Bike the Keys

11/13/04 - 11/14/04

62 miles | 20 miles
Marathon - Key West - Marathon - Islamorada

The window after 300 miles and our first bridge!

We're here!
Postal Truck; Miami to Key West.

Bonnie, Laura, Troy and David at the Worldwide Sportsman Tiki Deck in Islamorada.

Troy, David and Laura on Hemingway's boat; The Pilar.

We're ready and it's raining!.

A rainbow, it's going to be a great day.

David and Troy, ready for their Century ride from Marathon to Key West and back

Laura and Bonnie at the first rest stop.
Bahia Honda State Park MM 37.

Steps leading to the Atlantic Ocean.

The rain in the distance and some cocoanut palm trees.

A very high and very big birdhouse.

There is nothing like finding a port-o-let out in the middle of nowhere, exactly when nature calls.

The Keys.

My shadow and Me.

Laura and the road to nowhere.

An 8-mile dead end road that will finally end in 500 feet.

Almost....

The End!

My favorite mailbox.

The old train bridge built by Henry Flagler in 1912.

Back at Bahia Honda State Park.

Just a nice photo.

And another one.

The Atlantic Ocean one the right and The Gulf of Mexico on the left.

Some Mangroves in the Atlantic.

The 7-mile bridge.
With a headwind, this bridge felt like the 20-mile bridge.

Hooray, we're back!

Such a clever name.

A few weather balloons.

We make it just in time.
The sunset from Mallory Square in Key West.

The crazy street performer who wore two straight jackets, tied himself up with chains and then hung upside down.
He escaped in less than 4 minutes.

Troy, watches in amazement.

Laura and David

Cold beer, anyone?

The crazy French cat man and Sara the cat.

Note: these were ordinary house cats who performed circus tricks.

Key West Historic Memorial Sculpture Garden.
Sculpture entitled "The Wreckers", by Artist james Mastin

The Garden opened in 1997 and is located on the original shoreline in Mallory Square.
The Sculpture Garden features 36 bronze busts depicting men and women
who made Key West a vibrant and important outpost of American culture and folklore.

Laura and Bonnie at MM 1.
The camera flashed on the reflective surface of the sign forcing a blown out image. Bummer!

David and Tory with the same result.

a Key Deer.

Inside the infamous No Name Pub & Pizza joint.
This place is worth $60-70,000.

The Atlantic Ocean from Curry Hammock State Park.

Laura, waiting for me to set up the camera.

Self-timer photo.

Curry Hammock State Park.

A wall mural.
Ocean artist Wyland has one of his murals in Marathon.

My bike makes it back to the Gulf of Mexico and our hotel.

The Life and Me.

Bougainvillea.

Sunday

Remnants of Henry Flagler's bridge.

A closeup.

David, Troy and Laura aboard the snorkeling boat.

And Bonnie in the water with no hands.
I had to be the first one off of the boat and one of the last one back on.

Henry Flagler built the Overseas Railroad, so that a successful Lower Keys settlement could be realized.
The bridge linked the Lower Keys to the mainland. Over 500 railroad workers, as well as most of Flagler's fortune,
were claimed by this 7-year project. The train ran from its completion in 1912 until 1935 when the great Labor Day
hurricane destroyed it. This photo shows a section of the railroads' many remnants.

After the hurricane, destruction to the railway was so great, the railway was sold to the State of Florida
and they built the Overseas Highway. This highway incorporated a ferry system as well.
During this time in Keys history, travel time from Key Largo to Key West could take over 7 hours for the 118 mile stretch.