250 Miles for a Piece of Pie

After five tranquil days in the Everglades, we blasted on down to Key West along the Overseas Highway (Route 1). I have wanted to drive this road for years, after seeing wonderful photos of the highway passing over clear blue waters. Sadly, it was mostly terrible; just like Route 1 north of Boston, lined with tacky tourist shops and every fast-food franchise in the book. We had been told the private campgrounds in the keys are very bad and there are only a few state parks that are nice but booked a year in advance. As we passed, we saw many campgrounds that looked like parking lots with big RVs squashed in row after row. So we decided we would indeed just go to Key West and have lunch--at a place that was supposed to have the best key lime pie in America--and then drive back perhaps even returning to the Everglades.

We got to Key West and it was crowded and junky and mobbed with tourists but we found the restaurant. It was very nice, right on the water, and very pricey. We decided to have lunch there anyway--we deserved it after this long drive. Lunch was good and the key lime pie? Not terrible but not great either. We drove the van to the famous end of Route 1 marker and I jumped out of the van to take a photo of the Roadtrek at the very end of the road while backing up mid-afternoon traffic around the block. Then we turned and left; we'd seen enough and couldn't fight the traffic in a big van with bikes on the back.

Before we left on our trip, we bought a book called “500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late” by Jane and Michael Stern. They had written a book called Roadfood years ago that was supposed to be a great resource. At any rate, their recommendation for key lime pie at Louie's Back Porch wasn't so good. Undeterred, we tried their second place pie along the keys (I know, I know, two pieces of pie in one day, what a glutton). Pie number two was horrible and full of things you last saw in chemistry class, not the kitchen. So, Jane and Michael, you're on notice: one more miss and the book gets thrown out the window.

As we headed back along Route 1, we stopped at one state park campground that looked really nice. Got any sites? “Ha, ha, ha”, said the ranger, “you gotta be kidding”. So we continued and by now had been driving a long time. We stopped at one final state park on Long Key, it was nearly 6:00 p.m., when they close. Got any sites we asked the nice ranger? Well, matter of fact, someone left early so we have one that would fit a van or tent. Yippee! So, here we are: the van is backed up to the ocean, there's a tent about 30 feet to one side and more beach to other. Unfortunately, the other side of the campsite isn't very far from Route 1 and I know it's a roadway that never sleeps, but at least we will and it's only for one night.

Photos