The Sunshine State Florida has definitely changed quite a bit in thirty-plus years, as I can remember miles of swamps and orange groves between the different towns in which we stayed. Now it's a cacophony of theme parks, shopping malls and gated housing developments. Long gone are those roadside places we begged our parents to stop for a bite to eat; Stuckey's Lums, der Weinerschnitzel and Dapper Dan's Ice Cream. Even Ron Jon's, a Cocoa Beach landmark, has gone from a mecca for surfing enthusiasts to a virtual LL Bean for the vacationing beach crowd. And count me in among those lined up to purchase $40 beach towels emblazoned with their logo.
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In 1996, I drove from Miami down (and back) over the Overseas Highway to Key West with my friends Russ Fleischman and Jim Bender. Key West is an exquisite destination, but you have to do "the drive" at least once. The view is surreal, not just going over all those bridges, but observing the original structures (from the railroad and original highway) alongside the current route. The "Seven Mile Bridge" (precisely 6.7) historically gets the most attention, but my favorite is the original Bahai Honda Bridge.
When the route was converted to handle automobile traffic, engineers simply widened the base of all the railroad bridges to accommodate vehicular traffic (pictured at right). But when it came to the Bahai Honda structure, there was a major problem. Since the Bahai Honda Canal is significantly deeper than the other aquatic crossings along the route, a camelback trestle railroad bridge had been built over the canal. It was obvious the space inside the trestle was too narrow for two lanes of automobile traffic, so the road surface was built over the top of the structure - some 60 feet up in the air! And "camelback" implies just that; humps along the top gave the final road the resemblance of a roller coaster. Alas, I'll never experience that ride as two huge segments of the bridge were removed from each side, probably to keep someone like me from even "thinking" about it. Bahai Honda State Park does allow you to walk up one side and from there you can image what a wheel-gripping experience that must have been. History of the Overseas Highway, click here Bahai Honda State Park is one of the prettiest beaches in the US
If you're in central Florida, a must stop is the Silver Moon Drive-In Theater in Lakeland. Tanya, myself, and the kids saw "Snow Dogs" and had a blast. Adults $3, kids under 12 free and a free refill on the popcorn! Bring a map if you're visiting from the east. Directions to and from I-4 are very confusing. back
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