South of the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the people of Rock Harbor recognized a good thing when they saw one and changed the name of their community to
KEY LARGO
after the success of the 1948 film in which Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall grappled with Florida's best-known features - crime and hurricanes. The movie's title suggested somewhere exotic, but the film, though set here, was almost entirely shot in Hollywood. Nonetheless, Key Largo, and its neighbor
TAVERNIER
, ten miles further on, make nice enough stops on the Upper Keys. You can almost feel urban stresses and strains slip away as you take in the turquoise sea and waving palms.
The
Florida Keys visitor center
, MM106 (daily 9am-6pm; tel 305/451-9949 or 1-800/822-1088,
), has information on local accommodation, diving and attractions. Most
motels
offer diving packages: try
Ed & Ellen's Efficiencies
, 103365 Overseas Hwy (tel 305/451-4712; $50-75), which has a two-night minimum; the beach cottages at the
Sea Farer Hotel
, MM97.8 (tel 305/852-5349; $50-75); or the
Kona Kai Resort
, MM97.8 (tel 305/852-7200; $100-130), with huge chalets and its own hotel art gallery. For fresh
seafood
, try
Ballyhoo's
, MM97.8 opposite the Sea Farer (tel 305/852-0822), the
Fish House
, MM102.4 (tel 305/451-4665), and the tiny
Crack'd Conch
, MM105 (tel 305/451-0732).