Attitude is what Key West does best. Laid-back "island time" prevails here in the land of sunsets and sand, flipflops and shorts, margaritas and Key Lime pie. So when a February chill had me dragging out my winter coat--in Fort Lauderdale--I decided it was time for a road trip down U.S. 1 to Key West.

The part of Route 1 known as the Florida Keys Overseas Highway, from north of Key Largo to Key West, was recently crowned with the title All-American Road, the highest recognition possible under the National Scenic Byways program. Only 30 other roadways in the nation have earned the prestigious designation.

The Overseas Highway follows a trail originally blazed in 1912. Standard Oil millionaire Henry Flagler had completed the immense logistical task (more nightmare, really) of extending his Florida East Coast Railroad the 150 miles from Miami to Key West. Imagine Gibson Girls in their swan-bill corsets and pompadours boarding the train in New York and--a mere 30 hours later--stepping out at the southernmost point in the United States. What a boom for Florida.

Then, in 1935, catastrophe struck this paradise. A hurricane collapsed the rail line, and the economic conditions of the Depression left the destruction lying in disarray. The Keys were accessible only by water.

Government officials stepped in. A highway was needed, one that incorporated foundations of some of the original railway spans, plus 42 bridges over the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Completed in 1938, the new road