Florida's Beautiful Keys

There is a mystique about America's southern most playground, the Florida Keys. And you better prepare to have a tropical drink handy and sample Key Lime treats while you are here.

Sometimes known as the Conch Republic*, the Florida Keys are a chain-like cluster of more than a thousand low-lying islands that stretch across azure waters. Scarcely a foot above sea level in some places, the Keys dip approximately 220-miles, curving south and west of mainland Florida.

Key Largo is the world's diving capitol and where fresh water from the Everglades converges with the salt water of Florida Bay. Stretching beside the Keys, about six miles seaward is a barrier reef and off Key West lays the only coral reef left in the continental United States.

Key West, just 90-miles from Cuba, is indeed the southern most point of the United States and a picturesque slice of paradise. At the edge of the deep turquoise water are small boats alongside yachts, blue and white, bobbing up and down. They rest a few feet from the surf beating quietly against the shoreline.

We arrived here by way of Miami. The Keys begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula about 15 miles south of Miami. We got onto the Florida Keys Scenic Highway, also known as the "Overseas Highway," a drive offering dramatic views of the tranquil waters of the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the Gulf of Mexico on the other. Among the forty-three bridges that we cross is the famed Seven Mile Bridge

The Seven Mile Bridge connects the Middle and Lower Keys, spanning a channel between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Strait, the bridge carries two-lanes of US highway 1. With 39 expansion joints separating its cement sections, the Seven Mile Bridge is believed to be the world's longest segmental bridge.

Before World War II coming to the Keys was reserved for the wealthy and meant traveling an unhurried ferry for much of the trip, then in 1934 after the city of Key West declared bankruptcy, the Federal Emergency Relief Administration stepped in. In an effort to resurrect Key West's economy, the Federal Government began building highways and bridges connecting Miami to Key West

Today, more than 35% of the population in the Keys lives on Key West. A leisurely walk along Duval Street takes us past interesting cafes and shops, but the Key West Trolley Tour was the best way to see the town's well-known sights which include Ernest Hemingway's Home and the Truman summer White House.

America's charming gulf coast and Florida's beautiful keys are indisputably captivating and a world away from the rest of the country.

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* The Conch Republic is a micro-nation declared as a lighthearted secession of the city of Key West from the United States in April 1982. Subsequently, the term "Conch Republic" expanded to refer to all of the Florida Keys. The Conch Republic celebrates Independence Day every April 23 as part of a week-long celebration and many residents fly the Conch Republic flag.  Kathy Manney