Paris1972-Versailles2003

Now far away in my new neck of the woods, the Morbihan Breton, reminds me again of my Florida, The old Central and South Florida of my family and birthplace of my 3 sons, and I am nostalgic enough to tell you about other towns fond of us over the years. After doing the trajects America ,Europe, America , and back to Europe, Of course this post will be in my black and white series,no pictures, I like to remind myself of some of the towns I spent a lot of my time and life while in Florida ,a special place ; the title is simple but the meaning is huge for us, this is my story on my other Florida Keys !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.

Florida became a state in 1845, but the keys weren’t officially incorporated until 1870 The origin of the term “Key,” used to identify an island, is not well established. Most believe that it is an adaptation of the Spanish word “cayo,’ used by the Taino Indians of Hispanola and Cuba. At least in the Americas, the Spanish used the words “cayo” for a very small island. The English changed the word to “Cay” or “Kay.” English maps of the Keys made just prior to the Revolutionary War of 1776 used the word “Key.” A Colonial American court record of 1744 used the word “Keys” when referring to the Florida Keys.

Key Largo, is an island in the upper Florida Keys archipelago and is the largest section of the keys, at 53 km (33 miles) long. It is one of the northernmost of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, and the northernmost of the keys connected by U.S. Highway 1 (the Overseas Highway).  North Key Largo (near the Card Sound Bridge), Key Largo and Tavernier (at the island’s south end). A bit on Tavernier as we had stayed there tell us that with the advent of the railroad, the southern end of the island of Key Largo, composed then of the small communities of Planter and Lowesport, became known as “Tavernier.” Most charts before 1775 labeled Tavernier Key in Spanish as Cayo Tabona, etc. Key Largo is connected to the mainland of Miami-Dade County by two routes, the first being the Overseas Highway, the southernmost portion of U.S. Highway 1, which enters Key Largo at Jewfish Creek (near the middle of the island) before turning southwest. The second route is via Card Sound Road, which connects to the northern end of Key Largo and runs southeastward, connecting with County Road 905, which runs southwest and joins U.S. 1 at about mile marker 106. These routes originate at Florida City on the mainland. Of course, have ridden on both.

Key Largo is a popular destination for many. It has been dubbed the “Diving Capital of the World” 
Key Largo is situated between the Everglades National Park and the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, The earliest description of the area and its inhabitants was by Hernando de Escalante Fontaneda, a survivor of a shipwreck who lived among the Calusa people from 1549 to 1566. Some time later, it was named Cayo Largo  meaning long islet by Spanish explorers. By the end of the Third Seminole War
in 1858, the area was under control by the United States government, though it remained largely uninhabited. The island gained fame as the setting for the 1948 film Key Largo ( Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall)

You have main things to see here me think ,the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park established in 1963 as the first undersea park in the United States. It cover approximately 178 nautical square miles of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps. The park extends 3 miles into the Atlantic Ocean and is approximately 25 miles in length. We love it done glass bottom boat tours and snorkeling!! A must to visit, Also, the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary home to a diverse community of underwater habitats, ranging from the only coral barrier reef in the continental United States to the largest documented contiguous seagrass community in the Northern Hemisphere. More than 6,000 animal species are found here, along with an array of submerged historical and cultural resources, making this one of the world’s most cherished locations for diving, fishing, boating, and wildlife viewing.

The Florida Keys tourist office on Key Largo: https://fla-keys.com/key-largo/

The official John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park: https://pennekamppark.com/

The official Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary: https://floridakeys.noaa.gov/visitor_information/

Islamorada is an unincorporated village directly between Miami  and Key West on five islands: Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Windley Key, and Plantation Key in the Florida Keys .The name Islamorada  in Spanish, “purple island”, came from early Spanish explorers in the area. The village was incorporated on December 31, 1997. Islamorada as a location name began in 1907 when William Krome platted a Upper Matecumbe Key subdivision titled Townsite of Islamorada. It is located on the U S route 1, the Overseas Highway , runs the length of the village, leading north 119 km (74 miles) to Miami and 130 km (80 miles ) to Key West.  Islamorada is informally known as the “Sportfishing Capital of the World”. The popular route, Hawk Channel , lies south or southeast of the village and is often used by commercial fishing vessels in order to avoid the currents of the Gulf Stream.

Some of the things to see here, me think are the History of Diving Museum featured exhibits about Diving and the USS Spiegel Grove now an artificial reef. The Robbie’s Marina, which is known for allowing guests to feed tarpon live fish.  See Betsy the lobster a large sculpture of a lobster in the city. Enjoy ,Anne’s beach, MM 73.  Bass Pro Shop 81576 Overseas Highway,  Huge sports store, endless fishing supplies, etc. The Florida Keys Memorial  (Hurricane Monument), Mile Marker 82. Built to commemorate those who died in the 1935 Labor Day, The San Pedro Underwater Archaelogical Preserve State Park, 77200 Overseas Hwy, 8h to sundown , and the Wendly Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park , 84900 Overseas Hwy, 8h to sundown. Islamorada offers a wide variety of shallow coral reefs, mini walls, shipwrecks, and even an underwater habitat for scientific research, the Aquarius. The Eagle ,this 287-foot ship. Also, Davis Reef , Alligator Reef ,now marked by a 136-foot-tall lighthouse, on this spot in 1822 the USS Alligator grounded and sank while protecting a convoy from pirates. Conch Wall , Crocker Wall , an over 136 meters (450 feet) long wall in 15 meters (50 feet) of water. The wall has about a 10 meters (30 feet) decline, and Pickles Reef, amid a dynamic coral reef in only 4,5 to 7,5 meters (15 to 25 feet) of water.

The Village of Islamorada: https://www.islamorada.fl.us/382/About-Us

And if you want fun in Islamorada as we used to get our boat there, then head for Hogs Heaven Bar & Grill , a must! The official Hogs Heaven Bar & Grill :https://hogheavenbarandgrill.com/

The Florida Keys tourist office on Islamorada: https://fla-keys.com/islamorada/

Long Key  is located in the Middle Keys and it was called Cayo Víbora (Rattlesnake Key) by early Spanish explorers, a reference to the shape of the island, which resembles a snake with its jaws open, rather than to its denizens. The city of Layton is located on Long Key. The 965-acre (3.9 km2) state park (3.9 km2) was dedicated October 1, 1969. The US 1 road or the Overseas Highway crosses the key at approximately mile markers 65.5–71, between Fiesta Key and Conch Key. Long Key gained national prominence through its championing by author Zane Grey, who was a regular resident. Someone can check this, but I believe that Grey was America’s first millionaire writer. Grey was a dentist who turned cowboy and became a prolific writer. During the winter of 1911, Grey vacationed at Long Key while writing his novel “The Light of the Western Stars” The Long Key Fishing Club was officially formed with Zane Grey as the first president from March 1917 to 1920.

The must here is Long Key State Park at 67400 Overseas Hwy ,Borne Mile Marker 67.5, The main attraction here is the Long Key State Park are the oceanfront campsites. Two trails are located within the park. The Golden Orb Trail, named after a native spider, is a leisurely one-hour walk. Be sure to pick up a trail map for a short self-guided tour along the trail. The Layton Trail is a quick 15-minute walk on the bayside of the park. It offers great opportunities for watching the sunset. Birding is a popular activity year-round. Flats fishing for bonefish, and tarpon is a major attraction to the area. A bicycle ride down the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, or drive down U.S. 1, will take you to two fishing bridges. To the south is the Long Key Bridge and to the north is the Channel 2 Bridge. Bridge fishing for snapper, sharks and barracuda is popular at these locations.

The official Florida State Parks on Long Key : https://www.floridastateparks.org/parks-and-trails/long-key-state-park

Conch Key is an unincorporated island of about 16 acres. Frank Coward became its first permanent inhabitant purchasing 5 acres as it was in 1945  Coward built himself a house which he used as a home and a place to build his dream-boat, a 44-foot ketch,  Don Pancho. It was a combination boat yard, marina and living quarters.  When the boat was completed, part of the house had to be removed for the launching. Conch Key ocean side is an superb example of dredge and fill. It is located in the Middle Keys on the US 1 road or Overseas Highway crosses the key at approximately mile markers 62–63, between Long and Duck Keys. Little Conch Key , near mile marker 62.2, is also known as Walker’s Island was first inhabited by Paul Walker in 1946 , Some of the interesting places nearby are the Dolphin Research Center (6,2 km), Hawks Cay Marina Dockside Store (2,6 km) and The Lagoon on Grassy 
Key (5,6 km).

Duck Key is an unincorporated community and is located oceanside of the US 1 road or Overseas Highway at approximately mile marker 61, between Conch and Grassy Keys. Marathon is 14 km (9 miles) away, and Islamorada  is at 35 km (22 miles). The British General George Gauld names the island Duck Key in his chart of the Florida Keys. The name comes from the shape of the island, which resembles a duck’s head when viewed from above. In 1814 Duck Key is gifted to Spain by the English as a token of appreciation for their assistance in the war. 1827 ,the Honorable Charles Howe buys Duck Key , and later begins salt production on the island, producing around 40,000 bushels of salt a year for transport to Key West. The famous Labor Day 1935 hurricane hits Duck Key, putting an end to salt production. A wooden bridge is built to connect Duck Key to the Florida Keys causeway in 1951, with the completion of US1 following in 1953.  By 1952 a wooden bridge connected Duck Key to highway U.S. 1 On January 2, 1953, the million dollar causeway from US 1 to Duck Key was officially opened for vehicle traffic The thing to see here is the Hawks Cay Resort a wonderful resort not stayed but heard always is tops,

Grassy Key is located on US 1 or Overseas Highway , near mile markers 57—60, below the Conch Keys It is one of the northernmost islands in a chain of islands that comprises the City of Marathon. The original name of the island was Crainlyn after the Crain family. A chart of 1772 shows Grassy Key as “Ellis Island.” In January 1814 Key Bacas and the adjacent Keys were granted to Francisco Ferreira by the Spanish governor, Sebastian Kindelan. One of the adjacent Keys was Grassy Key.  Finally, on May 16, 1899 President William McKinley signed documents allowing clear title to be granted for Grassy Key and the others. It is not known if Ferreira ever set foot on any of the ten Keys. He lived in St. Augustine. Today, Grassy Key is part of the City of Marathon. In the 1940s, Milton Santini and his wife Virginia opened the Santini’s Porpoise Training School , After he suffered a broken back , for physical therapy, he would sit in a recliner near one of his man-made bays, and squeeze a black rubber ball. After dropping it one day, Mitzi, one of the new untrained dolphins, retrieved the ball for him, creating a game for the both of them Mitzi went through further games and training; later she became known as Flipper from the movie of 1963 ,then Flipper’s New Adventure in 1964, went on to star on TV and for many people, put Grassy Key on the map. Mitzi died in 1972, and a large memorial was placed on the ground shortly after. Milton sold the training school shortly after Mitzi’s death to Wombetco Corporation, which dubbed the school Flipper’s Training School. In 1983, Jayne and Armando Rodriguez opened the Dolphin Research Center as a nonprofit organization; it is still open today at mile marker #59 and is the primary attraction in Grassy Key

Marathon Though the area has been settled for some time, Marathon is a relatively new city, incorporated in 1999. The name Marathon dates back to the origin of the Florida East Coast Railroad. The name came from the railroad workers who were working night and day to complete the railway; due to the unrelenting pace and struggle to complete the project, workers complained that “this is getting to be a real marathon”, and the word was later used to name the local railroad station Marathon occupies a series of keys near the middle of the Florida Keys; you get here via the US 1 road, and is 80 km (50 miles) from Key West ,and 87 km (54 miles) from Key Largo. To the southeast lies Hawks Channel , a popular passage for vessels traveling along the Keys. The city boundaries extend from the east end of the Seven Mile Bridge (Mile Marker 47) to the west end of Tom’s Harbor Bridge (Mile Marker 61), excluding that portion of the area within the city limits of Key Colony Beach, Boot Key Harbor is a natural body of water between Boot Key and Key Vaca, entirely within the Marathon city limits. The Florida Keys Marathon International Airport is located along the Overseas Highway (US1). Key West Transit connects Marathon with Key West.

Marathon is a major sport fishing destination, with several charter fishing boats departing from local marinas every morning to both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean has the tallest building in the Keys, Bonefish Tower at 143 feet (44 m) on Coco Plum, as well as Sombrero Country Club, the Keys’ only country club. Sombrero Beach is a beautiful park and sandy beach as well as a turtle nesting beach and Coco Plum Beach. Aquarium Encounters, see fish, sharks, moray eels, gators, seahorses, 300lb grouper, rays, turtles, tortoises and more. You can touch the rays, starfish, urchins, horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs and other things in the touch tanks. The best experience was swimming in the reef tank to hand feed rays, angels, and even the sharks or eels through a passthru hole ; this is located at 11710 Overseas Highway. The Turtle Hospital opened its doors in 1986 Dolphin Research Center experience the dolphins different “dolphinalities” as they go about their day in sessions that include high-flying acrobatics, research, playtime, and husbandry training. Enjoy educational presentations in our air-conditioned theater. Say hello to the exotic bird family. Don’t forget to spend time entertaining the dolphins as they people-watch! See Crane Point Hammock , and enjoy the Fish Pedicure, Birding, Wild Bird Center, and the Crane Point Museum located at 5550 Overseas Hwy, Also, Curry Hammock State Park, the largest undeveloped parcel of land between Key Largo and Big Pine Key. The park protects large areas of mangrove swamp, rockland hammocks and seagrass beds essential to the Florida Keys ecosystem. It is located at 56200 Overseas Highway.

The Florida Keys tourist office on Marathon: https://fla-keys.com/marathon/

The city of Marathon (see visitors): https://www.ci.marathon.fl.us/

Big Pine Key is an unincorporated area of the lower keys . The US 1 road or Overseas Highway crosses the key at mile markers 29.5–33, one of the few places on the keys where the road orients north–south along the eastern edge of the Key. The highway leads to Key West at 47 km ( 29 miles) , and 34 km (21 miles) to Marathon. Things to see here me think are the Blue Hole is an abandoned rock quarry that was used for nearby road fills and Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad. The water it contains is mostly fresh and is used by various wildlife in the area, such as birds, snakes, alligators and invasive  green iguanas. It is part of the National Key Deer Refuge. The National Key Deer Refuge is a 8,542-acre (3,457 ha) National Wildlife Refuge located on Big Pine Key and No Name Key. The refuge is home to the endangered Key Deer , a subspecies of the White Tailed Deer that is endemic to the Florida Keys and has a current population of around 800 animals. The largest bucks are less than a yard high at the shoulders and weigh approximately 80 pounds. The does are 24 to 28 inches at the shoulders and weigh approximately 65 pounds. Also, 21 other threatened and endangered species of plants and animals are also found on the refuge. The Bahia Honda State Park is a perfect place to spend the day and enjoy swimming, kayaking, exploring, fishing, bike riding, walking, relaxing. There are picnic tables all through out the park, along with public restrooms, a snack bar, kayak rentals, and snorkel tours. At the south-western end of the park, Calusa Beach provides an attractive sight, sheltered between the old and new overseas highway bridges. Sandspur Beach is at the eastern end of the park, providing a long stretch of coral sand on the Atlantic side of the island.

The primary shopping center is located  just off US 1 on Key Deer Boulevard. This shopping center contains several restaurants, an outlet store, grocery store, electronics store, the visitor’s center for the National Key Deer Refuge, and a branch of the Monroe County Library (with WiFi internet access). To eat well surrounded by beautiful ambiance go to Boondocks Grille and Draft House, 27205 Overseas Highway, Ramrod Key, Dining with regular live entertainment Their webpage: https://boondocksfloridakeys.com/ For a drink, light meal and historic place see No Name Pub at 30813 Watson Blvd, their webpage : https://nonamepub.com/

The official US Fish and Wildlife Service on the National Key Deer Refuge: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/national-key-deer

The official Bahia Honda State Park: https://www.bahiahondapark.com/

The Florida Keys tourist office on the Lower Keys and Big Pine Key: https://fla-keys.com/lower-keys/

Discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513, the Dry Tortugas  were named after the large population of sea turtles living in the island’s surrounding waters. “Tortugas” means turtles in Spanish, and Ponce de Leon himself caught over 100 sea turtles during his time on the island. The name “Dry” Tortugas was later given to the island to indicate to other mariners that the land mass lacked fresh water, which was an extremely important detail for seafarers to know. The islands were inspected at the end of 1824 by the American commodore David Porter, and were then considered to be unfit for the construction of a naval base allowing to fight against piracy in the Antilles. In 1825, it was however decided to build a lighthouse on the island of Garden Key, which was completed the following year. The lighthouse, almost 20 meters (66 feet) high, consists of bricks and a white exterior facing, and is accompanied by a small white house used to accommodate the goalkeeper. In 1846 began the construction, on Garden Key, of Fort Jefferson
, in reference to Thomas Jefferson, an imposing coastal fortress which will remain unfinished. Composed of more than 16 million bricks, it is, even today, the largest masonry construction on the American continent. The seven islands that make up the Dry Tortugas National Park , in the Gulf of Mexico are Loggerhead Key and its lighthouse, the Dry Tortugas Lighthouse, Garden Key,with its lighthouse and Fort Jefferson, Bush Key, Long Key, Hospital Key, Middle Key, and East Key, Visitors will be able to observe seabirds in full nesting, five species of turtles, snow sharks and, for the lucky ones, crocodiles , The park is one of the most isolated in the United States. Located 113 km (70 miles) off Key West , it is only accessible by ferry, by boat or in seaplane. An area of ​​262 km2, this park completes Fort Jefferson (19C) and the picturesque flagship of Garden Key, who both played an important role in the sea past of Florida Keys. By any measure, the octagonal-shaped fort is gargantuan. Just its numbers are mind-blowing. Four sides are 477 feet long; two are 325 feet. Its 45-foot-high walls overlook a 70-foot-wide moat, and its lighthouse stretches 155 feet into the air. A staggering sixteen million bricks were used in its construction, a project never quite completed. Two hundred arches support the interior. Cisterns collected 1,500,000 gallons of rainwater. More than 400 heavy guns took aim at the sea. Thousands of overlooked workers, including slaves, provided the hard labor. Garden Key Visitor Center is located inside Fort Jefferson.

The official US National Park on Dry Tortugas: https://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm

The official Dry Tortugas on things to see: https://www.drytortugas.com/things-to-do/

There you go folks , now you more of my Florida,and heck even me lol !! We fondly remembered the Sunshine State, and love it. We made a decision to move to France and we do not regretted either as it has been a roller coaster of fun and memories. Now ,the French reason is gone, but we still very much attach to France thanks to her courage and determination. My Martine, never to be forgotten. Again, hope you enjoy this nostalgic post on my other Florida Keys as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!


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