The Florida Keys: The Southernmost Point in Key West

Jeff Klinkenberg A rooster crows in the distance. A palm tree sways. A tourist hands me his camera in front of a concrete marker on the corner of Whitehead and South Streets. For the record, I am taking the photograph at 24 degrees 33 minutes north latitude and 81 degrees 45 minutes – it’s…

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The Florida Keys: The Perky Bat Tower on Lower Sugarloaf

Jeff Klinkenberg Dreamers and schemers have always been drawn to the Florida Keys. My favorite dreamer was a hustler named Richter Clyde Perky. In 1929, he envisioned the Florida Keys as a paradise that would draw thousands of visitors eager to part with their money to stay at a resort he was…

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The Florida Keys: Hemingway House & Museum in Key West

Jeff Klinkenberg Writers have always loved the Keys, none more famous than Ernest Hemingway, who bought a beautiful Spanish colonial home at 907 Whitehead Street in 1931 and stayed eight years. It’s a major tourist destination. I always go. I like to walk around the tropical gardens and imagine…

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The Florida Keys: John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, Key Largo

Jeff Klinkenberg I slip on my fins, adjust my mask, fiddle with my snorkel and drop into the wilderness known as the Atlantic Ocean. When the bubbles clear I’m face to face with a fish as long as my arm. A barracuda. Some people consider the barracuda the tiger of the sea and instinctively shiver…

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The Florida Keys: Feeding the Tarpon at Robbie's in Islamorada

Jeff Klinkenberg Kneel on the dock. Hold the minnow just over the surface of the water. Keep your eyes open. Something silver and gray emerges from the depths under you. Gad, it’s six feet long. Gad, its silver-dollar sized eyes are focused on that minnow grasped by your puny hand. If you want…

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On, In and Under the Water in the Florida Keys

The rest of Florida makes you choose between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. This is not the case in the Florida Keys. Here, along this 110-mile chain of sea and islands stretching south from Key Largo to Key West, it’s all about the water – being on it, in it or under it. And you’ll…

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The Florida Keys: Seven Mile Bridge

Jeff Klinkenberg No need to be scared. Go ahead and drive over the Seven Mile Bridge. It’s modern now. Finished in 1982, the longest bridge in the Florida Keys is wide enough to give a motorist room to pull over to change a flat tire and steal many glances at the perfectly green water. The…

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The Florida Keys: Dry Tortugas National Park

By Lauren Tjaden A National Park and a national treasure, Dry Tortugas promises a remote tropical paradise, a symphony of private beaches, crystalline waters and turquoise fish. Dominated by Fort Jefferson, the largest brick building in the western hemisphere, the park invites you ditch your…

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Motorcycling Through the Florida Keys

From mangrove-lined roadways to “bikers welcome” inns, read where to ride and park your wheels on a tour of the Florida Keys, and find out why it's such a popular spot for motorcycle rides in Florida. By Amy S. Eckert Anybody who's experienced a Florida Keys road trip from the seat of a motorcycle…

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The Florida Keys: A Tasty Slice of Florida History in Key West

By Jeff Klinkenberg We take our Key lime pie seriously in Florida. Try to pass off a pie made with a Persian lime and we will call you out. Key limes are as small as golf balls. They’re greenish-yellow and mouth-puckering tart. You can’t have a Key lime pie without them. Now for the bad news. The…

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