GETTING THERE IS HALF THE FUN IN FLORIDA KEYS.(TRAVEL)

Byline: SKIP SHEFFIELD Knight-Ridder

Driving to The Keys can be half the fun. Oh sure, you could fly to Marathon or Key West (Key Largo's airport closed in the mid-1980s and was redeveloped for luxury homes), but you would miss so much of the uniquely Floridian stuff along the way.

If you're well-heeled and have plenty of time on your hands, you could go by boat, but nothing beats the ease of the new, improved U.S. 1.

Coming or going, you know you are not in suburbia anymore when you spot Alabama Jack's, located 11 miles east of U.S. 1 on Card Sound Road near Homestead, Fla. A ramshackle collection of barges, boats and wooden cabins, Alabama Jack's …