Day 124 - February 2, 2013: Islamorada and Key Largo

Having already driven south, today we decided to drive north through Islamorada and up to Key Largo. This would give us a good perspective of the Keys we were going to visit by boat next week.

One thing I have noticed while driving is that the sheriffs here have it made. All of the traffic must go up or down Hwy 1, so if there is a speeder, all the police must do is sit beside this highway and wait, and sooner or later they will catch them. The result is that everyone I could see, including me, was driving at or under the speed limit!

A captain at our marina dock suggested we stop at the World Wide Sportsman in Islamorada, and it turned out to be a mega store for meeting boating, fishing, hunting and outdoor needs. No expense was spared inside, including a salt water tank of large tropical fish, and a nearly identical sister of the Hemingway boat, "Pilar." This boat, built one year before Ernest Hemingway ordered his, has been totally restored, and I was able to get on board and appreciated more why he loved it so much.

The twin of Hemingway's boat, Pilar

Next to the Sportsman is the Bayside Marina, with a tiki bar and restaurant. This was just what I imagined the Keys to be like: thatched roofs, blue water, and the smell of seafood on the grill.

Bayside Marina

Just a mile up the road we discovered the Lorelei Cabana Bar and liked it even better. Here, you can have dinner with your toes in the sand while watching a sunset. We plan to stop, anchor, dinghy to the beach, and dine here as we go north.

Lorelei Cabana Bar

The Keys can be nutty and fun. How about a boat made to look like a Cadillac or the one behind it that looks like a pirate ship?

The craziness in the Keys

Later we circled up through Key Largo and back for dinner at Lazy Days that some reviewers say has the "best fish in the Keys."