My first, and for now my only, road trip in the USA, a road trip to the Keys. We took the classic drive down the Floriday Keys Overseas Highway (U.S. 1). This roughly 100-mile (one-way) route island hops along the southern rim of the Everglades and Florida Bay from Key Largo south to Key West, the most southern point in the USA.
Walmart
On the 15th of December it was time to go on our road trip. And where better to start your road trip in America than visiting a Walmart Superstore for some supplies. Those superstores are everything from what you could imagine of such a store in America. Enormous!
The problem as well with those stores is, besides the fact they have everything and your girlfriend wants to browse everything, that the food packages are too big as well. Try to find a small package of milk is for example just impossible. However we didn’t hire a car just to visit a Walmart so it was time to move on.
Key Largo
Key Largo is the first island you will visit. This island has a mixture of sweet and salt water, and place where the Everglades meet Florida Bay. Apparently it is a perfect place for kayaking and diving. We didn’t do any of those. December isn’t the perfect month for this and hurricane Irma also left the Keys a bit damaged, so most of the rubbish still needs to be cleaned. So it is better to move on quickly.
Robbie’s at Islamorada
One of the major attractions during this road trip for people is feeding the tarpon at Robbie’s. Immediately when you reach Islamorado just at the end of the bridge you will see Robbie’s on your right hand side. A place with some tourist souvenir shops and where you can see the tarpon for $2,- and for an extra $4,- you will get some small fish that you can feed them.
Tarpon are huge fish with some sharp teeth and it is quite an experience to feed them. Not necessarily because of the fish, but mainly of the pelicans around it that try to steal the fish from you. There is however one very nice pelican at the entrance. You are able to pet this pelican on the back of his head. I didn’t realise that they felt so fluffy on their head. However one extra tip coming from my girlfriend, if you are afraid of birds, hide yourself at the reception area, pelicans look way too scary for them.
Marathon and the Seven Mile Bridge
Before you will reach the famous Seven Mile Bridge there is a place called Marathon. It is a good spot to have some lunch. On the way to the Keys we had our lunch at King Seafood Market and Restaurant. While the seafood is fresh here, the lunch itself wasn’t that great. The only thing they can serve with your fresh seafood is hot sauce and mayonnaise.
The main attraction is the Seven Mile Bridge what will start after Marathon. At the moment this bridge was constructed it was the longest bridge in the world. The bridge itself is featured in many movies such as: Impossible III, 2 Fast 2 Furious, License to Kill and True Lies.
Bahia Honda State Park
Bahia Honda State Park was our last amazing stop before we reached Key West. To be honest we missed the entrance on the way to Key West, but we found it when we drove back. This is a very nice place if you want to go out for some swimming.
The Keys aren’t famous for their great beaches, so it is great if you can find a place where you can actually swim. The entrance fee is I believe normally $5,- per person, however because of the hurricane, not the whole park was accessible so we paid $2,50 a person.
Key West
The final stop and also the end of the road, where you will find your 0 mile marker, is Key West, the most southern place in the USA. For more information about Key West, please read my article about Key West. However it is a nice, but very touristy build area. For a lot of people a great holiday spot.
