THIS IS MY LAST POST,, well maybe...
Let me give you a couple touristas spots to hit, either coming or leaving...
There are literally hundreds, but these are my favorites for general family
fun..
1st,, Our only road starts in Florida city, US 1 Over Seas Highway. When
built by Flagler, it was a single track small gauge railroad. After the
trains stopped, the tracks were up-routed and use for guard rails and a
narrow two lane road was built. As you drive down, you will see where the
old bridge sections run next to the new bridges.
Also, In the old days, everything was positioned using MM(mile markers). MM
0 is in front of the Monroe County Court house in KW,, up to MM 126 in
Florida City. Locals still use MM's for way points and addresses..
www.keyshistory.org/MileMarkerChart.html
Starting in Florida City:
The trip to Key West MM 0, from here will be 3 hours ++ with-out stops, so
plan to hit Florida City early if you want to stop,, it's 127 miles to go...
Speed averages under 45 mph, with few passing areas.. Marathon is at MM 50.
Alabama Jack's: At MM 126 or so is the Left Turn onto Card Sound Road, about
10 miles out,, A famous bike stop and country bar, Sunday afternoon's they
use to have hoedowns,, big family style out door place, actually hangs out
over the water. If you continue on past AJ, over the Card Sound Bridge, the
road will lead back to US 1, down at MM 107 in Key Largo.
Warning: Card Sound Rd is treacherous,, and local swatters have built homes
with-in inches of the pavement,, BE CAREFUL.. Also of the East side of CS
bridge starts the North American Crocodile sanctuary..
www.criticalmiami.com/2006/06/30/AlabamaJacks
Caribbean Club, MM 104, This is the only spot that was used in the film
1939, "Key Largo", with Bogart, Bacall, & John Huston..
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Club
Theater of the Sea,, MM 84.5, "We are an educational and entertaining marine
animal park where performances are up close and personal. At Theater of the
Sea you can swim with dolphins, sea lions, and stingrays in their natural
salt water lagoons through our interactive swim programs. The lagoons, and
lush, tropical gardens at are home to Atlantic bottle-nose dolphins,
California sea lions, sea turtles, tropical and game fish, sharks,
stingrays, alligators, marine invertebrates, colorful parrots, and
birds-of-prey. "
www.theaterofthesea.com/
Holiday Isle Tiki Hut and "The Sand Bar", MM 84, One of the most famous bar
spots in the Keys outside of KW. The place burned down a while back and the
party moved out into the channel of a sand-bar about a mile off-shore, The
Islamorada police and the US Coast Guard are fighting over who is going to
foot the bill for the LEO coverage,, on a good week-end there may be 300 to
400 boats..
www.holidayisle.com/
World Wide Fisherman's (a BassPro shop), MM 81.5,, Boy's Toys, nuff said??
Also has a great eatery, out on the dock or inside/upstairs.. They have a
very large saltwater tank with local fish species.. A MUST STOP...
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...=94&storeID=21
Robby's, MM 77.5, Great local landmark, fishing guides,, you can feed the
Tarpon at the dock, watch the vid clip on the web site,, some of those
suckers are BIG..
www.robbies.com/
Dolphin Research Center, MM 59 on Grassy Key,, "Dolphin Research Center is a
not-for-profit organization with goals to promote peaceful coexistence,
cooperation and communication between marine mammals, humans and the
environment we share through research and education and to operate for the
advancement of research and education. The health and well being of DRC's
dolphins holds absolute precedence over all other interests. DRC will
undertake no program or activity that compromises this basic commitment."
www.dolphins.org/
Marathon,, MM 50, K-mart & Publics,, what more do you want..
Sombrero Beach, Sombrero Boulevard at MM 50 Oceanside, Marathon. A public
beach with picnic facilities and children's playground.
http://goflorida.about.com/cs/florid...s_marathon.htm
Pigeon Key, MM 47 bayside, Marathon. Dotted with quaint cottages, the
historic Pigeon Key formerly served as a camp for laborers erecting the
Seven Mile Bridge. This island now showcases a museum and offers
opportunities to picnic and snorkel; (305) 743-5999.
www.pigeonkey.net/home.html
Seven Mile Bridge, MM 47 through MM 40, Touristas parking at both ends,, BE
CAREFUL CROSSING, touristas taking pictures hose up traffic and idiots
passing on double yellow&*^(&(&%(^%(^... On the West end is the small
"Veterans Park" and beach.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Mile_Bridge
Bahia Honda State Park, MM 37, Just a great beach park. You can get up close
to the old rail-road bridge that was use for the early road bed..
www.bahiahondapark.com/
The area between the old and new bridges is probably some of the best
inshore fishing in the World... Famous for big Tarpon and the Palolo worm
hatch..
http://www.keysfishingreport.com/flo...lo-worm-hatch/
Big Pine Key & the No Name Pub, MM 30, this is one of the reasons we purchased our house. We live in the new section behind the NNP. Great piazza and cold beer.. It use to be on the KW Poker Run..Hard to find.. The pub is a small place, built in the 1800's, Started as a home, then fishing camp & grocery store. When the rail road was being built in the early 1900's, it house ladies doing the horizontal boggie...
ALSO, watch out for the Key Deer,, most of the little suckers are smaller
than a coon hound, but cute. They wonder around Big Pine Key all the time,
but come out in the late afternoon in droves. There are only about 1k so the
tree huggers have turned my island into a "National Key Deer Sanctuary", I
say not more. YOU WILL NOTICE the signs and flashing lights when you hit MM
33... BPK is also the Great White Heron Bird Sanctuary.
www.nonamepub.com/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nationa...Deer_Sanctuary
No Name Key,, strange little island,, it started out in the 1830 as the 1st
school for Dade County during the Indian Wars, during the Civil War it and
BPK supplied most of the farm vegetables to the South, reportedly owned by
Howard Hughes and loaned to Alpha 66 in the late 50t's, they trained here
for the Bay of Pigs invasion, then it became a drug runners haven in the
early 70t's,, now it's an up-scale rich hippy hang-out, no electricity or no
water, lots of solar or wind power, houses in the seven figure range,, and
lots of Key Deer.. It's just across the bridge from the No Name Pub..
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Name_Key
Key West,, MM 0, tooo much to talk about,, but if you have the time here are
my hi-spots..
- the Conch Train Tours,, it's way to expensive,, but it is very good, great
history tour of the island
www.conchtourtrain.com/
- Sun-Set at Mallory Square, Started out as just that, a great spot to watch
the sun go down,, then it turned into a hippy street party,, now it's kinda
a mixed hippy carnival,, worth the watch..
www.sunsetcelebration.org/
- Sun-Set Sails.
www.keywesttravelguide.com/sunset_sails.html
- Fort Jefferson Tour
http://www.drytortugasinfo.com
- El Siboney Restaurant, Real Cuban food, home cooked, family run,
inexpensive and muy delicioso..
www.elsiboneyrestaurant.com/index.htm
- Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe,, The Best Key Lime Pie (besides my
wife's). it's very small, over by the Old Navy Docks,, I love the Key Lime
dipped in Dark Chocolate ice-cream on a stick... H
www.keylimeshop.com/
- Mel Fisher's Museum, I was approached by him or one of his kids when I was
in scuba school in 1969,, they were looking for divers to chase some fool
gold scheme,, one of those life time opportunities lost...
www.melfisher.org/
- Duval St,, The Party Capital of the Keys, North end is for touristas South End for the brave and "alternate life style" crowds..
We don't have a lot of street crime,, pan-handlers are the biggest problem..
During Bike Week,, there are a bunch of wheels stolen.. They close off Duval and use it as a parking lot for both the Poker Run and Fantasy Fest..
Monroe county has about 60k residents, During Poker run we can et 25K bikes,, During Fantasy Fest we have had as many as 150k attend...
And the piece-day-resin-stance,, the "MUST DO" on any SF tour of the Keys..
- USAJFK SF Scuba School - USNAS, Trumbo Point Annex, Key West, Florida
Just a few spots, there are many,, you could spend a week or more and not
see the same place twice..