Arrival at Key West

Our flight from Huntington to Ft. Lauderdale was on time and uneventful although I had my usual seat in the crying baby section. I really can't complain because the two small children across the isle from we were very good except for when we were descending toward the airport. Mary did some reading and I listened to some NPR podcasts until we both nodded off. For a $50 flight, we sure can't complain.
There were no problems picking up our checked bag and getting the rental car from Enterprise. We had reserved a Toyota Corolla but got a free upgrade to a Nissan Altima which is a nice car. The drive from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West was nice especially once we got out of the city. As I would drive through the area, Mary would read from the trip guides about the history of the area and what there is to see and do there. We took our time driving down and enjoying the scenery, sunshine and warm weather. The temperature was in the upper 70s the whole trip and there was a nice breeze when we would stop.
We stopped for dinner at a small Greek fishing community on Marathon Key and ate at the Seven Mile Grill which appeared to be a local favorite. The restaurant owner would talk to some of the regular customers in Greek. I made friends with an old drunk guy, Rick, who was enjoying the draft beer there. The dining area was very open air which was nice since the weather was beautiful and the light breeze felt good on the 80 degree evening.  I had the grilled seafood platter that included shrimp, grouper, scallops and a crab cake. A cup of conch chowder on the side was very tasty. Mary had the special of the day which was coconut shrimp. Each shrimp was the size of a flattened tennis ball! We wanted Key Lime Pie but decided to take it to go and have back at the room.
When we got to the Day's Inn we were please to get a free upgrade to a suite which is huge. There is a full kitchen, living room and an enormous bedroom. The motel is older but is really nice. The clerk also gave us passes on the shuttle that goes all over the island which will be great since parking is a problem in many areas that tourists want to visit. Most of the people we have seen here so far are Eastern European and the group in the lobby was from Estonia. We are here before most US tourists arrive in late winter.
While driving the Overseas Highway (US 1) I kept thinking about driving much of US 1 through Maine last October. We traveled from Portland to Whiting on US 1 and while the road was coastal, the scenery couldn't be more different here in the Keys.
The over 120 mile stretch of US 1 called the Oversea Highway is largely built on the rail bed for Flagler's Oversea Railroad from the turn of the previous century. The railroad was largely destroyed by a storm in the 193s but much of the landfill connecting the many tiny islands and keys provides a base for the highway.



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