The previous day's early stop meant I wrote most of the trip report that night, so I was able to get underway quicker--good thing, since I needed to do more miles than planned. At that, I passed my putative stopping point before 0930, so I was even earlier than my new normal.
Much as I hate the interstates, they are certainly quicker than the byways I usually travel, and eventually 70 mph seemed normal. And I knew from previous experience in South Florida that I wanted to get on the turnpike (toll road), although I wasn't quite sure how and where to do it. It starts north of Palm Beach, but I waited until I needed fuel to actually make the transition.
It still wasn't obvious after I'd finished refueling...there was (what looked like) some kind of transportation infrastructure guy just finishing gassing up, so I asked him--he was momentarily flustered, but eventually figured out that I needed to get back on I-95, take it down to the next (Hollywood) exit, and go west until I saw the signs. (I could have just gone west from where I was, and I bet I would have seen signs once I got in the general vicinity.) And when I asked about paying, he said there were no manned booths, best was to use a "Sunshine Pass."
I'd seen ads for such, but didn't figure it made sense for just passing through. And there had been dire warnings on I-95 (where it had been possible to transition to the Turnpike) about doing so without a pass, including a horrendous fine. The guy said "yeah, but you can get on from surface streets, and they bill your license plate" (somewhat more than they charge pass holders). And I suppose that's true--I'm pretty sure I passed three 'toll stations' where I was photographed (the 'pass' toll was $1.06, 'plate' toll $1.32).
Eventually, that dumped me on to US1 in Florida City, and the start of the hell ride down the keys. Didn't start out too badly, to be honest--although there was a fair amount of traffic, it moved right along at the speed limit, and sometimes a bit more. And there were no massive construction projects bottlenecking it anywhere. There was one point where some slowpoke couldn't manage to do more than 47 (in a 55), and you could see the rest of the line moving away from him. But the few cars between him and me peeled off for local attractions, and almost immediately a gap appeared in oncoming traffic, so I zoomed past--he was going so slow that I didn't even break the speed limit.
After that it was smooth sailing until about 20 miles from Key West; at that point it seemed all the traffic was headed there, and it was slow-and-go the rest of the way. The few times the limit went from 45 to 55, the queue would get up to maybe 47 before slowing down to under 35. With occasional pauses--although I never really stopped, except at a couple of lights.
I had waypoints set for the gas station, post office, and the motel, but a Shell station loomed just before a red light, so I pulled in there, filled up and got my 'computerized receipt.' Then on to the post office, dodging scooters, bicycles and sunburned tourists. I hung a u-turn and parked semi-legally in front of the sign, got out my towel and strung it across the bike, and crossed the street to take a couple of pictures, hoping one would turn out good enough for the proof of visit.
And if not, I had time enough to get another, either there or at another landmark.
Then over to the Best Western Hibiscus (where Boyd & I stayed in 2010, and the cheapest Trip Advisor found this time), checked in and schlepped my stuff into the blessedly air-conditioned room.
A check of the picture showed it to be suitable--not great, but I'm not going out again in this weather. And a dearth of grocery stores had me hitting Subway for a sandwich, and the next door CVS for chips and cookies; I'm set.
Motel: $171.12
Groceries-ish: $14.51
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