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| Come along on the Overseas Highway, U.S. Route 1, for the three hour drive from the mainland down through the Florida Keys all the way to Key West, and enjoy what is, without doubt, one of the United States´ most spectacular road trips! Here is the only place in North America where one can experience the scenic Atlantic Ocean views and the local Island Communities that proudly show off their colorful histories and incredible natural wonders. Known to early Spanish explorers as cayos (small islands), English settlers chose the word Keys to describe these islands of coral separating the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. |
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Key Largo is the first island you will encounter upon entering the 110-mile chain of isles forming the Florida Keys. Largo is the longest key and the scene of much of the Keys´ early history, including the filming of the award-winning 1940s gangster movie "Key Largo".
Today´s visitors can tour the area on the "African Queen", the actual boat used in the filming of the 1951 movie, "the African Queen", which is set in Africa in World War l times.
Leaving Key Largo, you will arrive on Islamorada, a village grouping of islands that includes Windley Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, and Lower Matecumbe Key. Morada is a Spanish term for the color purple, and legend claims that the early Spanish explorers named these islands for the floating purple sea mollusks they likely saw feeding on the jelly fish around the islands.
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Accessible only by boat, two nearby islands are of interest. On Indian Key, one can see the spot where a band of early settlers were attacked in a Seminole Indian massacre provoked by the hostile actions of local shipwreck salvager Jacob Housman, who had proclaimed himself King of the island. Once on Lignumvitae Key, you find yourself on a somewhat elevated patch of land where tropical hardwood trees, including the beloved lignum vitae, have taken root. |
Islammorada proudly stakes its claim as the Sportfishng Capital of the World. From here you can venture to sea on a charter boat to reel in the dazzling, acrobatic sailfish and the brilliantly-colored dolphin fish (mahi-mahi), as well as other prized species. Venture, with a local guide, into the nearby flats for Bonefish, and into the "backcountry" to catch your Tarpon and Redfish.
Traveling on, you will soon find yourself on Grassy Key. Here you can visit the Dolphin Research Center where you have the priceless opportunity to experience one-on-one contact with these wonderful and highly intelligent marine mammals.
Your next grouping of islands will be Marathon, its own municipality, formerly known as Key Vaca. Just across a causeway toward the Atlantic, is Key Colony Beach, a charming community of stylish homes and convenient marinas, also its own municipality. Golf is the game here, as both Key Colony and Marathon have excellent courses.
Leaving Marathon, you begin crossing the famed Seven Mile Bridge, your passageway to the Lower Keys. Before crossing, be sure to take the old Florida East Coast Railway bridge about two miles out to Pigeon Key, home, in the very early 1900s, to many of the workers who built Henry Flagler´s famous "Railroad the Went to Sea". You´ll actually get the feel for life "the way it was" there during the construction of this incredible transportation project.
Beyond the Seven Mile Bridge, the Bahia Honda Bridge offers breathtaking views of the Florida Straits and the vast expanse of the Gulf of Mexico. These views and the renowned beauty of the beach at Bahai Honda State Park leave no wondering why the Florida Keys are fondly known as "the American Caribean".
A few miles further along lies Big Pine Key and the rest of the Lower Keys. Big Pine, once the site of numerous pineapple plantations and fish-houses, is home to the famous Key deer, a species of tiny deer which was nearly extinct in 1949, with only 50 of them being accounted for. |
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Congress established the National Key Deer Refuge here in August of 1957, and today these beloved animals flourish, wandering peacefully. Don´t be surprised-you never know where you will see one! The largest of the Keys, Big pine is also home to an alligator here or there.
Next along your way, you´ll pass through the Keys of Ramrod, Big Torch, Little Torch, Summerland, Cudjoe, Sugarloaf, the Saddlebunch Keys, Big Coppitt, Boca Chica, and Stock Island. These islands, like many of the Keys you´ve been through, all sport curious and memorable names. Cudjoe Key, for example, is said to have come from a storekeeper there whose visiting cousin with a speech impediment could not say "Cousin Joe" without it coming out "Cudjoe". Stock Island once had cattle stockyards and a dairy.
Cross one more bridge, and you will find yourself in Key West, your destination! Key West has the distinction of being the southernmost city in the U.S., and is actually only 90 miles across the Florida Straits from Cuba. Leave the car and stroll around the streets amidst the colorful and carefully restored homes where shipwrights, salvors, cigar makers, and other craftspeople lived in the 1800s and early 1900s. These unique homes range from the simple "Conch" houses of early native-born Key West workers to the elaborate mansions of wealthy businessmen. Some of the larger homes now serve as inns, offering superb accommodations in a lush tropical setting, and within walking distance of everything there is to sample here.
Acclaimed author, Ernest Hemingway, lived in Key West during the 1930s and 40s, finding this special place to be the spark for some of his most well-known works. His early 1800s mansion is now open to the public as a fascinating museum where one will learn much about Hemingway´s life here among his friends.
Key West is also home to the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society Museum, which houses much of the recovered treasure from the Atocha, a Spanish ship that went down in a hurricane on September 6, 1622. After 16 years of searching and researching for the ship and its legendary treasure, it was Mel Fisher who finally found the $450 million treasure cache. Coins, gemstones, and other precious artifacts continue to be recovered from the wreck, and the Atocha´s companion vessels lying nearby are yet untouched. Be sure to visit the Museum and learn how it was that Fisher, enduring incredible hardship in his quest, would daily announce "Today´s the Day!"
Toward the end of the day, be sure to find your way north on Duvall Street to Mallory Square to experience the mesmerizing Key West sunset. Celebrate the day´s end while enjoying the tropical foods and beverages of the vendors, the attention-riveting entertainers ranging from musicians to fire-eaters, and the overall special ambience of this Key West tradition.
With the sun tucked-in below the horizon, now it´s time to really start the fun! Stop in any of the famed watering holes of Key West´s "Old Town" and enjoy genuine tropical refreshments, live music and local color. Choose one of Old Town´s renowned dining establisments, ranging in style from wharf-side to gourmet elegance, for an evening meal you will long remember. For some cultural pursuits, check out the acting troupes of the local theatres and surround yourself in the music of the Key West Symphony.
Now that this unforgettable day is done, you just may find yourself wondering "how is it that it took me so long to discover this "American Caribean"?
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