I’m back at Sippin’ Internet cafe, 430 Eaton Street, for my Wednesday On The Road interlude that explores subcultures.

Outside, three magenta and turquoise cafe tables host a six-pack of northern tourists.  They are debating whether there are more Ohioans or New Yorkers down here.  Four of them are from New York — five if you count the toy poodle. They swear they hear a lot of New York accents.

Personally, I see so many people from Ohio here in the winters, I always ask them who is taking care of Ohio while everyone is in Florida?

Inside, multiple languages mingle with the music (see last On The Road). Two twenty-something guys with headsets are watching a soccer game on a laptop; an anonymous novelist invents a new world in a corner and several people tap away at the computer stations.   A well-dressed local realtor and her client just finished their scones and left.  A quiet legal conference between lawyers is going on near me.  I am trying not to eavesdrop.  A skinny young gal with bumper stickers all over her laptop just plugged in from the sofa.

This Wednesday, March 4, I will be at Salute on Higgs Beach, 4 to 5 p.m., for Subculture Tour #4. Come by and I’ll put your picture in the blog.

Wait til you see #3, which will be up Wednesday afternoon!  The photo here is a hint of #3.  Anyone guess what it is?  Correct guess gets their photo in the blog.

The Blog Goes on the Road!  Wednesdays, I’m out and about with my old white travel computer (the one that reminds me regularly that my hard drive is nearly full and I am running out of memory) (Okay, I just deleted 2283 items that were in the trash.  Let’s see what that does.)

This week I am at Sippin’ Internet Cafe, 424 Eaton Street.  A cafe con leche and biscotti fuel a couple of hours of blog posts and give me a chance to absorb some of the subculture.

Sippin’ was Key West’s first true internet cafe as far as I can remember (Correct me if I’m wrong) — although there were a few computer outposts here and there –  and when it started in the 1990s, we all wondered if this new-fangled concept would — COULD — work.  When my friends Penny and Onett took it over three years ago, I secretly worried for them, but look at them now.

A sophisticated sound track this afternoon makes me think I’m on the television set of House. The music — what genre?  I can no longer define it.  Ages ago it either jazz or rock or classical or folk, etc; then the crossovers complicating it — folk rock, smooth jazz, contemporary classical.  Add in hip hop, rap, metallica and I gave up trying to keep up.  The musical background at Sippin’ though is contemporary, interesting without being distracting and augments the solitary nature of computer work while still offering a sociable atmosphere.

It  tones the room with an urban intellectual feel. Back to House, if you’re not a fan, it’s a med-drama about eccentric genius Dr. House.  Theme is by Joe Cocker — I know what you’re thinking: He’s still alive and singing? –and the music is, well, cool.

A steady stream of folks lope in here at Sippin’, get their coffee and treats and settle somewhere for a transient interlude.  All ages, from Goth teens to septuagenarian novelists camp at the computer desks or slouch under their own laptops on sofas or at teeny tables.
Quietly tapping out who knows what, the patrons inhabit their own intensely private worlds, while pausing from time to time to observe occasional antics.  A group of youngsters wander in — all skateboards, Ipods and cellphones, one toting a guitar larger than her torso.  They are in and out, up and down, lounging on the sofas, sharing games, videos on various electronic devices and then, poof, they are gone.

A few outside tables host families with strollers, tired tourists and sidewalk cafe enthusiasts. Regulars wander in regularly, calling out greetings, making the place seem like home in the dorm.

I’m going back to Sippin’ next week, too.  Come by and chat.  I’ll be there Wednesday, from 4 to 5 p.m, maybe longer.