Convincing us that Key West was popular was easy. Convincing us that there exists a fantastic Key West road was even easier! We have heard about anything Key West so many times that it almost sounded like legend! The mention of Key West can be found in news articles, YouTube posts, Google searches, magazine articles, and, of course, the movies.

I think the most popular person to live in Key West was Ernest Hemingway!

We left Tampa, Florida one early morning with the plan to stop along as many interesting places as we could. Interesting, according to us! That included the beaches, waterfront, points of interests, historical marks, and several Keys. It should be different (or similar) to the beaches that we saw on the Florida mainland.

Robert is here …

Everybody told us that there was nothing to see in Homestead. Well, we still wanted to see what was nothing in Homestead, Florida. We were driving into Homestead and saw nothing! Until, we came to a corner where a big fruit stand stood – Robert Is Here. Inside, there were fresh fruits and vegetables, some groceries, and a milk shake stand. Outside, that was a group of dedicated road cyclists – roadies – who made the place as their pit stop. They were all over the place. Eating, rehydrating, and repairing some minor mechanical problems to their road bikes. It was fascinating! After a short stop in Homestead, we became ambivalent about driving further into town. We didn’t have enough time. It was back to the road to Key West.

The Visitor Center

The Visitor Center was one place that we couldn’t miss. There was not enough time to stop at every corner while driving along Highway 1. We had to pick the best places that appealed to us.

Betsy, the lobster

Rain Barrel Village in Islamorada was difficult to spot though it was close to Highway 1. Betsy, the lobster, certainly did get our attention. She was there right in front of the store and was seemingly waving her antennas for us to come. We did’t miss the chance to take a photograph with Betsy. She’s such a nice lobster! We also explored the wide variety of art by local artists, handmade crafts, jewelry, fashionable resort wear, and collectible souvenirs inside the Rain Barrel Village.

Robbie’s Marina got us 10 miles closer to Key West. It was just over the bridge and on the inside part of the road’s bend. Very easy to miss! We found it because we were forced to slow down. There was a steady stream of sweat-drenched, water bottle packing 100-mile marathoner gradually stomping their way to a watering station. The watering station was right at the corner Robbie’s Marina’s entrance. We were happy to be there but were aghast by the parking situation – it was like a free-for-all parking with no parking lot markings! It was the wrong time to be there. It was like the whole island’s population was there and eagerly waiting for their chance to feed the tarpons – the most popular activity of the marina. We made our way into Robbie’s Marina where we found restaurants, souvenir shops, and the hungry Tarpon. Feeding time!

Fantastic Key West didn’t disappoint us. The only disappointment was that we didn’t have enough time to visit all the interesting places. I’m sure there were a lot more! We did the final leg of the drive and ended up spending the afternoon and evening at Key West.

The next day, I went back and checked out the bicycle lanes on the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail.

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