Military Officer - April 2007 - (Page 58) ral shoreline drops off into the water, creating an unusual island environment with waters that range from deep sea green in Florida Bay to the rich royal blue of the Atlantic. Since traveling these old twolanes is all about nostalgia, I make sure to check in at Kona Kai Resort and Gallery in Key Largo, a former 1940s motor lodge renovated by New York natives and former NBC executives Joe and Veronica Harris. Today this remodeled motel is anything but kitschy, with luxury suites and lounge chairs and hammocks on a manmade, hand-combed beach. Before heading down the Keys, I sign up for an eco-tour of the Everglades in hopes of seeing some of Florida Bay’s manatees and dolphins. Many local outfitters also offer snorkeling trips to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the only living coral reef in the U.S. It runs the entire length of the Keys and hosts a wide array of undersea life forms, like brain coral, purple sea fans, nurse sharks, the infamous barracuda, angel fish, and blue parrot fish. As lovely as the Keys are, however, they remain a place ruled by Mother Nature; a roadside monument at milepost 81.5 on Upper Matecumbe Key commemorates the Sept. 2, 1935, hurricane that swept across the Keys, killing more than 800 people, many World War I veterans building a railroad to link the Keys to the mainland. The Middle Keys below Key Largo are known for endless expanses of bridges like the Seven-Mile Bridge, mileposts 40 to 47. Completed in 1911 under the direction of railroad tycoon Henry Flagler, this bridge has withstood hurricane-force winds for almost a century. Several sites along Route 1 offer tourists the opportunity to interact with the creatures of the deep, and one of the best is on Grassy Key, just a few miles north of the Seven-Mile Bridge. Here at the Dolphin Re58 MILITARY OFFICER APRIL 2007 search Center, for a hefty fee, visitors can swim with dolphins in the warm waters of the Gulf. Key West, of course, remains the biggest draw along Route 1. The city is famous for its nightlife. The center of activity is Duval Street, which runs the length of the island, replete with wild bars like Sloppy Joe’s, drag queen joints, dirty T-shirt shops, upscale boutiques, gingerbread-trimmed pastel B and Bs, and trendy restaurants. Key West always seems to be having a party; each evening the city hosts the Sunset Celebration in Mallory Square, where locals and tourists alike can gather to watch another of the island’s incredible Raft West Virginia’s New River. sunsets while listening to street musicians play reggae and blues. But even for those who aren’t into bar hopping and people watching, Key West has a lot to offer. It’s been home to a number of famous residents, among them author Ernest Hemingway. Another of Key West’s famous, temporary residents was President Truman, who spent the winter of 1946 in the first officer’s quarters on the island naval station. Known as the Little White House, the house also hosted President Eisenhower and later President Kennedy during the Bay of Pigs incident — a keen reminder of Key West’s proximity to Cuba. If you truly want to get away from the city for awhile, consider taking a trip to the island of Dry Tortugas, home of Fort Jefferson, 70 miles west of Key West. Visitors can reach the island only by seaplane or highspeed catamaran. Fort Jefferson, with walls 50 feet high and 8 feet thick, never saw any military action and is best known as home to Union deserters during the Civil War and later to Dr. Samuel Mudd, convicted of conspiracy in the assassination of President Lincoln. Today, visitors can spend an afternoon exploring Dolphins joyfully jump at Hawks Cay, in the Florida Keys. PHOTOS: CARL & ANN PURCELL/CORBIS; TOP, KIT KITTLE/CORBIS
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