After visiting the Everglades National Park, we are going to begin our journey to the southernmost point in the continental United States – Key West. Driving the U.S. 1 through the Florida Keys is something that I have wanted to experience for a long time. During our excursion to Southern Florida we have decided to finally do just that – Drive the almost 160 miles from Miami to Key West.  This highway has been highlighted in such movies as True Lies and Licence to Kill which began my interest in wanting to drive this long span of bridges that connect many of the Florida Keys. We will be staying in Key West for one night before returning to the mainland for our trip back home.   

The plan currently is to leave right from the Everglades about mid-afternoon and drive the 4 hours straight for Key West where we will enjoy the rest of the night.  One of our games right now is to figure out where we’ll be for the sunset on this drive.  The next day we plan to take in some of the sights and attractions as we meander back towards Miami.  Since time will be limited we will have to stick to some shorter excursions.  Some of the places in Key West that may be interesting see are the southernmost point marker, beaches, the Butterfly Conservatory, the aquarium, and the Hemingway House.  I’m sure there is much more than this but these are some attractions the caught my attention.  

As we drive back through the Florida Keys some of the other places that might be of interest in our short time are Bahia Honda State Park, feeding the tarpon at Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada or visiting Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park.  Continuing on to Key Largo could bring a stop at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park where there is snorkeling, hiking, or kayaking to enjoy.  I have read many positive reviews of this state park which moves it a little higher on our list of places to see while driving the Florida Keys.  Of course snorkeling is abundant in any of these areas and there is always the option of sitting back and taking in our surroundings.   

While researching the drive on U.S. 1 through the keys, I discovered that we could easily spend our entire 10 days in Southern Florida playing in the keys so to only take a day is a great teaser for future endeavors to this area.  I am eager to experience driving on a highway that has the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other.  It’s hard for me to imagine driving on such a long span of bridges connecting so many islands together.