Florida Keys

The Keys were amazing, so much going on. Crazy people, beautiful sunsets, lots and lots of rum! It’s also a pretty long drive. Granted I was driving, not biking like some people I know. Its about 100 miles from Key Largo to Key West. Doesn’t look that far on the map!

First stop was in Key Largo. Jimmy Johnson (NFL not NASCAR) owns a place there called The Big Chill. Sports bar, tiki bar, restaurant, pool, marina.. very cool spot. Got there just in time for sunset & a drink, or two! That’s Jimmy’s head on the beer tap. Moving from fresh water to salt water, had to watch for crocodiles! I never saw one, maybe next trip! Gorgeous sunset!

On the way south, stopped in at Marathon for my first Rum Rummer! And one of the prettiest bathrooms I have ever seen in my life!! Actually, there was a porta potty at a party in San Diego with fresh flower that may have been nicer, but this was very pretty.

Finally, on to Key West! Stayed in a gorgeous hotel on the Atlantic side. First day was a snorkeling tour out to the reef, finishing off with sunset and .. oh.. more rum. I didn’t get any pics of the snorkeling, but it was great. The water was a little murky & rough, but I saw a ton of crazy looking fish. I swam through a school of “Dory” fish. The reef was so close, you could touch it, but of course I didn’t!! It was very cool! On the way back, a beautiful sunset and a view of Key West from the water. It kinda looks like soldiers lined up for sunset, but it turned out to be white posts. The only way back to the hotel from the boat dock was Duval street! Tons of bars, food, live music, happy drunk people and and all kinds of craziness! Another fun moment was accidentally stumbling into a gay bar. It was one of the best bars down there. The entertainment was hilarious, and very talented !!! If only I could turn back time to remember it all or take more pictures !!

The next day was exploring Duval Street and all of the craziness Key West has to offer. Made a stop at the First Legal Rum Distillery, named so after Prohibition ended. Made stops at several other bars along the street, but at some point, who knows ?! Have I mentioned all the rum down there? Key West does allow open container, so it was really cool to get your drink to go when you were ready to move on. Had some great seafood and a fun crazy weird day!!

On the way back to Miami, made a quick stop for an Everglades air boat ride. That was fun! There were some gators, but I never got a better picture than my guy at Lake Okeechobee. The boat ride was very cool, hydroplaning over all the grass!! Highly recommend this!

The trip was too short! I would definitely go back to the Keys. I think you would probably find something new and different every time you go. So many small areas to explore, a person could hide there forever …

I did read a few books that took place in Key West and they were pretty good. It was fun to see the places they talked about :

The Road to Key West by Michael Reisig: A fun adventure about 2 guys trying to make a living down there in the 70s.

Florida Straits by Laurence Shames: A NY gangster tries to make it in Key West with some great characters.