The old 7-mile bridge

Historic Pidgeon Key

Pidgeon Key--we're going to snorkel here

Sugarloaf Key: Put the bikes on the truck and headed up to Marathon Key. Stopped at the Stuffed Pig on Marathon for breakfast. I had a tomato and spinach benedict and Mike had steak and eggs. Really good. Drove over to a little shopping center on Highway 1 and got the bikes off and biked down a bike path through a residential area to Sombrero Beach. A really nice beach and park. Saw some dolphins. Started getting cloudy and really windy. Wanted to bike the old 7-mile bridge over to Pidgeon Key, but not sure with the wind. Figured we’d at least start and if it was too windy we could turn around. Started out and it was really nice. The sky had cleared by then and the water was beautiful. The last time we biked here we saw lots of rays and other fish, but nothing today. Pidgeon Key was used to house the workers on the overseas railway (circa 1910) and then later when they were building the overseas highway. The whole key is now a museum. Most of the buildings are still there. When they built the highway, they built it on the old rail bed. And on the bridges they removed the old rails and used them as guardrails. The old road is really narrow and is hard to imagine two cars being able to fit. Almost all the old bridges are still there and being used for walking, biking and fishing. On the bike over it was great—wind was at our back. Coming back was a different story. Had to REALLY work. We’re going to take our wet suits and snorkels and snorkel out there next time. Had an early dinner at Porky’s and then back home. Staying in tonight.