The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-03-04
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Florida take the time or the trou-
BILE to see Key West, and what a
big mistake they make!
A few years ago when we were
Gin the South for the winter we
heard a great deal about the re-
Mobilization of this small island
just recovering from a hurricane
that wiped out the railroad sys-
tenn. On our return trip this
year we heard about the Over
seas Highway to Key West and
about the wonderful fishing, both
here and at Fort Jefferson, so our
curiosity was aroused and here
we are.
Just my husband and I, with
cut an acquaintance or a destina-
ton, but so interested in the re-
vival of forgotten city, as it had
been called, that we wanted to
see it for ourselves. My husband
had been here twenty-five years
ago, having made the trip by rail,
and he was anxious to make COM
parsons.
We left Miami on Monday aft
ernoon, armed with a little book
let put out by some civic organi-
zation in Key West, on the inside
: covers of which were ads of a
few hotels and restaurants. Be
yond that we did not know what
to expect in the way of accom-
modations.
Out To Sea
AS we left Homestead, just
south of Miami, we were thrilled
at driving over an excellent road
and seeing water on both sides,
dotted here and there with tiny
islands. The little guide book
enumerated many of them, told
the mileage between the Keys
and described some of them, and
as one of us drove the other read
the descriptions. We planned to
stop at shutdown, so as not to miss
anything by driving at night, and
as we paused at the toll station,
which everyone has to pass, the
officer told us that the next town
would be Marathon, where we
could find food and lodging. g.
The Overseas Cafe at Mara
thon looked inviting, so we stopped
for dinner and were agreeably
surprised at the quality and rea-
sonable price of the food. In fact,
we liked it so well that we ar
ranged to stay for the night, and
found the room assigned to us
very modern and comfortable.
We were particularly interested
in their water question and were
told that most of the Keys are
lacking in fresh water. In this
particular case, the drinking wa
ter is hauled from Homestead, a
distance of about 80 miles, in a
specially constructed tank car.
Water Piped In
Water for the showers and
bathrooms is piped from the
ocean. After dinner we inquired
about fishing and someone sug-
geSted that we could fish from
the seven-mile bridge, which we
were told was wonderful sight
by daylight. We started out
and bought bait at a fishing camp
where we were told just exactly
how to find a good place on the
bridge. We drove about two miles
when we came to Pigeon Key
where ramp took us off the
bridge down on to a tiny island,
. and there we parked our car and
walked on out toward the draw.
We baited our hooks and in no
time my husband had bite. We
thought he had an enormous fish,
as it was all he could do to bring
it in, but when we got the victim
to the top of the bridge we found
that he had hooked a huge sting
ray. Of course, we had to cut
him loose and try again.
The sky was glowing brightly
with stars and the lighthouses
and boats in the distance made
a beautiful sight. The plop-plop
of the water under the bridge
was so musical and the surround
ings so peaceful that we would
have been satisfied to just stand
there and listen. Occasionally a
car passed and we were surprised
at the absence of vibration. Our
next catch was good-sized red
snapper, so after that we decided
to 60 home, as the little inn might
close early. However, the lights
were all burning brightly when
we drove up, and the palm trees
and little cluster of buildings
made me think of an oasis in a
desert. When we displayed our
lone fish to the proprietor he
very graciously offered to cook it
for our breakfast.
Peaceful Sleep
That was the most peaceful
place in which / have ever slept,
and dropped off so quickly that