Monday Monday

   The start of another week here in Key West.   The weather has finally turned summer like and the winds are showing signs of calming.   It has mad me crazy not being able to head out to the remote keys and drift this year.   My days off have been filled with "honey do's", "boat do's" and choppy seas here of late.   I'm up early today so I can finish my Rum Bar orders and get the blog posted then have a play day today.   

     There  are no shortage of things to see or places to head out on the water and see here in the keys, but just getting my act together in time to head out and be able to get back before dark can be the problem.  Living on "island time" is great, but it can be a "bitch" as well when you are trying to get everything coordinated to go somewhere.  

     The one thing I know is that I am taking my flask of rum and headed out on the water today and going somewhere that will allow me to loose this pasty white skin that I'm wearing these days.   It is in the mid 80's today and there is no excuse for sitting at home as of right now anyway.  

   Only a few more things to get done, and away I go somewhere fun, peaceful and quiet just drifting through the shallows and shooting away with my camera in the sunshine.   ;o)

Friday Night Sunset in Key West

    Sunset is always an event here in Key West, Friday Night was no exception.  Mother Nature painted her beauty and showered some fabulous color in Wisteria as the sun dropped behind.

It is Official Papa's Pilar National Debut in Key West

     It was my pleasure to attend the Papa's Pilar National Debut Event on Sunset Pier in Key West last evening.   It was a real gala event with themed cuisine and cocktails celebrating the adventures and life of Ernest Hemingway.   The new line of rums that are made with the robust taste with the great adventurer in mind.  The Blonde and the Dark rums are absolutely exquisite and deserve your time to taste them.


     The event centered around industry people getting to know about these fine rums and the programs that it supports.   The rum is fully supported by the Hemingway family with their royalties from the project being given to the Hemingway Foundation and distributed to it's many Charities.   Last night there was a check in the amount of $30,000.00 given to the International Game Fish Association, one of the foundation charities and an association that was founded by Ernest Hemingway to protect, further the needs of and keep the records of international fishing.


     The entire team that made the project possible was in attendance for the event and they were having a great time seeing the project officially out in the limelight.   This has been a nearly seven year project that was finally debuted here in Key West, a fitting place considering the tie with the Hemingway family and the famed 38 foot fishing yacht called Pilar.  

    The coordinating of the Hemingway family, the rum and getting everything just right to have such a great product with so much prestige attached was a monumental project.    On hand for the event were Patrick Hemingway, Ernest's middle son, his wife Carol and John Hemingway, son of Greg Hemingway and Ernest's grandson.   The combination of great rum and a very famous family makes for a really fun event.   This is a rum that I feel will be around for a long time, they are in the process of setting up a new plant here in Key West where the Solera aging and blending operation will be conducted in the very near future.  Key West is a natural tie for the entire program, considering the tie with rum, Ernest Hemingway, and of course Pilar who's registry is still Key West.  

     It was a real honor for me to have some time to talk with Patrick Hemingway last evening about some of the things that I had the pleasure of visiting in San Francisco de Paula and Havana last fall.   Patrick's memories of the many adventures of and with his father are absolutely amazing to listen to.  His memory of the places in Cuba, Bimini, and Key West as well as all over Africa are amazing.  He told of a Rolliflex Camera that was given to his father when he went to China just before WWII that he received as his first camera ass a child and how he enjoyed photography.   I would love to be able to spend more time with him just to further the knowledge of Ernest and the stories of Patrick who is quite the protege of Ernest.  Patrick shares the love of fishing and hunting with his father as well as a love of all the exciting places and things he and his father shared.

     I would like to thank all of the people from the Papa's Pilar  organization for the invite to the debut, and best wishes for a very successful fun with these wonderful rums.  ;o)

Kenny's Blue Chair Bay Rum Has Arrived at The Rum Bar

     The long awaited rum from Kenny Chesney has finally arrived at the Rum Bar.  We have gotten the White and the Coconut so far, the Coconut Spiced was not yet in stock yet at Republic National.  Hopefully it will be in for next weeks order.  

    The Kenny Chesney fans are literally eating this rum up.  The fans are mixing it with several different juices and sodas, but they are liking these rums.   The coconut is of a very sweet nature and very aromatic, you can smell the sweet coconut frosting like airs from across the room.




     The white rum is a classic Bajan style rum, this is a good mixer that will make you feel right at home with Kenny on the beaches of the Caribbean.   This is for the true pirate that likes the fun beach life and a rum cocktail on the beach or in your back yard a sunset.

NTSB Proposes Legal Limit Lowered from .08% to .05% BAC

     The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is proposing lowering the legal limit for driver's blood alcohol concentration (BAC) from .08% to .05% as a means of reducing the drunk driving fatalities.    On the surface, it seems like a very simple thing, lower the blood alcohol concentration limit and you lower the drunk driving fatalities, but all it is really going to do is criminalize the responsible social drinker and really do very little for making the roads safer.  


     Mothers Against Drink Driving (MADD) feels that this is the wrong place to focus upon the problem.   They really don't have a problem with lowering the legal limit, but Jan Withers, National President of MADD, feels "the issue with lowering the legal limit is that it will take a lot of effort for a potential result that is many many years down the line". MADD isn't opposed to lowering the legal limit in principle, but feels that it is the wrong place for the government to put it's focus in the battle against drunken driving.  This is the feeling of many others involved in the battle also.   MADD is supporting the efforts of placing interlocks on the ignition system of convicted DUI offenders, (A device like a breathalyzer that will not let the car start if the driver blows .08 of higher.) putting a focus on "hard-core drunken drivers, and a better education programs.
 

    The other problem is that there is no direct correlation between the BAC and the number of drinks that a person consumes.  The body weight, metabolism of the individual, and other factors play important roles also.   When the percentage was dropped from .1% to .08% in 1983, the highway deaths cause by alcohol impaired drivers dropped 50% from 21,113 in 1983 to 9,8878 in 2011, but the real issue is that it took nearly thirty years for this to occur, and the advent of many auto safety equipment also had an impact on the numbers as well.  The information provided by the American Beverage Institute ( Trade organization made up  of 8,000 restaurants that serve alcoholic beverages) said that fewer that 1% of the crashes involving alcohol have occurred with drivers showing less than .05% and .08% BAC.   The institute believes that an effort to tighten the penalties for repeat and habitual offenders would have better results.


     The real issue in my mind is that there needs to be more people being more responsible for their own actions and others around them willing to do what is necessary to keep their friends and acquaintances off the road when they have had too much to drink.  It is too easy to say that "I don't want to get involved" and let someone go ahead and drive impaired.  The government hasn't yet learned that Americans are going to drink, prohibition was a failure in the twenty's and will fail again in this century.   The key to solving the problem is for the responsible drinker to "get involved" and keep your friends and relatives from getting into trouble when they have been drinking.   I firmly believe that drinking and driving is really a bad thing, but this is a social issue that need to be approached on an individual level and not an opportunity for another expensive government intervention into our social problems.  Putting the efforts on the core of the problem would yield better results and not hitting the 1% of the problem.   Repeat and habitual drinkers that didn't have just one to many are the real core of this problem, this is the part of the demographic that needs the attention.

The 2013 Hurricane Season is Just Over the Horizon

Hurricane Flags

     The first of June brings on the start of the 2013 Hurricane Season down here in the Keys.    This is the marker for the end of our busy season and the time when things begin to settle down here in Key West.   The mythical fear some people have and a real dread as hurrricane season approaches, but actually it is when the waters and the streets of Key West are returned to the residents.  It marks the time when we can go out on the waters and find areas that are not over run with people.    I look forward to the end of season and the beginning of the time when I get to travel out to the uninhabited keys and shoot pictures and enjoy the beauty of nature.  

     Nature has a calm side and a side filled with fury.  She can make days that I can go out in my little dinghy 25 of more miles out to sea in absolute calm or she can whip up a fury that can topple cities.   This is the season of uncertainty, but it is the time of the year that I really enjoy here in Key West.   I have all the respect for the fury of the hurricane, but I also know how to prepare for the arrival of a storm and know that I am where I need to be when she arrives.


Hurricane Wilma Hitting Havana Harbor Entrance

     Besides, the storm wouldn't be a storm without a good hurricane party.   On the serious side, it is time to make sure you have your hurricane preparedness kit in place and all of the necessities for the time post storm without electricity or water.  We like to think that we are all above the storm, but we really need to have a plan should one actually arrive here in Key West.   If you haven't this is the time to prepare for the 2013 hurricane season while the stores are still stocked with the supplies that you will need.  If you wait until one is approaching, you might find that everything you need has already been sold to your neighbors who got there before you.  Prepare to live through the 2013 Hurricane Season it is a good investment.  ;o)
 

Landmarks Around Havana

El Capitol and the Grand Theater

    In my past stories about Havana, I've dwelled on the bars, rum and some other things, but I've completely forgotten about the impressive architectural beauty in the City of Havana.   From the area around the Central Park to the harbor there are so many beautiful sights that the camera never seems to stop clicking.   Around the central park area there are hotels, a mall, restaurants, and government buildings.  All is an architect's dream of classic European styles.  



     There are museums of all kinds that give you a good cross section of life in and around Havana.   The Museum to the Revolution with the Memorial to their Fallen Heroes, is a collection of the weapons and of course the eternal flame for the fallen warriors.    There is a museum for the firemen, Havana Club, Museum of the Arts and the many other people and events.  It is wonderful that we can see the past here in Havana because the heritage was such an important part of life to the residents of Havana.


     The biggest memorial in Havana is the Jose Marti Memorial, located on the North side of the Plaza de la Revolucion in the Vedado section of Havana.   This is a memorial built to the biggest hero of the Cuban people, Jose Marti.     This monument was built by Fulgencio Batista after seizing power in a coup in 1952.  Construction began in 1953 on the 100th Anniversary of Jose Mari's birth. and was completed in 1958.  Today tourists may ride up and down the elevator and enjoy an exciting view of Havana.  

     The Presidential Palace, the Bacardi Building, The National Hotel and so many other buildings and sights make this city an amazing place to visit.   There is a lifetime of history exploration that can be done here, not to mention the exciting night life and incredible clubs and restaurants here.   


    The historic Havana Harbor and it's fortress that protects the City of Havana and the
great wall that surrounded Havana is still partially in tact in different parts of the city.

  If you should ever get the chance to visit Havana, make the time to walk the city and see all of the unbelievable sights.  ;o)