My trip to the Keys today.
 

WOW. Key Largo is 265 miles from my home in Sarasota, soon to be a lot longer from NW Montana...anyway, I took the scenic route down US41, the old Tamiami Trail, Alligator Alley coming back. Great drive !!!! Dang..zooming along at the posted speed limit 55 and having to pass someone...jeez.....I was doing 95 before I knew it...damn this thing is faster than I thought. The most amazing thing is this, I got 27.3 MPG for the 530 mile round trip. Had to go to Snappers for lunch, a dozen raw oysters, conch fritters and a few pints of Sunset Ale, brewed in the Keys. Gas was really off the wall. I paid $2.44 here in Sarasota and $2.21 in Key Largo....in Florida City 22 miles up the Overseas Highway, on the mainland it was $2.57, In Homestead it was $2.39. I have no idea what is going on here.

[QUOTE=fl_svx]WOW. Key Largo is 265 miles from my home in Sarasota, soon to be a lot longer from NW Montana...


Huh? You're leaving eternal sunshine for tundra? :eek:
'splain.

Ron.

[QUOTE=Ron Mummert]Well, that's an easy question to answer. I am a native Floridian and have travelled to all the 50 states and a few foreign countries. In 1998 I travelled to NW Montana and lived there for about 2 years. First off, what I don't like here. Too many people, the cost of living has gone through the roof, the state of Florida taxes you to death and of course the heat and humidity makes seasons like this not so much fun. People here are rude. There is no culture here to speak of, everything is imported. As for NW Montana, actually it is not too bad in the winter. You are west of the divide protecting you from really cold weather. It's has a dry heat and cold. The skies are clear, the water clean, there are mountains and of course Flathead lake, the largest fresh water lake west of the Mississippi. The people who live there are there because they want to be there, they are friendly and they do have a wonderful culture. The mix of the native American tribes and everyone else is different to say the the least. Gotta tell you, when you are sitting out in the evening and deer or a bear walk through your backyard, no bugs to run you off, you know this place is something special. It is so quiet you literally can hear your heart beat. I was surprised how mild the winters seem to be. I actually got used to 15 degree weather. There is not a lot of snow which helps the roads. I mean, you can stand on the south shore of the Flathead, look north towards Glacier national Park some 50 miles away and look beyond to the Canadian Rockies a hundred miles away....you think you had died and gone to heaven. Now if you asked my why I would move to Billings, well..I would not...but Polson or Kalispell or Missoula, yes...without a doubt. Besides, the people up there know how to drive. Besides, if it's good enough for Shaq and Howie Long..must be something there. The UPS guys don't even switch over to long pants unless the temp is below 30.