Road Trip

Road Trip!

Admittedly, one of my apprehensions in (temporarily) relocating to the Keys would be The Road. The “Road” refers to the Overseas Highway (Hwy 1.) that connects the Islands from Key West up to the mainland. Most of the Islands that make up the Keys are quite small. You could pet an iguana on the Gulf Side of our Island then walk the maybe two miles over to the Atlantic side and bathe your feet without breaking a sweat. (Well, you would break a sweat because it is Summer time and the temperature is rising. Luckily I'm native to this part of the world and feel a little iguana-like myself. My dear wife on the other hand is from Northern Europe where the only sun they see is on "holiday" in Greece.)

Landmarks here are determined by the nearest Mile Marker. Key West begins at 0 and goes up from there. When folks ask where we live, we say, "just off 88." That's 88 miles north of Key West. The Yoga Studio is at 82.3, less then 6 miles from the house. Luckily the nearest beach is at 86, so we could even walk or ride a bike.

We’ve gotten used to The Road. There is not much land here and one road is enough. Most people are traveling by water craft anyway. Occasionally the traffic backs up, usually when the Draw Bridge at (MM 84.5) is letting the big boats through. But that is the thing about the Keys, the speed limit is 45MPH and life is slow. When out for walks, we've had people stop and chat with us, real friendly like. We like that.

And who cares that the land mass is limited. People are here for the warm blue water anyway!

Overseas Highway from the air

Islamorada by beach