Day six is our trip to Key West. The Florida Keys, from Key Largo to Key West is about 100 mile drive. I have been in the keys a couple of time but no farther North than Key Largo. A 100 mile trip is normally a pretty easy drive but on the keys it takes three hours.
US-1 runs through the keys. Most of the trip is single lane in each direction with a few dual lane areas. The speed limit is 55 mph or lower. Each Key you cross is the equivalent of small town with stop lights and lower posted speed limits.
Remember that we drove my convertible to Florida and with this drive in mind. The weather is perfect, 85 degrees and sunny! It is about 9:30 and we stop at a small local dive for breakfast. Our table is under the front porch opened to everything and just about 8 feet from the convertible. The name of the joint was Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen. There were only four tables across the front of this place. Inside the place is a small counter and a few small tables in the front area with a few more in the back. There are over 700 reviews online for this restaurant and almost all of them are good. The food is what I would expect from a dive in the Midwest.
As you drive through the first few keys such as Plantation key, you lose sight of the water. When you get to Upper Matecumbe key you’ll cross a bridge about a half mile in length. The bridge between Upper and Lower Matehumbe is about 2 miles long. From Lower Matecumbe to Long key crossing the water is a combination of bridge and causeway. Long Key to Grass Key is a couple miles but you cross Conch Key and pass by Duck Key.
Grass Key, the speed limit is 45 mhp during the day and 35 mph at night. There are signs warning of deer crossing along the road. The deer on the keys are a subspecies of the same whitetail we have in the mid-west. They look like large dogs…maybe 60 to 70 pounds. They are on the endangered species list. I guess large numbers of these deer are killed by cars. Anyway…The Grass Key leads to Marathon Key, part of Marathon Key is a large state park. Again, Marathon key has the same speed restrictions due to the deer.
So…Marathon key leads to the seven mile bridge. This is the coolest part of the trip. Nothing but water on the South side of bridge and parts of the old or original bridge on the north side. I read that the original seven mile bridge was part of a rail road bridge. The rail road was the only way to get from Miami to Key West other than by boat or plane. At the end of Seven Mile Bridge is Big Pine Key.
The cool thing about Big Pine Key is that is was named by Pirates who would anchor in the channel to the south of the island. Anyway, the rest of the trip is across several more keys over 20 miles or so. When you get on Key West it is wild how almost every square inch of the island has something on it. The homes have that island bungalow look. The streets are narrow and crawling with people. It is nice to visit but I wouldn’t want to stay there for more than a few days. It is too confining.
Part of what makes the drive through the keys so pleasant is how much ocean you see. The water color from key to key changes from a blue-green to green to bright blue; it’s absolutely incredible. Being from the Midwest it is always a pleasant site to see palm trees, beaches and the ocean. On the keys you are surrounded by the palms, sand and water. It is a drive everyone should experience once in the life.
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