![\"Seven](\"https:\/\/huangyizhou.nyc3.cdn.digitaloceanspaces.com\/20190317\/IMG_4128.jpg\")
<\/a><\/br>Seven Mile Bridge<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
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It’s about 360 miles of driving from Cocoa to Key West. Since I was with my friends, we could rotate drivers among our two cars, which certainly made things easy.<\/p>\n
<\/a> The day’s morning wasn’t too eventful, as we raced South along Interstate 95 to Miami, stopping at the Costco in Lake Worth to stock up on gas (according to GasBuddy, it had the cheapest gasoline all the way till Key West)<\/span> and supplies.<\/p>\n <\/br>Interstate 95<\/br>Seeing this Cheetos truck always made me hungry.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n While on the road, I was perfectly content with the likes of Subway or Panda Express (!) for a quick meal. However, my friends with sophisticated appetites decided to educate my taste buds, by tediously going through reviews and blogs and picked a specific Chinese restaurant in the western suburb of Hollywood. So 90 minutes and a gourmet meal later, we were back on the move.<\/p>\n This time, traffic was building up along I95 in downtown Miami area, so we picked a more western route to Homestead, where we would be switching drivers. With rare signs of modern road infrastructure in United States.<\/p>\n We switched drivers again at the parking lots of Florida Keys Outlet. Amazingly, my friends weren’t spellbound by the store, and it didn’t take long before we were on the move again.<\/p>\n Once out of Homestead, we were onto Dixie Highway \/ Route 1, which was one of two roads leading out of Florida mainland onto the keys, passing along swamps and marshland.<\/p>\n Once onto Key Largo, Overseas Highway \/ Route 1 extends for an additional hundred miles, through beautiful keys and islands, all the way to Key West. While portions of it wasn’t too different than an ordinary American town, parts of it felt like driving on open ocean with scenery all around. <\/br> <\/br>Channel #5 Bridge<\/p><\/div>\n There was a rest area \/ park at one end of this bridge, where we stopped and took some rest \/ photos.<\/p>\n <\/br>Channel Five Bridge<\/br>A sign by the footbridge was informing fishermen what to catch and what not to. Fishing in these waters must be quite an enjoyable pastime.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n This small footbridge was part of Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail, which provided a hiking\/biking trail alongside Overseas Highway. Unfortunately, it’s broken into many parts.<\/p>\n Another interesting fact was that, the local people must had run out of names, so that named these channels with numbers. However on maps, immediately next to this Channel Five was Channel Two, so where’s 3 and 4?<\/p>\n <\/br>Channel Five<\/p><\/div>\n Amazed by the crystal blue waters but puzzled by the naming system, we moved on.<\/p>\n <\/br>Bridge<\/br>Between Conch Key and Long Key.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n Then it’s Seven Mile Bridge, which, as its name suggested, was a very long bridge West of Marathon.<\/p>\n <\/br> Then it’s another notable bridge, Bahia Honda Bridge. This one’s much shorter in length, but the old Bahia Honda Railway Bridge that ran parallel to it in the South remained mostly intact in its original form, serving as a vivid reminder of the original Florida Overseas Railroad from which the current roadway was born.<\/p>\n <\/br>Naval Air Station Key West Entrance<\/br>I was feeling sort of tired, so I took a random exit hoping to find a spot to rest (despite being less than 10 minutes from destination). However, the random exit I took turned out to be a military station, upon which tiredness was immediately driven away.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n After checking into hotel in Eastern Key West, we set off again at 7pm for its downtown.<\/p>\n At first, we thought watching sunset at Fort Zachary Taylor would be a great idea. <\/br>Downtown Street<\/br>Where I saw the greatest concentration of American muscle\/pony cars, probably for my entire life. (To be fair I did bring my own.)<\/span> This was only a random shot, but on the left was a convertible Camaro.<\/p><\/div>\n <\/br>Eduardo H. Gato House<\/br>Now a bed & breakfast.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n \nThis house, with its elaborate Queen Anne style detailing, was built c. 1894 by E. H. Gato, Sr. (1847-1926). The Gato family was one of Key West’s most prominent families, and three generations of the family lived here until 1951. Eduardo H. Gato was a Cuban patriot who helped finance Cuba’s revolutionary leaders including Jose Marti, who fought for freedom from Spain. Gato came to Key West in 1874. He was instrumental in Key West’s evolution from a small fishing town to one of Florida’s wealthiest cities through his development of the Cuban tobacco industry. He built Key West’s foremost cigar factory, where millions of cigars, using tobacco imported from Cuba, were hand rolled and boxed for shipment worldwide. In 1917, he built the first fireproof cigar factory on Simonton Street and constructed a nearby “city” of frame cigar workers’ cottages, the Barrio de Gato, or Gatoville. Gato was president of the E. H. Gato Cigar Co.; vice-president of the Key West Bank; and proprietor of the Key West Street Car, a horse-drawn system. Eduardo H. Gato Jr. (1874-1948) served as vice-president of the E. H. Gato Cigar Company and oversaw the extensive Gato real estate holdings. Then, we made it to the sea, Duval Street Pocket Park to be exact. Next to it was a beach, just not in our expected form.<\/p>\n <\/br>Beach<\/br>Not the most desirable to swim in, with many annoying trash\/weed\/aquatic plants being washed ashore.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n <\/br>Distant Sailboat<\/p><\/div>\n So my friends suggested we should have dinner instead. As usual, it’s their call with the selection of restaurants.<\/p>\n <\/br>Restaurant with Live Music<\/br>Everyone seemed to be enjoying this music, including the waitresses. That’s, except me, a classical music fan.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/br>Roads in Cocoa Suburb<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Interstate 95<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Interstate 95<\/br>Before reaching major population centers like West Palm Beach, traffic was pretty light on the highways.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Interstate 95<\/br>Then traffic got a bit itchy among the sprawling towns in Southeast Florida, but there wasn’t too much a slowdown.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>West Hollywood Suburb<\/p><\/div>\n
\nI remembered the restaurant owner’s hospitality by offering one of us a power outlet to charge her laptop, more than everything about the food.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>West Hollywood Suburb<\/p><\/div>\n
\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Florida \/ Ronald Reagan Turnpike<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Interstate 75<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Palmetto Expressway<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Route 1 in South Florida<\/br>The expressway ended in the town of Kendall, followed by 20 agonizing miles of stop-go suburban traffic of Route 1.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Line of Palm Trees<\/br>Leading out of Florida Keys Outlet. If not for its artificiality, it’s the most charming segment of road, before reaching onto the Keys.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Dixie Highway<\/br>This lovely blue medium would accompany us through swamps onto Florida Keys.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Dixie Highway<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Dixie Highway<\/p><\/div>\n
\nA small downside was that, most of Overseas Highway was a two-lane road, with very limited<\/del> almost non-existent overtaking opportunities. And because most people were admiring the views while driving (that included us), patience was a good company on these roads.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Overseas Highway on Key Largo<\/br>A large town just off mainland Florida.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Overseas Highway on Islamorada<\/br>Another major island community.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Bridge<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Onto Lower Matecumbe Key<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/br>Bridge<\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Bridge<\/br>Approaching Conch Key from Long Key.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/br>Marathon<\/br>Driving through Curry Hammock State Park, with dense vegetation on both sides of the road.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Downtown Marathon<\/br>Probably the last major city before Key West.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a> <\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Seven Mile Bridge<\/br>The current vehicular bridge ran parallel to the old one, which was now open to foot traffic, on its right.<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br><\/a> <\/a><\/br>Seven Mile Bridge<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Bahia Honda Key<\/br>Another island with mostly marshes and not many signs of civilization.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Bahia Honda Bridges<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>New Bahia Honda Bridge<\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Big Pine Key<\/br>We were passing some natural reserve this segment. Somehow there was a strange smell around.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Big Pine Key<\/br>A small town.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/br>Summerland Key<\/br>Another small town.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/br>Streets of Key West<\/br>A more residential part. I quite like the palm trees and blossoming flowers.<\/p><\/div>\n
\nUnfortunately, sunset was also the closing time of this state park. So we changed our plans for some random beach in the downtown area, followed by dinner.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>Click for detail about Eduardo H. Gato House<\/summary>\n
\nFrom nearby information board.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/details>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>