Key West Again
Today we planned to visit Key West again (read about Key West Day 1), but since our hotel was about an hour east of Key West in the city of Marathon, we started the morning off with a visit to the Bahia Honda State Park. The entrance fee was just $8 and it provided us with a chance to explore the nature of the Keys. We went to one of the beaches and tried our hands on snorkeling. Although the water was clear, we unfortunately only saw a handful of small fish.
We then walked on a trail that lead to an old rail road bridge. The views of the blue crystal clear waters of the Gulf and Atlantic were stunning.
We then continued to our journey towards Key West. Along the way, we came across the famous Seven Mile Bridge which has been featured in some big Hollywood movies such as True Lies, Mission Impossible III, and 2 Fast 2 Furious. It is truly a marvel of civil engineering as the bridge seems to stretch endlessly over the waters of gulf. I recommend parking at one of the lots right before the bridge and taking a stroll on the old bridge that parallels the new one.
After reaching Key West and parking our car near Mallory Square, we decided to take a short 1 mile stroll to the southern-most point of the US. Along the way we walked past many chickens and roosters just hanging out next to the sidewalk. I think this is one the most unique things about Key West which you cannot find anywhere.
Continuing our walk, we then came across the US-1 North Begin and End signs which made me think just how far away we were from the rest of the states. If you look at the US map, US-1 stretches all the way from Maine to Key West while hugging the east coast. It truly was a thrill to be at the start/end of a 2,369 mile road!
We saw a line outside a house which turned out to be the Hemingway House. Having done some prior research, I would recommend skipping this very touristy attraction. You are pretty much hurried down the rooms of the house. The one consistently good thing that I heard was all the cats that hang out around the house. Bonus Tip: You can go past the line of people and peek inside to see the front-yard and the cats.
We finally reached the southernmost point which is a giant black concrete mound that says “90 Miles to Cuba.” Again, it was really neat to pause and reflect on just how far south we were in this big country.
We ended the evening just like last night hanging out at Mallory Square. Just like the day before, the square was buzzing with tourists, vendors, and street performers. With a sliced coconut in-hand, we watched the bright orange glow of the sun quickly diminish over the blue waters of the Gulf.
