Key West, Fl.

The series of roads and bridges that reach to Key West were started in 1926.  The length of the highway from Key Largo to Key West is just over 100 miles long.

There is no place to pull over to take pictures in some of the most scenic parts of the trip, therefore most of these pictures were taken from the front window of the RV .  I would sometimes slow to a crawl to get the picture but could not do that too often.

The entrance to Key West.  Immediately I was struck by the amount of traffic.  People were everywhere.  I had checked out a few RV parks on the way south and the best rate was $76 per night.  Some were over $90!  And the RV's were jammed in so tight I wondered how they were going to get their doors open.  It looks like this is going to be a short stay.

Parking was an immediate problem as well.  The streets were so narrow I hesitated to try to wedge the RV into a parking space.  I drove through the old town but never found a comfortable place to stop.

US 1 begins at this corner.  I hope to make it all the way to the other end of US 1 next fall.  We'll see.  By the way, does that guy standing next to the sign look familiar?

I was worried that, by now, Key West would have developed into a 'charming' Carmel East or a pink plastic Disney World village.  Not so.  The funny old houses are still there. There are still some signs of the old 'Conch Republic'.  However, there are so many people overrunning the island and so many t-shirt and  souvenir shell shops that the experience of the laid-back island of Ernest Hemingway is long gone--never to be captured again.

The latest rage are these kites--I watched these surfers for hours and they never stopped.  I could only imagine the amount of muscle needed to steer those kites and then to do it for hours on end.

Wow!  I am in awe of them.