Key West

On Wednesday morning we set off for the bottom of America in Key West. Florida City is near the end of the mainland and shortly we were on a straight forward highway with swamp and water on both sides headed for the beginning of the Keys, Key Largo. Technically there are a couple of keys to the northeast of Key Largo but Largo is the first main key and the first with land access to the mainland.

We stopped at the Key Largo Welcome Center where we got a map and some information and then headed on down US 1 towards Key West. We soon ran into another lengthy traffic jam which at least gave us time to look around us. There are a lot of quirky things down in the Keys and most of it is tourist oriented which we are used to as down around town here in St Augustine it is the same.

We did spot a fascinating carved wood figure, a mailbox I think or at least next to someone's mailbox. I think that's a pipe in his mouth but at first glance it seemed to be his tongue! A few yards further on that side was, surprise, a woodcarver with a bunch of different wooden fish to hang on your walls as well as selling slabs of wood to carve. I considered getting Geoff to pull in and stop but was afraid we might have trouble getting back in to the slow moving traffic jam.

A little further along there was a huge lobster figure out in front of Rain Barrel Artisan Village. If we weren't still slogging along in the traffic jam, we would have stopped as the Rain Barrel looked interesting. It was impossible to get a good photo of the huge lobster so I borrowed one from the Roadside America website which mentions that it is in Islamorada and is known as Big Betsy. Although Hurricane Irma ravaged this part of the Keys a couple of years ago, Betsy survived without a scratch.

Still in Islamorado, a desperate need for a rest room drove us to stop for lunch at Lorelei's, a restaurant & cabana bar consisting mostly of a deck and runs out into the water on the north side of the Keys, into Florida Bay. The menu was surprisingly good and I absolutely loved the Captain's Quesadillas with shrimp, listed as an appetizer, it is a good meal for one person! I am drooling just remembering it.

Small birds checked out the empty tables for crumbs and what appeared to be a white heron (shown at the left) stalked around the deck. Seagulls flew around overhead and we were quickly glad Lorelei's had installed bird wire deterrent, unobtrusive white wires criss-crossing above the deck. The wires form an unstable landing area and are barely visible unless you look for them.

While we were having lunch, the traffic jam apparently eased up a bit and a few more miles down the road speeds were about normal. For much of the trip, you can't see the water that you know is on both sides of whatever Key you are on although at various points you can see the water on one side or the other. When you get to the Seven Mile Bridge however, you can see the water stretching out to the horizon on both sides.

A new bridge was completed in 1982 but you can still see the remains of the old bridge. The Overseas Highway over the old bridge opened up in 1938, built on what remained of Flagler's railroad bridge after it was struck by a hurricane in 1935. Over 400 people perished in that hurricane.

We finally arrived in Key West  which has mostly tiny streets and tight corners and lots of people. Key West is obviously a tourist town. We gave up trying to find the large buoy that shows the southernmost point of the United States but did pass Highway US 1's mile marker 0 which is said to be 94 miles from Cuba!

The traffic problems had slowed us down a lot and finding parking cut almost another hour off our time. We had gotten discounted tickets to the Shipwreck Treasure Museum and the Key West Aquarium and managed to get to them in time.

The Shipwreck Museum was very interesting but not very accessible to mobility problems. I had to skip the lower floor and top floor entirely although what I saw on the second floor that I did have access to through a strange little elevator was fascinating. If you are going to the Keys and don't have mobility issues, don't miss the museum.

The Schooner Wolf

The aquarium on the other hand was pretty standard and if you have already visited a Floridian or sea creature aquarium you could give this one a skip. For friendliness and information as well as interaction with staff or volunteers, I found the dilapidated aquarium in Tarpon Springs a better choice and cheaper to boot.


Our time shortage meant we had to cut out the possibility of seeing the Topsail Schooner Wolf which just by the name Wolf would have worth getting a glimpse of.


By the time we were done, Geoffrey was more than ready to get out of Key West. What with the tiny streets, twisty full parking garage, and crowded streets, including roosters and hens, he was ready to get headed back to Florida City.

We headed back up US 1 into the dusk and then dark.Not sure if we will ever return to Key West, too touristy and a lengthy drive. Key Largo, Islamorado, and Marathon seem nicer without the crowding.

I am glad we have now been to the southernmost part of the country, it was all interesting, just not sure we will go back all the way to Key West.