The Overseas Highway

U.S. Route 1, known as A1A through Florida's coastal stretches, becomes something else entirely once you leave the mainland south of Miami. Here, it transforms into the Overseas Highway—a 113-mile ribbon of asphalt and bridges connecting a chain of islands from Key Largo to Key West.

The highway crosses 42 bridges, including the famous Seven Mile Bridge, one of the longest in the world when it was built. On clear days, you can see nothing but ocean on both sides—the Atlantic to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the west—with just a thin strip of road connecting you to what came before and what lies ahead.

Key Largo: Mile Marker 106

Largo is the first key you reach heading south. Mile Marker 106. The name comes from the Spanish Cayo Largo—"Long Key"—and at 33 miles, it's the longest of the Florida Keys. It's where the journey begins.

For me, Largo represents a starting point. The place where the noise of the mainland fades and the road opens up. It's where you commit to the drive—there's only one way forward and one way back. No exits. No shortcuts. Just the keys stretching out ahead of you, one after another, until you reach the end.

The Keys

South of Largo, the keys unfold in sequence: Islamorada, Marathon, Big Pine Key, each with its own character. The landscape shifts from dense mangroves to open water to small beach towns where the pace of life slows to match the tides.

The drive takes about three and a half hours if you don't stop—but nobody drives the Overseas Highway without stopping. There are fishing piers to check, roadside stands selling key lime pie, and stretches where you just need to pull over and watch the water change color in the afternoon light.

Mile Marker 0

The highway ends in Key West at Mile Marker 0, the southernmost point in the continental United States. From here, it's 90 miles to Cuba, closer than Miami. The road doesn't continue. This is where it stops.

There's something clarifying about a road with a definite end. No ambiguity. No wondering if you've gone far enough. You drive until you can't drive anymore, and then you turn around.

Why It Matters

I named this site after Largo because that's where things begin for me. It's where I go when I need space to think—when the problems I'm working on need room to breathe. The best ideas don't come from staring at a screen. They come from putting distance between yourself and the noise.

These tutorials are written from that headspace. Sometimes literally from the keys, sometimes just from that mental state of having stepped away from the usual distractions. The A1A is a reminder that the best work happens when you give yourself permission to take the long way.