Florida Keys, Everglades and Marco Island

September 9, 2014

On the second leg of my car trip from New Mexico to Florida I went down to the Florida Keys. Overall, the Keys stretch out over 100 miles, connected by the US Highway 1 over many bridges.

The longest one is the Seven Mile Bridge right after the town of Marathon.

The small Anne's Beach on the island of Islamorada

Anne’s Beach on the island of Islamorada in the Florida Keys

Islamorada in the Florida Keys

The Sombrero Beach in the town of Marathon is one of the largest beaches in the Florida Keys. Marathon is stretched out over several islands more or less in the middle of this island chain.

Entrance to the Sombrero Beach in the town of Maraton

Entrance to the Sombrero Beach in the town of Marathon

Sombrero Beach in Marathon in the Florida Keys (the dark stuff is sea tang)

I went to the oldest restaurant in Marathon – called “Castaways” – and had an Alligator Tail. It tastes like chicken – well, not quite, but it is good:

Alligator Tail in the “Castaways” restaurant in Marathon

I didn’t stay in Key West for long, but it is an interesting town with lots of older architecture in its Western part:

Key West downtown

The Western part of Key West

Close to the southern-most point of the United States

The Southern coast of Key West

Before and after going to the Florida Keys I stayed in Florida City, which is located on the Southeastern tip of Florida – just North of the first Florida Keys. It is quite a regular town, but I really liked it. The Econolodge hotel there was also inexpensive and very nice.

After the Florida Keys, I went to the Everglades and stopped at the short Kirby Walkway into the jungle:

Kirby Walkway in the Florida Everglades

The Florida Everglades

A small lake at the end of the Kirby Walkway

After driving through the Everglades, I visited Marco Island – a town on the Southwestern tip of Florida. The beach there is pretty nice, however you need to stay at one of the hotels there or pay between $8 – $10 a day to use it.