The Florida Keys

The Florida Keys are a string of about 1700 islands in the Southeast United States. Beginning at the southeastern tip of Florida, about 15 miles south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the west. At the nearest point, the southern tip of Key West is just 90 miles  from Cuba. The Florida Keys are in the subtropics. Key west occupies about 32% of the population of the keys. Some of the keys are quite narrow and you are able to see both the Atlantic and the Gulf at the same time. Here are just a few of the keys that you would pass through on your way to Key West.

Key Largo

Key Largo is one of the uppermost keys and is the longest of the keys as well as the first one you enter as you join them. It is also known as the Diving capitol of the World where thousands of tourists enjoy Key Largo’s scuba diving and sports fishing. The key gained fame after the film of the same name was released in the 1940’s starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. Even though it was filmed entirely in a studio in Hollywood.

Long Key

It is the home of Long Key State Park, a favourite of campers and nature lovers despite the lack of a beach and the proximity of noisy US 1. It is smaller and less developed than the neighboring incorporated village of Islamorada to the northwest and city of Marathon to the southeast. One of the longest bridges when it was built, the Seven Mile Bridge connects Knight's Key (where the city of Marathon is located in the Middle Keys) to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. The current bridge bypasses Pigeon Key, a small island that an older bridge crossed (a section of the old bridge remains for access to the island). It was featured in the Arnold Schwartneggar Film “True Lies”.

After the destruction of the Keys railway by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the railroad bridges, including the Seven Mile Bridge, were converted to automobile roadways. U.S. Route 1 runs the length of the Keys and up the East Coast to Maine; the Keys section is also called the Overseas Highway.

Key West

Key West is known as the Southernmost City in the Continental United States. It is also the end of U.S. Route 1, State Road A1A and the East Coast Greenway. Key West is 129 miles (207 km) Southwest of Miami, Florida,(about 160 driving miles) and at its closest point is 98 miles from Cuba.
Key West is a seaport destination for many passenger cruise ships. The Key West International Airport provides airline service. Hotels and guest houses are available for lodging. Many restaurants offer a choice of indoor or outdoor dining.

Many artists and writers have passed through Key West but the 2 most notable ones are Earnest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams. Hemingways house is open to the public and the decendants of his pet cat Snowball still live on the estate. There are around 50 of them that have inherited the cats feature of having 6 or 7 toes on each paw! Sloppy Joe’s is a bar that Hemmingway used to frequent before his suicide in the 1960’s.  Key Wests’ Climate is said to benefit from the Gulf Stream and they claim to have never had a frost.

Many visitors rent a bicycle and explore the history and architecture of Old Town Key West. Walking tours, including a tour of the unusual Key West Cemetery, are available. The Sunset Celebration at Mallory Square is a daily spectacle for visitors and residents. Boat excursions and tours provide a great way to view Key West from the water.

The Duval Street bar and restaurant district includes many different entertainment options, all within walking distance of each other.

The Tennessee Williams Theatre is a performing arts center, a civic center, and a community center.

The Key West Botanical Forest and Garden is an excellent, frost-free arboretum and botanical garden containing a number of "champion tree" specimens.

Nancy Forrester's Secret Garden is a one acre garden resembling a lush, predominantly green, rainforest. It is an exhibit of wild nature’s artistry in a woodland garden.

The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory features a 5,000 square foot glass-domed tropical butterfly habitat.

The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum showcases gold, silver, and treasure recovered from shipwrecks around the world.

Some tourists mingle with the locals, shop, and dine at the Key West Historic Seaport at the Key West Bight.

The Key West Lighthouse and Keeper's Quarters Museum preserves the history of the Key West Lighthouse built in 1847.

Nobel Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway's former home is now open to the public as a museum, populated by as many as sixty descendants of his famous cats.

PrideFest is seven days of events, presented by the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Key West the first week in June. The schedule includes the Pride Follies talent extravaganza; contests to select a Mr., Ms. and Miss PrideFest; parties, a tea dance; and the PrideFest Parade down Duval Street. Key West was the first American city to openly recruit gay tourists.

In 1979 the Key West Tourist Development Association, Inc. started Fantasy Fest to attract tourists at the traditionally slow time at Halloween, which is at the end of the hurricane season. Fantasy Fest regularly attracts approximately 80,000 people to the island, and has become a huge success.

In June 2006 the Key West Gay & Lesbian Museum & Archive opened at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center at 513 Truman St. Featured exhibits include a Tennessee Williams typewriter as well as an extensive collection of memorabilia and papers of Richard A. Heyman who was one of the first openly gay mayors before dying in 1994.

Overall Key West is a fun place to visit but has a very laid back atmosphere compared to other parts of the US. Well worth the visit.

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