Tuesday November 3rd 2020

It was a mostly cloudy day with just a little bit less wind than Monday. The temperature peaked around eighty and the humidity was down. If I’m reading the forecast correctly, each day this week gets a little bit nastier.

I took an unplanned trip to Key West today. After filling up the gas tank in Marathon turning across traffic wasn’t in the cards, so I found my self heading to the west and south. My intent was to reverse direction, but a good opportunity didn’t present until I was across the Seven Mile Bridge. At that point, I decided to continue to the end of the road. About fifty miles and an hour later, I arrived at the end of US Route 1, mile marker zero.

The drive down was interesting, but a little tense with the wind. There are many more bridges and the road is closer to the water in the lower keys. It took two hands on the steering wheel and extra attention on the road to safely drive along. I found the area more touristy, but closer to a laid back island lifestyle than the upper and middle keys.

The unplanned nature of the trip came into play once I reached Key West. I hadn’t researched parking places or pandemic safe things to see. Once I reached the end of route 1, I started looking for a place to park. The first place I found was small and full. The second place I found was a private lot that looked a little sketchy and wanted $20 to park. My cheap streak came into play. I wasn’t about to spend that much for a couple of hours.

I spent my time in Key West driving around looking at the architecture while dodging bicycles, scooters and tourist trolleys. Most, but not all, of the people on the trolleys and trams appeared to be wearing masks. Previrus I’d consider using the tour to get a quick overview of the city. For now, I’ll settle for driving around. Armed with a little more research, I may return to Key West on Thursday or Friday.

The trip back to my RV home in the middle Keys was even more challenging that the trip out. The wind was hitting head on and traffic was heavier. Some drivers were crossing the causeways and bridges at close to the posted minimum speed. It took closer to an hour and a half for the return trip. While there was some sun in the sky in the Key West area, it was still overcast and slightly gloomy at Curry Hammock State Park.