After two plus years as a Florida resident, I can now say that we have figured out how to make the best of the Sunshine State. Last Week Joan and I had the pleasure of driving from our home in Estero, FL to the Florida Keys.
Like many people, we have been to Key West before, but not anywhere else in the Keys. It was our determination for this trip to take in all the other wonderful places that the Florida Keys has to offer in the old-fashioned way; by automobile. The drive from Estero started down the original Alligator Alley, old Route 41. Before route 75 was built to go eastward from Naples, this was the only way to drive towards Miami, hence the name The Tamiami Trail which stands for the Tampa to Miami route.
A two-lane highway, this route 41 meandered through Wetlands, the Big Cypress National Preserve and eventually touched upon the Everglades National Park. The ride was enjoyable before we reached the Keys. We stopped at the Big Cypress information center, which gave us great insight into why so many locals go fishing in the tiny canals you see along the route. The canal was teaming with pretty big fish along with a plethora of Turtles and Gators. The Gators were obviously well fed as they pretty much ignored the fish and Turtles while we were observing.
Our first stop was to have lunch at Robbie’s of Islamorada. A very cool place on the water where you can eat lunch, feed the tarpon, embark on a boat for a joy ride or fishing expedition or shop at their numerous swag and cool FL stuff shops. From there we carried on to our first overnight destination in Marathon, FL. While staying in Marathon, we ate at cool waterfront FL style restaurants and visited Bahia Honda State Park for some walking and relaxing time at the beach while overlooking the 7 mile bridge.
We then took our obligatory day trip to Key West, about 40 miles from Marathon and strolled the streets, bought some art for my FL office and wondered why we didn’t plan an overnight in this festive over-the-top destination. Maybe next year.
From Marathon, we drove back up to Key Largo. After visiting Key West, Marathon and Islamorada, we asked why did we do this? At first, Key Largo seemed more like anywhere else FL until we settled in. A boat ride to the John Penne Kamp Coral Reef State Park, dinner at Jimmy Johnson’s Big Chill restaurant and sitting on our hotel balcony listening to island music while sipping a cold one, and we knew that we had made another good choice.
Joan and I had a great time. The journey began on Ground Hog Day. I can’t tell you what happened to Punxsutawney Phil on February 2, but I can tell you that we had such a good time that driving to the Keys on Ground Hog day may just become one of our things!
