs on the way down. Luckily the weather was perfect, not too hot and not chilly at all. I thought about taking 95 back but then finally decided to just hammer out the last leg of the trip on the Turnpike.

I did finally find the little tiki bar I stopped at last time on the way back. So peaceful, live acoustic guitar and an ocean view while having a cheeseburger. So relaxing, just what I needed. It’s located right next to Hog Heaven on the south end of Islamorada.

Once back it really felt good to be home. Sometimes vacations really make you thankful for what you have.

Thanks again to Dan and Mary for their enormous hospitality. It was a nice trip guys.