Traveling on U.S. 1 and desperately trying to spot mile markers, which seem to have shrunk over time, the Brawny Sherpa and I are in no particular hurry to land on Key West. If we see a curiosity, we’ll stop for the curiosity.
There didn’t seem to much official business going on in the Official Vehicle.
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini
We are barely out of our hotel parking lot before we come across the first, a mysteriously labeled “Official Vehicle” parked across the street from the Key West Inn at Key Largo on Ocean Drive. We’re pretty suspicious given the rarity with which official vehicles are actually labeled as such. Is someone officially living in it? We stop and inspect but find no signs of life or even casual business.
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini
Other oddities present themselves before we even leave the island. We’re drawn to Key Largo Chocolates due to the sheer brightness of the store. We wish we’d known about the Sunset Cove Motel, where we find dinosaurs, zebras, waterfront rooms, and R.V.s that could have been ours for the night. Next time.
Part of the menagerie at the Sunset Cove Motel, Key Largo, Fla.
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini
Key Largo
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini
We stop short at the sighting of a giant cockroach at the Rain Barrel art gallery on Islamorada. I have flashbacks of my sugar bowl when I lived in D.C. We’re relieved to learn that ‘Betsy’ is just an overgrown Florida lobster.
The Brawny Sherpa and Betsy, Islamorada, Fla.
Photo credit: L. Tripoli
Inside the Midway Cafe, Islamorada, Fla.
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini
Since we’re in the Florida Keys and driving, we opt to drink responsibly—meaning coffee without any spirited kick. We are barely down from our caffeine high, obtained at Islamorada’s Midway Café along with a hummus sandwich, before we stop short at Baby’s Coffee for a shot of Sexpresso. Along the way, the environmentalist in us wonders at the closeness of the roadway to the water.
Baby’s Coffee, Florida Keys
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini
Heading to Key West
Photo credit: L. Tripoli
Soon we learn that the Seven-Mile Bridge is just under that length and someone opted to round up. The Almost-Seven-Mile Bridge honestly doesn’t quite have the same ring, but we’re in the Keys—surely someone could have come up with a more creative name?
The Moped Hospital at Key West, Fla.
Photo credit: L. Tripoli
About the time that we hit the Moped Hospital, we realize we’ve finally reached Key West. We head to the Southernmost Point and stop shortly before at our intended destination: La Mer Hotel. It’s here that our crazy times will really begin.
The La Mer Hotel, Key West, Fla.
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini
Note from the Brawny Sherpa: Baby’s Coffee is a must. Excellent brew. The brownies there are off the hook. Extra gooey.
—Lori Tripoli
Photo credit: M. Ciavardini