Florida Keys-Part one

Although we have been in Florida for almost 3 months, we haven't done anything more than a day trip. We're only a few hundred miles from the Florida Keys so we decided that would make a great adventure for a few days. Driving due south of Bradenton takes us through Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs and Naples where we start the turn left at the bottom of Florida. Here we stopped at Fakahatchee State Park to view the alligators. They always look more interesting behind a fence.

Walking along the boardwalk, we came across this little snake, about 2 feet long and sitting in a tree alongside the fence rail. A ranger nearby said not to disturb it, its a cottonmouth and its bite is deadly. He doubted a helicopter could get you to the hospital in time. There went any ideas of draping it over our necks for photos.

Farther up the road we stopped at a picnic site for lunch in Big Cypress Preserve. The road we are travelling on has light traffic with no restaurants or stores for most of the west to east drive so a picnic fit the bill nicely.

There was a mile long boardwalk through the swamps at the picnic site so we went for a walk after lunch. It was a great walk; I can't imagine getting through the swamps on foot. It was bog for the whole walk. This is all part of the everglades and covers thousands of square miles just like this. Do you still want to buy some Florida land?

Eventually we left the mainland and drove onto the Keys. The first one is Key Largo and after passing over dozens of small islands and keys, you arrive at Key West, the last Key and roads end. This is a typical bridge that takes you from one island to the next. Some are very short and one is called seven mile bridge, so I guess its long. The original roads and bridges were built in the 1930's and have been replaced with wider stronger ones. In most cases they didn't remove the old bridges, they just knocked sections out so boats could pass through. That bridge is as narrow as it looks; I can only assume that traffic travelled one way at a time.

The old bridges were low arches, too low for most boats now which is why sections are removed. The keys are 126 miles long and mostly bridges so it must have been a major undertaking in the 1930's.

 We had stopped at a tourist office in Key West and booked a B&B ahead. This is the front of it. Its right in the heart of old Key West, a beautiful and picturesque town at the very end of the keys. It was a long drive so its nice to get to our hostel.

The B&B has no parking so I dropped off Carmen and our bags in the room and drove around until I found an open parking spot about 2 blocks away. The downside of a picturesque little town built before cars arrived and the roads were built for buggies. Thankfully Carmen had some Scottish nectar poured for me and all's right with the world again.

After suitable R&R time we ventured into old town Key West for sustenance. Although the establishment was called "The Rum Barrel" (which neither of us drinks) we loved the decor and were assured of other drink options. I had a beer and Carmen had a tea, pretty exotic, huh? We each had a great fish meal and then walked around the wharf area and main street. That was day one.