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Walter....
We love real
maple syrup (here in the South, most people use invert sugar / corn syrup
concoctions which simply don't cut the mustard for me.
Having said
that, however, you probably have enough baggage .... so don't weigh yourselves
down with anything extra like that.
Getting in at
8 am will make things a great deal better !
Take your
time seeing the sights as you drive down.
Lunch out on
the docks at the Islamorada Fish Company, part of World Wide Angler (a big Bass
Pro Shops) place on the Gulf (right side) in Islamorada might be a good thing to
consider. Following this, a tour of the tackle store there would be
fun. My daughters love the upstairs where lots of tropical ladies things
are to be found. Sometimes tarpon cruise under and near the docks where
one eats.
When you
leave Islamorada (which is on Upper Matacumbe Key) you go over a series of small
bridges 'til you get to Lower Matecumbe Key. As soon as you get onto the
Key, you will see a place called ROBBIE'S and the HUNGRY TARPON
restaurant. I've never eaten at that restaurant and therefore can't vouch
for it. At Robbie's, one can purchase a cup of dead sardines with which
the large tarpon which live just off the end of their dock can be fed and teased
up . FUN.
Look to your
left as you cross the new Bahia Honda bridge and you can't miss the old metal
high railroad bridge built by Henry Flagler for the railroad to Key West which
was completed in 1912. That railroad and several of the bridges at and
near Islamorada were destroyed in the Hurricane of 1935. After that,
they built a roadway over the very top of that Bahia Honda bridge. That
roadway was so narrow that it barely supported 2 way traffic. (Years ago,
Pris and I were trailing a 25' boat on this bridge when a Greyhound bus doing
about 80 mph took off my driver's side mirror ! )
There were no
guard rails, etc. on those bridges, so passengers on the old railroad saw
nothing but water and got the feeling that the train might well be traveling on
the water ..... because of that, it was called "The Railroad That Went To
Sea".
Lots of
interesting stuff !
See you
soon..............
Best,
Gordy
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