I have never been to the Florida Keys so when I finished up my adventures in Maine and New Hampshire I started the long drive down south. I stop along the way in Savanna, GA and in Jacksonville, FL to spend time with a dear friend which broke up the trip. The traffic coming over on Highway 1 on a Saturday is very slow and painful. The 23 miles took almost an hour and the view of the car in front of me only changed once. Note to self I will arrive prior or after the weekend going forward.
I decided to base my week in the Keys in Key Largo (Cayo Largo was what the Spanish named it) which was a great choice. Key Largo is known as the diving capital of the world and is the longest island of the keys. I took several boat rides out to the reefs to enjoy not only the ocean but the beauty of the Keys. I did not realize that the boat African Queen was docked in Key Largo, it was a treat for me to see it out doing tours.
The Keys are joined by 42 oversea bridges along the 113 miles of roadway known as Highway 1 or the Overseas Highway. The Seven Mile Bridge is the most famous and is a feat of engineering. If being surrounded by a vastness of water that seems endless on a concrete 2 lane road overwhelms you, someone else should drive. The Keys have every water activity you would want and is the best way to enjoy them. Some of the accommodations are older hotels so if you want modern be sure and do your research. Seafood abounds everywhere so biggest decision is which restaurant to try this time. I found it interesting that all of the drinking water and electric for the Keys comes from Miami. Due to the reefs there are no natural beach's in the Keys so sand is brought in from the Caribbean through Miami.
Key West is a two hour drive from Key Largo. I went on a week day and left early to arrive in Key West by 9 AM. This was very smart as I found out later that once the cruise ships arrive the already busy town becomes crazy and a little hard to get around in. Since I arrived early I hit a few places I wanted to see like the mile marker where Highway 1 ends and the southern most point (90 miles to Cuba) in the continental U.S.A. Glad I did as later when I took the trolley the line to take a picture of the southern most point was at least 4 blocks long.
Driving in Key West took a few turns to figure out. A lot of one way streets that end rather strange. The name of the street is not always on a sign, most are spray painted on the lower part of a pole as you approach the intersection. Roosters and chickens are free range so beware if they decide to cross in front of you. Streets that they call lanes are more like alleys in size and are interesting to drive down when one side is for parking. When you add buses, trolleys and trains to the tight streets let's just say I saw a few people get into shouting matches.
Duval Street (1.2 miles long) in Key West is the home to over 80 bars. The bars run from one end of the street to the other and vary from old fashion to modern and some clothing is optional. There are 360 liquor licenses on the island of Key West so if you want a drink you will have no issue on this island.
So glad I got a chance to spend time in the Keys as this has been on my Life to Do List for a while. If you love water sports this is the place for you!