Key West; Day 5; 4/1/14

We left our motel in Fort Myers at 8:20 under blue clear skies with a temperature of 63. We rode south on I-75 to the Naples area where we exited and found our way to Hwy 41 which took us straight east across the Everglades.

It was a fun ride. Mel told me via the CB radio that he was seeing alligators on the north side of the highway. We pulled over and found a nice big gator sunning himself at the edge of the grass.Everglades, viewed from Hwy 41We kept our eyes peeled the rest of the way and saw many gators just off the road. We stopped for gas and paid over $4/gallon and we saw the smallest U.S. Post Office in Ochopee, FL.DSCN3537

Before we reached the Miami area we turned south on Hwy 997, which took us by numerous fruit/vegetable stands, nurseries and fields growing who knows what. The speed limit here was slow, which should have prepared us for Hwy 1.

In Florida City we caught Hwy 1, the Dixie Highway, which took us south to Key Largo. We stopped at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park for a picnic and found a nice spot near the water to enjoy our lunch.picnic lunch

As we continued our ride south through the Keys I really enjoyed the scenery from the bridges. The water color varied from a turquoise to blue-green to blue. It was beautiful. The downside was the   s l o w   traffic. The speed limit was 45 to 55 but drivers rarely drove the speed limit.

We made it to Key West, checked into the Sea Shell motel and walked down to Duval Street for dinner before calling it a night.DSCN3592

For more pictures from today click on the following link: https://plus.google.com/photos/104542123131082631220/albums/5997789971406922545?authkey=CIuC9_6wyqmGzwE

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