One perk of working for Outward Bound is having OB bases in some of the coolest places in the world, including the Florida Keys. The culture here is so much different than most of Florida, and Key West takes pride in being weirdest of all. The atmosphere is reminiscent of New Orleans French Quarter, but a little more rustic due to its remote location. You can have dinner here in a restuarant where Ernest Hemingway once refereed boxing matches, choosing from a selection of Cuban, Caribbean, Latin, and Americana dishes. Feral chickens roam the island, and adventures in the clear blue waters (diving, snorkeling, sailing) await in every direction.
But I was here for Fantasy Fest, the time of year where Key Westers (and visitors) get their freak on. I had heard rumors there would be naked painted people running loose in the streets...
I wore my Cernunnos/Herne the Hunter costume, and ended up posing for 100s of photos. Pretty half-dressed girls kept wanting to climb under my cloak of leaves and peek under my leather loin cloth - I hate when that happens. LOL - I got all sorts of "recognition" (?) from the drunken merry-makers, i.e., I was recognized as "the Knight who says NI!" (I liked that one), "Key Deer" (a local endangered species), "the Deer Hunter" (appropriate, perhaps, in that I represented both hunter and hunted), "the jaegermeister man" (yuck!), "Rocky" (did he mean "Bullwinkle"?), and "big birdie" (ok, this girl was *drunk* - but she was cute and cuddly). Perhaps most surprising was that a couple of people actually recognized me for who I was - Lord of the Forest.
Fantasy Fest was definitely cooler and more fun than Mardi Gras. Maybe it was because of the Halloween connection, but there was a LOT more crowd participation. Almost everyone was dressed (or more often, undressed) in fun costumes, and the parades were almost an afterthought.
Fantasy Fest was not as satisfying as Burning Man. Too much trash on the streets, too crowded, and no real chance to make meaningful connections like you can in Black Rock City. In this sense, it was more like Mardi Gras or Carnival - a night of debauchery and good decadent fun, a night to behave wantonly without lasting consequences.
Now I have a day or two to soak in the warm sunshine (did I mention that it's always summer in the Keys?) before my next adventure: a week of paddling in the Everglades with a bunch of fellow Outward Bound instructors. Now that won't be *any* fun : )
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Posted: Sunday October 29, 2006, 12:40 pm Tags: [add/edit tags]
Found Olympic Hot Springs
by moonlight last night.
Today I toured the
"Valley of the Rainforest
Giants" - largest trees
in the world outside of
California! Tonight I'm
driving down the Oregon
Coast. Tomorrow...
Redwoods.
It's been a while since I
was here, keeping up my
blog. Almost a year
since I posted anything
substantive about my
experiences, and since
this is, in part, my
journal, I would like to
start again. What a
year it has been.I left
the Forest ...
Spent the last three days
on staff retreat with the
Boulder Outdoor Survival
School. Hiked down Little
Death Hollow to the
Escalante River where we
camped on a sand bar the
first night. Started our
fire with a fire plow,
sage on sage, all of us
taking...
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Launch of new Singapore
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— Although it is commonly
known as Vitiligocausing
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— Weapon R Secret Intake
System is specifically
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It combines the highest
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— Great Rates in Seconds
24/7 - No Hassle, Only
Enter Make, Model &
Zip Codes: Wow, You are
done! Priority or Economy
& Guaranteed Options more
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