We were featured on the front page of our local newspaper, The Citizen.
Behemoth hits road in spring — guaranteed to turn heads
Couple call bomb squad truck ‘home’
BY ADAM LINHARDT Citizen Staff
As far as belated honeymoons go, you’ve got to give it to a pair of lovebirds at the state public defender’s office.
Assistant Public Defenders Hani Demetrious and Sarah Maya were married on Dec. 1 and their plans come April are to leave Key West in the rearview mirror and head to Alaska before turning around and making tracks to Central America in a truck that’s more Frankenstein than Mack.
“Well, the ride is a little rough,” Maya said laughing last week as Demetrious moved the 1994 diesel behemoth around the Hitch King lot on Big Coppitt Key.
The beast includes part of a retired Monroe County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad truck — lifted at a Sheriff’s Office silent auction for $300 — part utility truck and part Cessna airplane, both picked up in Orlando. The Cessna fuselage Demetrious placed atop the cab will be the couple’s sleeping space.
Atop that sits solar panels and a mish-mash of boat parts, hoses and plumbing all done by Demetrious, 34, to make the truck a workable RV. A motorcycle trailer will attach to the back. It features a head, shower, kitchenette and every nook not holding wires or tubing has been transformed into storage space.
Friend and celebrated Key West artist Rick Worth painted the truck in a wave theme and Maya, 31, named it “Skyhorse.”
“I love Rick’s paint job,” Maya said. “Hani wanted a western, mountain theme, but both of us being from Florida, we let Rick do his thing and now we couldn’t be happier.”
It’s been a two-year project and vision of Demetrious and Maya since their courtship. Their honeymoon plans initially called for a sailboat cruise through the Caribbean, but Maya’s seasickness put the kibosh on those plans. The couple was inspired by off-the-wall RV shows on cable TV, Maya said.
Demetrious did nearly all the work on the truck himself except the paint and Don Brown at Hitch King lent a hand with the welding.
The couple first met at a conference in 2007 while Maya was then working as a public defender in Broward County. They kept a long-distance relationshipuntil Maya joined Demetrious in Key West in 2008.
“We always said weren’t going to stay in Key West forever,” Maya said. “There’s so many defense attorneys already in private practice and with no kids right now, it is a good time to travel.”
The couple plan to hit Alaska in the summer months before the weather turns and makes travel nearly impossible.
“Now the fun part will be deciding what to take with us,” Maya said, laughing.
If passing interest from other motorists are any indicator, it would appear they’re taking the spirit of Key West with them as well.
Sarah
Hani
Adventures in Skyhorse 