Rain Barrel Village

Rain Barrel Village is an open-air arts-and-shops complex on the bayside of the Overseas Highway at Mile Marker 86.7. Betsy, a 30-by-40-foot fiberglass Florida spiny lobster, stands beside the entrance. Behind the roadside frontage are shaded garden paths, galleries, and small shops. It makes an easy photo and leg-stretch; I'd stay longer if handmade art or a casual bite sounds good.

Give it about half an hour for Betsy, a short garden walk, and a look around. Allow longer if you want to browse or eat. The village extends farther back than it first looks from the highway, but you don't need to explore every shop to enjoy the stop.

Betsy stands in the parking area. Step back enough to fit her long antennae and legs in the frame; having someone stand beside her gives a sense of her 40-foot length. Keep an eye out for cars while you're lining up the shot.

Sculptor Richard Blaze began building Betsy in Marathon in 1980, and the fiberglass sculpture took five years to complete. She models a Florida spiny lobster, a clawless lobster locals call a “bug.” After earlier displays elsewhere and a period in storage, Betsy moved to Rain Barrel Village in 2009.

The village represents more than 500 artists, with small studios and shops for art, crafts, jewelry, home goods, and resort wear. A glass-blowing studio is another standout when it is working. Lobster Shack serves casual food such as conch fritters, sandwiches, and a Maine lobster roll; Boba Manatea Café adds bubble tea, smoothies, and Asian-style snacks. These make the stop easy to stretch into a break, though visitors' reactions to shopping and food value vary.

A 5,000-gallon cypress cistern from the property's former Cypress Barn remains in the garden and partly inspired the name. It is a bit of old Keys character alongside the colorful shops and giant lobster.