New Orleans/FL Trip (Day 23) - Ft. Pierce, FL - Marathon, FL

We left the RV park in Ft. Pierce about 8:30 am and headed down Florida's Turnpike to Marathon, FL, about half way down the Florida Keys (Milepost 59). The weather was foggy with a slight drizzle when we left but it gradually got better the further south we went. We made good time and arrived at the Jolly Roger RV park in Marathon about 1:00 PM.











After lunch at a local eatery, we decided to take a ride down to Key West and look around. It is a pretty drive that took about an hour. We walked around town centered around Mallory Square on the waterfront, saw a lot of the famous places in town including Ernest Hemingway's house, Jimmy Buffet' s Margaritaville, and the Hog's Breath Saloon. We also walked along the waterfront promenade that is lined with outdoor cafes, street vendors, and local musical talent.

We then found the start of US 1 (mile marker zero) and the southernmost point in the Continental U.S., 90 miles from Cuba. Nearby, we also saw the southernmost house, the southernmost gift shop, and the southernmost tatoo palor, etc. While walking down one the main streets (Duval St.) back to our car, we also observed a lot of indoor/outdoor bars, restaurants, and shops. Key West is a heavy duty party town and there were a lot of people out on the streets and in the bars and restaurants.

















We are going back to Key West early tomorrow morning and take an all-day excursion out to the Dry Tortugas, a National Park 70 miles west of Key West. It will be a two hour boat ride each way and includes a guided tour of the large 19th Century fort that dominates Garden Key, the major island in that group of small coral and sand islands. The fort was originally built in 1846 to control navigation in the Gulf of Mexico; during the Civil War it was used a military prison. It will be a long day but who knows when we might be back this way again.