Yesterday was an exercise in what can happen when they reality doesn't come close to matching the dream. Sometimes, you end up disappointed- VERY disappointed. Even so, how am I going to know if I don't give it a shot?
I've always wanted to go to Key West. Being that Ernest Hemingway is one of my heroes (for his writing, not for trying to follow the business end of a shotgun), seeing one of his favorite places has always been high on my list. Besides, Cuba is only 90 miles away, and I've always had a fascination for countries with repressive regimes (like Texas).
I should have listened to Susan. She had been there before, and had tried to warn me. Of course, some things I suppose I just have to find out on my own.
I would imagine that at one time, Key West was a quaint, pleasant, and timeless place where life meandered quietly along on Island Time. That was then. This is now. What I found was everything I hate about in a destination- it's touristy to the nth degree, extremely overcrowded, and it was virtually impossible to find a place to park. To make matters worse, it's not even that attractive.
I ended up driving around for awhile, tooling up and down Duval St. a couple of times, and then finally giving up and turning around. The one store I did want to stop at had no parking available anywhere. I never did have the opportunity to really see anything. To say that I was disappointed would be something of an understatement.
Of course, I did see one thing that one normally wouldn't in this country- a rooster wandering down the middle of Truman St., looking mightily offended when I came along and tried to usurp his right of way.
Still, while Key West was a huge disappointment, the drive through the Florida Keys on US 1 most definitely was not. I could easily see myself living on some out of the way key and checking out from the rest of the world. (Of course, how to support myself would be a minor annoyance....) The weather's nice, the water is beautiful, and most of the people there really DO seem to live on Island Time...except for the larger tourist traps like Key Largo, Islamorada, and Marathon.
It's about a 3 1/2- 4 hour drive from Miami to Key West. The difference depends on who you get stuck behind, since most of US 1 once it leaves the mainland is two lanes without much of a shoulder. If you enjoy living dangerously, you might find yourself in a situation like I did north of Marathon. The weather switched from sunshine to a driving, blinding rainstorm in just a few short seconds. So there I was, on a two-lane bridge over open water, doing perhaps 10- 15 miles per hour. Since there was traffic in front of and behind me, I couldn't very well pull off the road- never mind the fact that there was no shoulder to pull on to. Let me tell you, there is nothing quite like being caught in a situation like that to make you feel like shark bait. It didn't take much to focus my attention.
So, I've been to Key West, and I can scratch that off my list. That just leaves the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids of Giza, and Montreal during hockey season. Well, the list IS actually quite a bit longer than that; those are just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.
