The Florida Keys and Key West!

This week we hooked up the Airstream for a 3 day trip to Key West. Once we got past Miami traffic we could relax and take in the views of the 100 miles of the Overseas highway from Key Largo to Key West. We stayed at the KOA on Sugarloaf Key.

Before heading into Key West we rode our bikes on the Old Seven Mile Bridge which reopened to walkers, cyclists and trams in January of 2022. This section takes you to Pigeon Key, an historic island with a variety of activities. Henry Flagler established a camp on Pigeon Key while building the Old Seven Mile Bridge. There’s an education center, railway museum, original structures, guided tours, picnic areas and snorkeling. We enjoyed stopping on the bridge in search of sea life in the clear water below us. We saw sharks, sea turtles, stingrays and some other fish that we couldn’t identify.

The next day we headed to Key West with our first stop at the Cuban Coffee shop. What do most people think of when you mention Key West…. They think of blue skies, fresh seafood, historic sites, beautiful beaches, lively nightlife and incredible sunsets.

Just off of Duval Street in the heart of Old Town is the Hemingway House & Museum. This was the residence of the Nobel Prize – winning novelist, Ernest Hemingway, in the 1930’s. All of the house’s rooms were open to visitors and contained many Hemingway mementos and furnishings. The house itself was the first house on the island to have indoor plumbing and the first swimming pool in Key West. Hemingway’s writing studio was on the second floor of the carriage house. Visitors can see his furnishings including shelves for storing his manuscripts. The house and its grounds are inhabited by about 50 cats.  Ernest Hemingway was given a white six-toed cat by a ship’s captain and some of the current cats are descendants of the original cat, named Snow White. 

Mallory Square is the location of the “Sunset Celebration” where hundreds of tourists arrive each night to view the sunset. The celebration includes arts and craft exhibitors, street performers and food carts. The Key West Harbor docks offer an unobstructed view of the sunset over the water. Sharing the view among hundreds of tourists is a challenge but we were happy with what we captured. 

Enjoy the video!

Note: Next Video will be March 12th!

Travel Update:

We start our 3rd month in Florida this week and man, how time speeds by!  The next few weeks are full of activities and then we must get prepared for our departure from Florida!  Our summer plans are coming together….stay tuned for the announcement! 😉