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Published: January 11th 2015
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Our planned ride to Key West went ahead although early morning weather didn't look so promising. The ride out to Key West was a rather cold one - skies were overcast and we just kept hoping that the rain would stay away.
Despite being cold the ride was amazing. It's a bucket list trip and it didn't let us down. Driving through so many keys with so many bridges with never ending views of ocean was simply gorgeous.
We crossed The Seven Mile Bridge which is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys. It connects Knight's Key (part of the city of Marathon, Florida) in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Seven Mile Bridge was among the longest bridges in the world when it was built and it is one of the many bridges on the US1, where the road is called the Overseas Highway.
There is no stopping on the bridge but there are pull outs otherside of the bridge where you can grab some photos. You have to actually drive this bridge to appreciate the sheer length!
The ride from Key Largo to Key West was 102 miles - so
quite a ride! Arriving in Key West we were totally surprised how busy the downtown area was. There were 2 large cruise ships in port so I guess this added to the hustle and bustle.
Key West is a popular port stop for the cruise lines so as you can imagine the place is very touristy with all the usual souvenirs, eateries and fee paying attractions. Parking is mostly metered - being on the bike we were able to land a park where we didn't need to pay. Good news though - the weather cleared and bright blue Sky and sun was in order for the rest of our trip.
I overheard a few other visitors remarking on how Key West was similar to New Orleans. Have to say we agree. Visitors here like to hire scooters to zip around town and they also like to spend a fair bit of time and money drinking alcohol - therefore the numerous bars around town are always busy.
Bisecting old town is Duval Street, often called the longest Main Street in the world because it goes from coast to coast - from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of
Mexico. One block away is historic Whitehead Street, home to the famous Ernest Hemingway and also the Key West Lighthouse.
Old town is rich in a number of historic sites and architecture. As the island is so compact many of the historic houses And other buildings now function as inns, restaurants and museums.
It would have been great to stay for the sunset as Key West is famous for their sunset celebrations - but we needed to try and get back to Key Largo before the night set in. We left Key West around 4pm - stopping for a few photo opportunities along the way including some sunset photos at Annie's Beach Islamorada.
The sun set around 6pm and we arrived home 6.30pm - tired but happy with our decision to ride the Keys on our Road Glide.
Tomorrow we will return the Harley and then make a visit to Everglades National Park.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
7 Mile Bridge
It really is something isn't it? The cruise ship thing is new in the past few years and a sorry development. Glad you enjoyed your ride.