The photo leading off the post was taken on the last night of the 2018 trip. I shot this from the Atlantic Ocean overlook at the Sunset Grille and Raw Bar on the southern end of Marathon, just before the Seven-Mile Bridge.
Initially, I thought that sunset was going to be disappointing because a large clusters of clouds hugging the horizon denied us the chance to see the sun at the critical final moments of the day. But I got the above photo, which is probably my favorite from the 2018 trip.
Marathon is a city in the middle of the Florida Keys, equidistant from Key Largo to the north and Key West to the south. It actually stretches over several keys, including Vaca (the main one), Boot, Grassy, Fat Deer and Knight’s Way.
Above and below: Throughout our stays at the Hammocks, it was very common to see iguanas or other lizards stroll the grounds and even the pool area. The critters in the above photo had just been inside the hot tub and were walking toward the pool nearby. They stayed at a distance from guests.
Yes, there is pretty normal commerce in the Keys, including the Kmart shown above in 2017. The store’s exterior featured a huge local-culture mural painted on the expanse of the facade. Below, a shot of a fish in the lower right portion of the mural, close to the entrance. The Kmart was not a superstore (i.e., no full grocery). But in the near vicinity on the Overseas Highway across from Crane Point Museums and Nature Center — less than a block apart from each other — are full-size Winn-Dixie and Publix grocery stores. In the same commercial block are a Walgreens, Wendy’s and McDonald’s, as well as a bank, a Sandal Factory and a liquor store. Our trips to Marathon occurred in winters of 2017 and 2018, and today, most K Marts have shuttered. In the continental U.S., the only K Mart remaining is in Miami.
The above photo and the seven immediately below were taken at dusk and/or after sunset (which again was blocked by heavy clouds) the last night we were in Marathon. All were taken from some point between the tiki bar and shoreline of the resort. Palm Island, shown in the first image below, is a small area about 150 yards off the shore from the Hammocks. I never got around to exploring it although it appears to be a private island.
Above and below: Shots from the sunset we watched from the bar overlook at the Sunset Grille and Raw Bar on Jan. 24, 2017. Sunset Grille is at the southern tip of Marathon. As you can see in the image below, the sun dipped behind a think layer of clouds hugging the horizon, preventing us from seeing it actually disappear.
Above: A nest on a large utility pole outside the Key Fisheries eatery and market on 35th Street in Marathon, where we had lunch on one of our first days in the Keys.
Above and below: A couple shots from our second visit to Sunset Grille and Raw Bar, on Jan. 26, 2017, when clouds again hampered our view of the sunset. The shot below was taken after sunset. The other photos were taken during or after a sunset in February 2018, leading to some shots of the Seven-Mile Bridge.
One of the fascinating spectacles we came across during the trip was the Seven-Mile Bridge, once referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The bridge carries traffic across a long distance (which actually seemed more like six miles to me) over nothing but reef from Marathon to Little Duck Key.
Below are a few more photos of the Seven-Mile Bridge. The first, I shot from a very elevated position in Bahia Honda State Park, named for the Key on which it is located, putting that section of highway at its southern end. The middle photo was taken from the docks adjacent to Lazy Days South restaurant at the southern tip of Marathon Key. It gives you an idea of the iconic arched span that appears at the northern point of the Seven-Mile Bridge. The third photo, a high-dynamic range (HDR) composition taken near sunset, has the arched span in the background and was taken from the edge of the Sunset Grill and Raw Bar. The Sunset eatery was right at the start point of the bridge.
Initially, I thought that sunset was going to be disappointing because a large clusters of clouds hugging the horizon denied us the chance to see the sun at the critical final moments of the day. But I got the above photo, which is probably my favorite from the 2018 trip.
Marathon is a city in the middle of the Florida Keys, equidistant from Key Largo to the north and Key West to the south. It actually stretches over several keys, including Vaca (the main one), Boot, Grassy, Fat Deer and Knight’s Way.
Marathon is home of Sombrero Beach on Vaca Key, which will be featured in the next post. If you notice the vast majority of photos for this post were taken near water, that’s because the ocean and Gulf were key attractions (excuse pun) in the middle of the Florida Keys.
As always, to view a larger, sharper version of a photo, simply click on the image. To see more of my photography on Marathon, I’ve devoted a full folder of images taken in Marathon during the separate trips there. To view them, follow the link in the previous sentence.
The Hammocks’ pool and tiki bar (above) from the door of the hotel’s backside looking toward the Gulf, which is on the other side of the tiki bar. Below is the hot tub adjacent to the pool, looking toward the back of the resort.
Above: Integrating a palm tree into a composition showing the pier that was part of a boat rental business next door to the Hammocks. In 2018, the boat rental was run by the same people who manage the hotel’s tiki bar.
As always, to view a larger, sharper version of a photo, simply click on the image. To see more of my photography on Marathon, I’ve devoted a full folder of images taken in Marathon during the separate trips there. To view them, follow the link in the previous sentence.
Above: The front (entrance) to the Hammocks resort.
Some of the landscaping (above) on the hotel grounds and a look out at the Gulf (below) from a seat in the tiki bar.
Above: Performer Dan Sullivan at the tiki bar on one of the first nights we spent in Marathon.
Above and below are the modest-sized lighthouse within view of our room and the tiki bar at the Hammocks. The one above shows the interesting colors on the structure after sunset, a phenomenon that lasted only a few moments. The shot below, a pull back from the tighter frame above, shows the lighthouse in relation to Palm Island to the left.
One of the fascinating spectacles we came across during the trip was the Seven-Mile Bridge, once referred to as the Eighth Wonder of the World. The bridge carries traffic across a long distance (which actually seemed more like six miles to me) over nothing but reef from Marathon to Little Duck Key.
Through some of the trip, as illustrated in the photo above, you can see (to the left in the distance) the abandoned infrastructure of the former Overseas Railway, which from the early 1900s to 1935 was used to transport visitors through the length of the Keys.
The railroad was shut down after sustaining serious damage in a Labor Day 1935 hurricane, and much of the railroad infrastructure was used to craft the new highway for automobiles. New sections were added and/or existing sections were widened as needed in the 1970s and 1980s, and eventually the unusable portions of the original infrastructure were permanently closed to vehicle traffic (though it’s still used by pedestrians, bicyclists, joggers and fishermen). That included an extension that ran to 50-acre Pigeon Key just south of Marathon. Today, motor vehicles have no access to Pigeon Key. I’ll have more photos of railroad infrastructure in a future post.
The railroad was shut down after sustaining serious damage in a Labor Day 1935 hurricane, and much of the railroad infrastructure was used to craft the new highway for automobiles. New sections were added and/or existing sections were widened as needed in the 1970s and 1980s, and eventually the unusable portions of the original infrastructure were permanently closed to vehicle traffic (though it’s still used by pedestrians, bicyclists, joggers and fishermen). That included an extension that ran to 50-acre Pigeon Key just south of Marathon. Today, motor vehicles have no access to Pigeon Key. I’ll have more photos of railroad infrastructure in a future post.
Below are a few more photos of the Seven-Mile Bridge. The first, I shot from a very elevated position in Bahia Honda State Park, named for the Key on which it is located, putting that section of highway at its southern end. The middle photo was taken from the docks adjacent to Lazy Days South restaurant at the southern tip of Marathon Key. It gives you an idea of the iconic arched span that appears at the northern point of the Seven-Mile Bridge. The third photo, a high-dynamic range (HDR) composition taken near sunset, has the arched span in the background and was taken from the edge of the Sunset Grill and Raw Bar. The Sunset eatery was right at the start point of the bridge.
Coming up next: Sombrero Beach, Marathon
Previously in FLORIDA:
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