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Event Information:
The
Florida Keys always attract large
numbers of visitors on New Year's Eve
with the promise of warm weather and
clear skies providing the option to
see in the New Year on the beach,
and watch the midnight fireworks
outdoors without needing to worry
about wearing a coat! One of the
most spectacular displays, the
Islamorada fireworks are displayed
over the Atlantic Ocean and can be
seen from shore.
Elsewhere on The Keys, Southernmost
City on Key West celebrates New
Year's Eve with a conch shell drop
at Sloppy Joe's Bar, the famous and
controversial "wench" drop at
Schooner Wharf Bar, and red high
heel drop with drag queen Sushi at
Bourbon Street Pub/New Orleans
House. Key West's Sunset Celebration
at Mallory Square is an everyday
affair that combines the natural
beauty of Florida's sunsets with a
carnival-type celebration.
The
Florida Keys are a coral archipelago
in southeast United States. They
begin at the southeastern tip of the
Florida peninsula, about 15 miles
south of Miami, and extend in a
gentle arc south-southwest and then
westward to Key West, the
westernmost of the inhabited
islands, and on to the uninhabited
Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along
the Florida Straits, dividing the
Atlantic Ocean to the east from the
Gulf of Mexico to the west, and
defining one edge of Florida Bay.
The
main chain of Keys islands can be
traveled by motor vehicles on the
Overseas Highway, a 127-mile section
of U.S. 1, which runs from Key West
to Fort Kent, Maine in its entirety.
The highway was built parallel to
the original route of the Overseas
Railway, which was not rebuilt
following the Labor Day hurricane of
1935. Even before the hurricane,
road sections and highway bridges
allowed automobile traffic to travel
from Miami to Lower Matecumbe Key,
where a car ferry connected with
another roadway section through the
Lower Keys.
The
"hurricane bravado" is part of the
Keys' laid-back atmosphere, as is
the somewhat separatist "Conch
Republic" attitude. Life is
easygoing, with the major industries
being tourism and fishing.
Ecotourism is also part of this,
with many visitors scuba diving in
the area's protected waters. A new
ferry now takes riders between Key
West and Fort Myers, due north on
the mainland, along the western edge
of Florida Bay.
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