2018 Florida

Day 6, Marathon to Key West

February 20, 2018 rick wojack

Our last day of biking would take us from Marathon to Key West . . .

. . . we were looking forward to our ‘Hot Breakfast’ and it was fine . . .

. . . although Greg’s orange juice looked a little weak. Where is Anita Bryant when you need her!!!!

Bikes paths popped up along the way and we rode them whenever they were available . . .

. . . and at the beginning of the Seven Mile Bridge there was a bike lane / fishing lane. One had to watch out for fishermen you passed on the bridges who were in the middle of casting. Didn’t want to ride behind them and get hooked as they were following through with their swing!!! . . .

. . . however there was not one across Seven Mile Bridge. You can see some of the hurricane damage to the old bridge, paralleling us . . .

. . . and many of the smaller keys remained ‘denuded’. Big Pine Plantation key took the brunt of the hurricane damage.

Seven miles of blue sky, blue water and lots of sunshine. Probably the best riding of the whole trip (other than the ever present traffic of course)

Here was Pigeon Key where the folks live ‘off the grid’. You can see the old bridge has an exit ramp to the key. The turnoff also discourages use of the entire bridge. Unfortunately, also for cyclists!

. . . soon we were back on land at Key West . . .

. . . where Hwy 1, which runs 2,368 miles from Ft Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida, ends.

. . . . of course, if one turns around to look the other way it’s the start of a new ride!!!!

. . . Key West is also the southernmost point of the US. As the tour guides say . . . ‘you are closer to Havana than to Miami’!!!

We would spend the rest of the day, and tomorrow until we boarded the ferry to Fort Myers at 6:00pm, taking in all that Key West had to offer.

. . . a great statue outside the museum.

Greg did a wonderful job lining up accommodations including the NYAH (Not Your Average Hotel). which was on a quiet street off the main drag.

We had our own room that slept five . . .

. . . on the top floor, with our own balcony . . .

. . . with great views of the pool . . .

. . . and the maze of other rooms. Quite a unique place. We did take advantage of their poolside happy hour, complete with goodies!!!

We spent a lot of time walking around taking in the sites . . .

. . . including this signboard that had a listing for Lone Rock, WI . . . imagine that!!

. . . end of the road for TommyH.

. . . the famous Sloppy Joe’s bar was too loud and crowded for old timers like us!!!

We did head down to Mallory Street . . .

full of buksters and merchants, all willing to lighten your wallet a little. It is the traditional location to watch the sunset . . .

. . . to see a 15 second act of daring, click here !!!!!

. . . have a fresh coconut drink . . .

. . . have your fortune told . . .

. . . make new friends . . .

. . . have another drink

and wait . . .

. . . for . . .

. . . the sunset and hopefully the infamous ‘green flash. What’s that? Go here for all the details!!!

On the way back to NYAH, in the dark, I was eating a nice little ice cream novelty as we walking three abreast, I took one for the team by falling into this crevasse . . .

. . . falling into Greg to break my fall (no damage to him) before landing in this hole. Believe it or not, I did not drop the ice cream!!!!

The next day we continued touring Key West . . . if you wanted peaceful time, you could sit in this park which was off limits to those looking for a handout!!!!

Appreciating the large banyan trees in an urban environment . . .

. . . and the great number of unique bikes ridden by the locals . . .

. . . speaking of locals!!!!

Key West is basically like any other ‘tourist trap’. Mostly restaurants, bars and shop after shop of stuff that most people would not buy at home . . .