Nathan's Insights

Tuesday 24 December 2024
Highlights: Experiencing the Florida Keys chain of bridges, Conch Train Tour of Key West, Erin arriving in Melbourne, Talking to my family at their Christmas lunch

Today I had organised a 15+ hour day trip down to Key West. I had been fascinated with this key of islands and bridge linking to Key West since watching the movie True Lies.

Pick-up for this tour was 6.45 am. The bus was half full when they got to me and we picked up another 20 passengers leaving roughly 85% of the bus full. We stopped at 8.15 am for breakfast but I just had a few biscuits not wanting to get too full during a major drive.

The islands in the Key West were first linked by train. The railroad was completed in 1912 and was called the 8th Wonder of the World. The train remained in operation until the Labor Day hurricane in 1935.

After it was destroyed the railroad bridges were converted in 1938 to roads. These bridges were replaced in the 1970s by the current birds. The old rail bridges still exist in some locations and have been converted to pedestrian walks. The 42 bridges span 128 miles.

Key West is the southernmost of the USA and is only 90 miles from Cuba. 

The town has several beautiful buildings. The Christmas decorations made the town even more charming.

I went on a Conch Train Tour for 90 minutes to learn about the town and its history.

Afterwards, I explored the town in more detail. One highlight was the Southern White House used by several Presidents over the years and some important diplomatic events as recent as 20 years ago.

I continued to check on Erin’s progress getting home and was glad to see that she arrived safely in Sydney with her bag. I then watched her move to the domestic terminal for her last flight to Melbourne.

We left Key West at 5.30 pm for the long drive back to Mami. During the drive, I watched some downloaded videos and continued to check Erin’s progress and was happy when she was back in Melbourne with her parents on Christmas Day.

I arrived back at my hotel room at 9.15 pm. Not long after Erin called from the family Christmas Lunch and I got to say hi to everyone and briefly discuss some of the adventures Erin and I had just completed. I hope these are something Erin recalls fondly in 40 years time.