Day 8 & 9 (22-23 May). Key West

From: Homestead, FL

To: Key West, FL

Miles today: 150

Total miles: 1920

On Friday, 22 May, I drove the 120 miles or so of Route 1 along the Florida Keys.  I have to say, most of Route 1 in the Keys – which is to say, on the physical islands – looks pretty much like Route 1 in Virginia; strip shopping centers, low-rise office buildings, gas stations. In the spans in between, over long bridges, it was lovely but so bright I had to wear sunglasses.  The speed limit for most of the route was 45 mph. 

I took a break about halfway, on the island of Marathon, and stopped in at the Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters, a small but really cool “petting zoo” for rays, sharks, and other aquatic creatures.  Here is a picture of me holding a living horseshoe crab.  The rules were that the animal had to stay in the water and the camera had to stay out of the water. I interacted similarly with a sea urchin and a starfish.  I had never handled any of these organisms while they were alive before. 

Live horsehsoe crab

I arrived at Key West at about 12  pm, and felt required to drive to the southern terminus of Route 1.  (I had done the same thing at the northern terminus of Route 1 in Kent, Maine, three years ago.)  It turns out the other side of the street, the “start,” had more attractive signage, so here is a picture of my motorcycle there.  Woo hoo!

End of the Road. 

I found the hotel and met up with Karen, who had flown in via Miami a couple of hours earlier. After all the nights in inexpensive motels, the difference of a luxury Hyatt was quite noticeable.  I took a long, hot shower – it was hot and humid the whole way – and then we walked around the island a bit.  Later we had dinner with some friends who happened to also be in town (hi to Liz, Pete, and Michelle). 

The next day we took a longer walk around the island, a couple of miles and about 4-5 hours.  We visited the Hemmingway house, still populated by direct descendents of the extra-toed cats that “Papa” himself collected.  Then we stood in line (!) to have our picture taken at the marker signifying the southernmost point in the continental US.  Here we are!

Karen and me in Key West. 

We toured a butterfly conservatory on the way back, and had lunch at Jimmy Buffet’s official restaurant, unsurprisingly named “Margaritaville.”  Naturally we both had the “cheeseburger in paradise.”  Later in the evening we took a sunset dinner cruise that did seem aimed at people younger and more energetic that us, but being out on the water near sunset was very nice. 

A few observations about Key West.  In many ways, it is a conventional beach town: bars, restaurants, T-shirt shops, and the like. But there are a couple of odd things about it.  First, there are essentially no beaches, something odd for a beach town.  No one was swimming, and no one walked around in bathing suits and flip flops.  The shore itself is made of coral debris for the most part, difficult to walk on.  Instead, there are docks, and tons of boats to take you out.  A second odd thing, perhaps related to the first, is that there are almost no children in Key West.  Therefore, no miniature golf courses, arcades, or rides.  Or even a boardwalk.  Third, of course, is that is an island – a very small island.  As a result every square foot is occupied with something, at least on the western side.  Finally, like the Outer Banks and unlike (say) the Florida coast, Key West is difficult to get to.  People seem to come for a week, or at least a weekend, rather than a day.  Karen and I both found the place to be great, albeit hot and humid.

I pull out early tomorrow for the mainland; Karen will enjoy paradise for another day.