Florida Keys Enduring a Yankee Tourist Quiz

Answer: Small island

A "key" is a small island, from the Spanish "cayo". The Florida Keys are a chain of 1700 keys, extending some 160 miles (260km) southwest by car. They begin south of Miami and end at the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. Only 30 or so are populated. The pace is relaxed and the traffic heavy, so plan on four hours one way. Margaritaville is not a town, but a Key West state of mind:

"Nibbling on sponge cake, watching the sun bake, All of those tourists covered with oil, Strumming my six string, on my front porch swing, Smell those shrimp, they're beginning to boil. Wasting away again in Margaritaville..." -Jimmy Buffett

Answer: Balmy and sunny except during hurricanes

Weather in the Florida Keys is sun, sun and more sun, except for hurricanes! The Keys are sub-tropic, warmed by the Gulf Stream and the Gulf of Mexico. In February the average temperature is a consistently balmy high of 76, low 66 (24 and 19 Celsius). Coming from heaps of snow and biting winds, that's perfect weather for a Yankee to walk the beach, visit the Eco-Discovery Center or sit in a cafe sipping a Rum Runner.

In winter, the winds can be too high for snorkeling. Hurricanes are more frequent in the 21st century, but it was back in the 1919 Key West storm that 600-900 died.

The season is June to November, with a big storm on average every 4.5 years. However for "snow birds" visiting south in frigid months, hurricanes are just a speck in the distance.

Answer: Overseas highway

The Highway that Goes to Sea, called the Overseas Highway, stretches from Miami to Key West, Florida. Originally a railway line opened in 1912 by oilman Henry Flagler, bankruptcy followed by a severe 1935 hurricane washed out much of the rail, but the State of Florida rebuilt and modified the line for cars. By 1938 autos could travel 100 miles over 42 bridges from one end of the Keys to nearly the other.

In 2002, the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail was added, including the Grassy Key Bikeway. Travelers on the Overseas Highway can stop to shop, sight-see, and eat and drink.

They will also thrill to scenic sunrise and sunsets, natural wildlife and the beauty of the ever-changing sea.

Answer: Everglades

Everglades National Park, a World Heritage Site, opened in 1947. In 1.5 million acres of mangrove, cypress trees, and rare animals and birds, visitors can take a tram or boat tour, or canoe, kayak and hike, stopping at birdwatching spots. Watch for "Panther Crossing" signs. Lodging was shut down after the hurricanes of 2005, so tourists may need to leave the park and find a hotel before dark, when the ghost of Laura Upthegrove, the gangster Queen of the Everglades, may appear.

"...a golden ocean of sawgrass waving under sun-drenched skies...it harbors a beautifully sequenced progression of life" -Connie Troops "The Florida Everglades"

Answer: Swim with dolphins

The Florida Keys offer many unique opportunities. Swimming with dolphins is available at the Theater of the Sea on the island of Islamorada. But to get there, one first has to enter the Overseas Highway and drive across the most northern of the islands, Key Largo. Wayne and Emily can stopover there to enjoy a glass bottom boat tour at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. (The hint was "flip" for TV's dolphin show "Flipper". Named Mitzi, the primary Flipper died in 1972 and was buried on Grassy Key).

"We had it all, Just like Bogie and Bacall, Starring in our own late, late show, Sailing away to Key Largo..." -Singer Bertie Higgins 1981

Answer: Seven Mile Bridge

The Seven Mile Bridge was part of the historic Overseas Railway (1912). In 1982 a new bridge was built, so the Seven Mile Bridge was converted to pedestrians only. The bridge is on the Overseas Highway between Knight's Key and Little Duck Key. The bridge crosses over Pigeon's Key, a small historic island where huge flocks of white-crowned pigeons once roosted. Pigeon Key was also a location for parts of the 1995 TV series "Flipper", and offers historic museums.

There you are, between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, enjoying warm breeze, aquatic life, species of birds, and a test-run on the function of your kidneys.

There are sometimes no bathrooms available. Wayne and Emily should wear a hat, bring a camera, and enjoy this lovely experience.

Answer: Deer

On the Overseas Highway southern side "Lower Keys" the speed limit slows on No Name Key in order to protect the endangered Key Deer, the smallest North American deer. It exists only in the Florida Keys, swimming easily between islands. Despite establishing the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key, up to 70% of Key Deer deaths are caused by drivers on the Overseas Highway, while poaching, habitat loss and attack by feral dogs also contributes to their potential extinction. Wayne and Emily spot some diminutive specimens as they roll carefully across the No Name Key, approach Doctor's Arm, and drive across Big Pine Key. Speed limits in the Florida Keys are strictly enforced.

Answer: Coral reef

Just off shore coral reefs run the length of the Keys, but it's too windy this winter day to snorkel. Instead, there are historical museums about Native American tribes, the death of Ponce de Leon, rulers England and Spain, Cuban fishermen, US businessmen, and an 1823 "Anti-Pirate Squadron" formed by the US Navy. Keys economy is unique--mid 1800s "wrecking" of bounty off sunken trade ships made the Keys rich.

They also traded in salt, cigars, and ocean sponges. Prohibition years meant smuggling hard liquor. For fun, find a huge fiberglass lobster on Plantation Key, a giant tropical fish on Marathon Key, and, at Key West, a massive "Southernmost point" buoy. Standing next to it, a person is just 90 miles (145km) from Cuba. Be aware: public nudity is A-OK in some places.

Answer: Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden

The homeowner smiles kindly at Wayne and Emily, noting their "neck of woods" must be northern. The Keys are sub-tropical and low-lying, so the flora is adapted to heat and putting their roots in sand and water. Many are rare and endangered. The gorgeous Oysterwood tree is salvaged by woodworkers when a storm breaks it open.

When buffed this wood has an oyster-like sheen. The Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden is the only frost-free botanical in the continental US. The Garden also showcases rare birds and a Butterfly Habitat.

It is wheelchair accessible, and offers yoga and Tai Chi classes in the gardens.

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

Pulitzer Prize winner Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was born and reared a northern Yankee, and loved the north, but he also lived in Key West for 11 years. His home and gardens are a National Historic Landmark offering a 30-minute guided tour, and you may see one of the 50 or so six-toed cats cared for there, of his cat.

He wrote "To Have and Have Not", a novel about Key West set in the Great Depression. A few blocks from his place is a rooster cemetery. Fighting cocks and a few of Hemingway's cats are buried there, in front of the Blue Heaven (tavern, bordello, boxing site, ice cream parlor, pool hall) Restaurant on Thomas Street.

Hemingway took full advantage of the deep-sea fishing, street boxing, and drinking that were popular ways to pass time.