THE FLORIDA KEYS

hen people ask about the       much less traffic and people just
top sights to see in the      seem more relaxed in the Florida
south Florida area            Keys compared to the mainland.
including Fort Lauderdale and
Miami, I always advise them to        Key Largo is the main scuba
try and make some time to go down     diving town with many dive shops.
to the Florida Keys. The Florida      There is even an underwater
Keys are the string of islands        hotel with two guestrooms for
just south of the Florida             adventurous types. This was a
mainland and runs 120 miles from      former marine research unit that
end to end. Fort Lauderdale and      was converted to the hotel.
Miami are fun but for a relaxing      Islamorada and Marathon located
change of pace, the Florida Keys      more west are also top scuba dive
is the place to be. For              locations. For those who are not
snorkellers and scuba divers          into diving, there are numerous
going to south Florida, I would       shops with colorful local arts
consider Florida Keys a must. The     and crafts. One collection of
waters around Key Largo are a         shops has a giant statue of a
protected marine park with a very     spiny lobster out in front. For
healthy fish life and offer the       more fun, there are two dolphin
best diving in the US. Key Largo      centers, one in Key Largo and
is the first town as you enter        another near Marathon where
the Keys after crossing the           visitors can interact with
bridge from the mainland. It can     captive dolphins. Dolphin
be reached from Miami in an hour      programs should actually be
and from Fort Lauderdale in an        booked well in advance since they
hour and 45 minutes. Once the        are extremely popular.
bridge from the mainland is
crossed, the change in pace is        There are sign markers along the
noticed immediately. There is        main US number 1 highway that

mark each mile along the 120 mile     which is even further west in the
route. Most addresses in the          lower keys. The snorkeling in
Florida Keys along the main           this area, especially Looe Key,
highway will actually refer to        is among the top sites in North
which mile marker they are            America. The city of Key West at
located near. It's a very             the far end of the Florida Keys
efficient way to navigate. It        is the largest community in the
takes about 3 hours to drive from     islands and a stay here for a
Key Largo to the far end at Key       night or two is well worth it.
West but more than likely,            The downtown area full of
visitors would want to stop off       restaurants, bars, boutiques and
at numerous locations along the       shops is a funky, fun place to
way for shopping, photo               be. There are hotels along the
opportunities or just admiring        water as well as numerous B&Bs
the scenery. The scenery gets        inland. We stayed at the Quality
better as one heads out more          Inn near the entrance of the city
west, especially near the bridges     and had no problem getting
that connect the islands. A          downtown since there is a very
common sight to see are locals        convenient bus system that runs
fishing off the bridges and           throughout Key West. We chose to
numerous pelicans standing on the     leave our car at the hotel and
posts like permanent fixtures.        use the buses because parking can
One of the most spectacular           be limited in the downtown area.
sights is the seven mile bridge       A very neat way to tour the city
which is the world's longest          is to rent scooters which are
segmented bridge.                     very common in the streets here.
                                      With the scooters, we
The Florida Keys are not really       criss-crossed the city and saw
known for its beaches with the        the wonderful colonial houses in
exception of Bahia Honda Park         the residential streets including

Ernest Hemmingway's house.           the US mainland is Florida City
                                      and it has some very affordable
The seafood is predictably very       hotel accommodations with well
fresh in restaurants everywhere       known chains such as Comfort Inn,
in the Florida Keys. Some local      Hampton Inn and Best Western.
specialties not to be missed are      This is another option for some
conch, local spiny lobster and a      travelers, especially those who
few varieties of the local fish       are scuba diving in Key Largo as
including snapper and grouper. Of     Florida City is only about 20
course, one must try the real,        minutes away if hotels in Key
authentic key lime pie that           Largo are fully booked or at high
originated in the area. Each         season rates.
restaurant has a slightly
different recipe but in general,      The Florida Keys has a way of
the authentic key lime pie here       enticing visitors back during
is not as sweet as the commercial     return visits to south Florida.
brands sometimes found in the         Its slower pace helps balance
rest of North America.                things out against the crowded
                                      and crazier styles of Fort
Hotel accommodations suit every       Lauderdale and Miami. I have
budget in the Florida Keys from       been to the Keys three times and
simple motels to top notch            will definitely return there
resorts. The last town back in       again.

About the Author:

Clint Leung is owner of Free Spirit Gallery http://www.FreeSpiritGallery.ca , an online gallery specializing in Inuit Eskimo and Northwest Native American art including carvings, sculpture and prints. Free Spirit Gallery has numerous information resource articles with photos of authentic Inuit and Native Indian art as well as free eCards.

Source: www.isnare.com