Driving the entire length of the Great Florida Reef , known as the Florida Keys, 110 miles from Key Largo to Key West has been an experience. The string of 822 low-lying islands stretches from mainland Florida southwest into the Gulf of Mexico has only about 30 inhabited keys. Spotting half way down the Keys we spent the night at Pelican RV Park in the Middle Keys to break up the drive from the mainland. 
Departing mile marker 51 on Marathon Key the rig headed south for an hour on the Overseas Hwy US 1 crossing numerous keys and the long Seven Mile Bridge to the Lower Keys. There were remnants of wealthy magnate Henry Flagler’s Folly, the railway track project, built miles from St. Augustine south through the Keys to Key West in the 1920s. It was an amazing engineering feat later destroyed by devastating hurricanes. 
The Keys has for centuries been the graveyard of sunken vessels and Spanish Empire lost treasures. Unfortunately we haven’t found any coins, but in Key West we’ve discovered that the physical tropical element brings a change in attitude at the latitude and a combination of flair and color with local inhabitants, from Caribbean, Latin, and U.S. culture that blend into a casual Margaritaville lifestyle.The community population here is a mixture of dark skinned locals known as “Conchs”, retirees, shop owners, young, neo-hippies, artists, writers, street performers, and gays. We have donned tank tops, shorts, and swimsuits in February, rode our bikes and the city buses to conquer the sites and streets of Key West with its hordes of snowbirds and cruise ship passengers. Key West is mainly a mecca of touting commercialism aimed to gouge ones pocketbook. Prices are jacked triple higher for hotels and restaurants during the peak season winter months. However, where else are Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett equally revered?
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| A tour of the Hemingway House regaled us with tales of the man, his loves, passions for deep ocean fishing and writing, and travel experiences abroad in Africia, Spain, Paris, and Havana that became the basis for many of his novels |
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| One of the 44 cat descendants with six-toes has the run of the house and grounds like others at the house today. |
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| The $20,000 pool his second wife Pauline had installed to the house that Hemingway purchased for $8,000 |
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| Hemingway's favorite Key West haunt on Duval Stree |
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| An olive jar from Spain and the men's urinal from Sloppy Joe's Bar Hemingway bought |
| for his pool patio |
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It is a sunny, fun destination with enough sights and attractions to keep you busy when you're not snorkeling, parasailing,boating, fishing or enjoying the sun. Avoiding local tour trolleys, hoofing in on foot and riding bikes has enabled us to soak up much of life around Old Town Key West relatively inexpensively.
From Mile Marker 0 at the southern most point of the continental U.S.A. before we biked to the Fort Zachary State Park for a respite along the beach.
The Harry Truman Little White House was full of rich history about his Key West summer vacation days. The president had a passion for playing poker and deep sea fishing. We learned numerous presidential families and their descendants can still come and stay here for free from the government anytime even today.
Mallory Square for Sunset Celebration in Key West is a favorite spot to catch spectacular sunsets, street performers, and music daily.
The Conch Train also is a popular tourist attraction taking folks around on an Old Town Tour. We loved watching the pelicans competing for bait at Tarpon Feeding time off the Historic Seaport. Wharf. It is no wonder why we really came for the best experience though.
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| Tarpon fish and pelicans battle for bait tossed off the wharf |
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| Some sunset shots captured off Mallory Square on February 28th |
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| Sunset off Key West is always a daily thrill from Mother Nature |
Driving the entire length of the Great Florida Reef , known as the Florida Keys, 110 miles from Key Largo to Key West has been an experience. The string of 822 low-lying islands stretches from mainland Florida southwest into the Gulf of Mexico has only about 30 inhabited keys. Spotting half way down the Keys we spent the night at Pelican RV Park in the Middle Keys to break up the drive from the mainland. 
Departing mile marker 51 on Marathon Key the rig headed south for an hour on the Overseas Hwy US 1 crossing numerous keys and the long Seven Mile Bridge to the Lower Keys. There were remnants of wealthy magnate Henry Flagler’s Folly, the railway track project, built miles from St. Augustine south through the Keys to Key West in the 1920s. It was an amazing engineering feat later destroyed by devastating hurricanes. 
The Keys has for centuries been the graveyard of sunken vessels and Spanish Empire lost treasures. Unfortunately we haven’t found any coins, but in Key West we’ve discovered that the physical tropical element brings a change in attitude at the latitude and a combination of flair and color with local inhabitants, from Caribbean, Latin, and U.S. culture that blend into a casual Margaritaville lifestyle.The community population here is a mixture of dark skinned locals known as “Conchs”, retirees, shop owners, young, neo-hippies, artists, writers, street performers, and gays. We have donned tank tops, shorts, and swimsuits in February, rode our bikes and the city buses to conquer the sites and streets of Key West with its hordes of snowbirds and cruise ship passengers. Key West is mainly a mecca of touting commercialism aimed to gouge ones pocketbook. Prices are jacked triple higher for hotels and restaurants during the peak season winter months. However, where else are Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett equally revered? 
Mallory Square for Sunset Celebration in Key West is a favorite spot to catch spectacular sunsets, street performers, and music daily. 
The Conch Train also is a popular tourist attraction taking folks around on an Old Town Tour. We loved watching the pelicans competing for bait at Tarpon Feeding time off the Historic Seaport. Wharf. It is no wonder why we really came for the best experience though. 
