Miami & the Keys

We were thinking of heading straight down to Texas and across the border to Mexico. But if you get the chance, why turn down Miami and the Keys? On a sudden impulse, we decide to head East instead of West. Florida here we come!

Leaving New Orleans, we join the sea again and the roads along the shore. We love this view so much that we’ve decided to follow the coast all the way to Florida. But hurricane Michael has been there before us. Shortly before reaching Panama City, we’re forced to head North and leave the coast behind. The roads are still under repair. We see scenes of devastation as we head towards Tallahassee: houses with no roofs, whole forests bent to one side, if not totally uprooted. It is a real shock to us.

Heading down along the gulf coast of Florida, the heat hits us strong. We have already covered 13.000 km with our motorcycles on the road. Because of the heavy load and the partly hard riding conditions some repairs need to be done on Chaton and Titine. That leaves us with enough time to explore Miami.

Although we do discover some thrilling areas, we’re overall disappointed by our stay here. Of course, we stop along Miami Beach, even take a dip in the Atlantic, and gaze across the water to the many private yachts and mansions on the small islands between Miami and Miami Beach. But a lot of it just feels like show-off. Our best memory is our day spent exploring Wynwood District and its many buildings covered in street art.

A trip down to the Keys is mandatory when in Florida. Wouldn’t want to say that we were so close to it and didn’t do it. So, we head South, toward the Southernmost Point of the continental US: Key West. The road leads us from one island to the next, with an almost Caribbean feel to some of them. The turquoise water is shimmering on both sides of the bridges, some white sanded beaches poking out here and there.

Key West is love at first sight. Overall white houses line the streets, along with palm trees and colourful flowers. The sun dances in the windows of the small shops and the sound of crashing waves is never far. We watch the sun set into the ocean close to the Southernmost point monument, marking the closest point in the US from Cuba. Maybe, if we stare long enough, we might just blink and be in Cuba.

All Episodes:

Part 1: Finding the right bike
Part 2: Canada and Jasper National Park
Part 3: The Icefields Parkway 
Part 4: The Okanagan Valley
Part 5: Vancouver and the Sea-to-Sky Highway
Part 6: US 101, Washington and Oregon
Part 7: Idaho & Montana, the Lewis & Clark Highway to Denver
Part 8: Denver
Part 9: Kansas City
Part 10: Nashville & Memphis
Part 11: Halloween in New Orleans
Part 12: Miami & the Keys

Make sure to follow Joanne and her Dad on her route:

Instagram WheelsOnRoadHoles: @wheelsonroadholes/
Instagram Joanne:@jo_lmk/
Instagram: Christian, her dad:@worldwidebiker/
Website: https://wheelsonroadholes.com