Trip 2.33, The Last

(I'm starting to write this as I sit in an uncomfortable seat in Miami's airport. It's 2:00 in the morning, and I'm simply trying to stay awake until my flight at 6:00. I might not finish here, though, as I am already very tired from today.)

But back to yesterday.

I knew I had at least eighty miles to cover on the last day, so I planned to get an earlier start. True to form, however, I didn't. Well, not much.

Of course it was hot. Even being closer to the water didn't help. In fact, I got a chance to wade a little the night before, and I couldn't believe how warm the water was. Like bath water. I've never been to a tropical locale, so this was new for me.

The lower keys were pretty devoid of the commercialism I'd grown used to on this trip. Not completely devoid, but enough to make me feel like I had gotten somewhere new.

The bridges are pretty cool. The shoulder is excellent, so I was able to keep my head up to look around.














At one point, on a bit of land, a passenger in a truck felt the need to yell and point, "Bike path!" Yes, there is a bike path-- a crappy one that starts and stops, curves, and is at times covered in sand. So I stuck to the vehicle road because I knew that the bike path bridge would be unreliable. Like this:


If I had taken the bike path over there, I would have had to ride back at least a mile to get to this bridge.


And again...



The last ten miles of any day seem endless, and these ten especially so. But finally...


Another couple of miles would get me to the "southernmost" point in the United States. Except it's actually not. Look on any decent map and you can see points further west that are also further south. But I couldn't skip this landmark. I would have gotten closer to snap a picture, but that would have taken another half hour. Long, long line. A guy standing in line asked about my trip, and then asked if I would get in the picture with his family. I agreed, and it gave me the chance I wanted to touch the marker.


I had been studying Google maps for the past few weeks and knew already precisely where I would end this adventure. It was a little tricky finding my way to the Fort Zachary Taylor Park, but I did.


And then to this beach and this spot...






And that was it. Two girls were sunning close by, and I asked them to snap some pictures. They were glad to. Between them and a guy swimming nearby, I could hear whisperings spreading down the beach. "He came from Maine, and this is the end."












There are no shots of me after I stripped down to my bike shorts and got in the ocean. I swam out a little, turned over on my back, and just floated.

It's impossible for me to wrap my mind back around all the miles I had to travel to get to this place, or to remember all the preparation and planning over the last year. So I don't even try. I just lie back, and stretch my legs, and listen to the warm water rumble in my ears.

Location:N Roosevelt Blvd,Key West,United States