| From one end of this fascinating island chain to the other, Key Largo to Key West, Florida steps up with more for boaters, water-lovers, fun-lovers, nature-lovers and those in quest of peace than any place that comes immediately to mind.
Here's the balance you're looking for when you are out of pocket for a couple days, a week, or more. It can be charming or bizarre; relaxing or stimulating; quaint, stately or honky-tonk. You pick.
As they like to say down here at our nation's southernmost vacation destination, "it's not just the character of the place; it's the characters in the place" that have set the Florida Keys apart from the mundane.
This was once a pirate paradise and a destination for Spanish galleons. It served as a hiding place for criminals and refugees from Cuba, which is only 90 miles away. It isn't difficult to imagine someone finding refuge in the thick subtropic overgrowth, sitting in the shade of a palm tree sipping refreshments and listening to the waves lap against the sand.
The Keys were Hemingway's hangout. He wrote "For Whom the Bell Tolls" while staying at Key West. Robert Frost, Zane Grey and Tennessee Williams also came for sun and solitude. It may not surprise you, then, that large numbers of wanna-be literary and artistic legends may still be found at various cafes trying to soak up the stuff that made the others famous.
Is that what makes this place special? Depends on whom you talk to.
But those of us who love the water might say it's the diving, the deep-sea fishing, the variation between gulf and ocean that make a trip here worthwhile.
Ken Reda, who is sales manager for Allied Marine's Key Largo location and a resident of the Keys says there is a large contingent of Tiara owners who find this area "boating friendly."
"You know, Key Largo is noted as the diving capital of the U.S. and it is every bit as famous for fishing," says Reda. "Nice thing about this place is the variety. You can make a run to Miami from here, jump off to the Bahamas-you can be in Bimini in about two-and-a-half hours."
Allied Marine hosts Tiara owners-only dinners and many of the winter residents use the place to gather for social events. Allied is adjacent to Key Largo's exclusive Ocean Reef Club--a private club with a limited number of property owning and non-property owning members--on the northern tip of the island.
Reda says his location is about three or four miles from one of many tremendous reefs and the Gulf Stream is about six miles off shore.
Visitors to Key Largo may wish to visit the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, with 178 nautical miles of protected ocean waters. There's a boardwalk to take you to a mangrove area, and there are snorkel tours of various lengths to familiarize you with the phenomenal underwater variety show. Sunken wrecks that date back as far as the 17th century are also nearby. For a look, check out the Maritime Museum of the Florida Keys. Or, maybe you've always wanted to take a dip with the dolphins. Don't miss Dolphins Plus at Key Largo.
Of course there's plenty more to see and do here--even a bit of movie nostalgia visiting the locations where the classic films "African Queen," "PT 109" and "Flipper" were shot.
Floating casinos, fabulous nightlife, restaurants and shopping, not to mention the unique architecture that sometimes resembles a quaint New England village--you'll find it all in the Keys.
You'll also find the world's most lucrative game fishing for marlin and tuna in the Atlantic and in the backcountry for tarpon and bonefish.
In The Lower Keys you may want to go off on your own and explore the living reefs of the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary. These are also ideal places for kayaking and beachcombing.
If you like the offbeat, don't miss the Bat Tower at Sugarloaf Key, not far from Key West. It was the brainchild of R.C. Perky, owner of a fishing resort. He built the tower in 1929 to accommodate bats, and imported them expecting that they would live in his tower and consume huge quantities of mosquitoes, which he hated.
He released the bats; and the bats flew away.
You'll find yourself learning all kinds of quirky facts about the Keys because it is and has always been a quirky place--not the character, so much as the characters.
You can relax here and be entertained. You can discover the beauty of the reefs, the wildlife and the desolate beaches. You can shop, fish, snorkel, dive, sightsee or you may be captivated by the colorful local history.
The Florida Keys is one of the world's most popular vacation destinations.
Be a character here yourself and you will quickly discover why.
CONTACTS:
Ocean Reef Club
www.oceanreef.com
ORC dock master: 305-367-2611
Key Largo Chamber of Commerce
www.keylargo.org
Monroe County Tourist Development Council
www.fla-keys.com
Dolphins Plus Key Largo
305-451-1993
The Allied Richard Bertram Marine
Allied Richard Bertram Marine Group features several locations in the South Florida Area to assist you.
www.alliedmarine.com
Location contact information:
Key Largo - Ocean Reef Club
2 Fishing Village Drive Key Largo, FL 33037
305-367-2661 Phone | 305-367-2128 Fax
Stuart Show Docks
110 North Dixie Highway Stuart, FL 34994
772-692-1122 Phone | 772-692-1341 Fax
Ft. Lauderdale Showroom
1445 SE 16th Street Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33316
954-462-5527 Phone | 954-462-5563 Fax
Miami International Marina
3660 NW 21st Street Miami, FL 33142
305-633-9761 Phone | 305-634-9071 Fax
Monty's Marina in Coconut Grove
2550 South Bayshore Drive Coconut Grove, FL 33133
305-854-1100 Phone | 305-854-1186 Fax
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