By Joe
There is a worldly wonder when you wander to a barrier location in your travels. An excitement of seeing a stopping point that requires a change in your mode of travel if you want to continue. It brings to mind what decisions those before you made and how they breached the barriers brought before them. It’s part of what draws people to these places over and over. Cindy and I ventured a trip to one such place this year, one we had thought about doing for several years, Key West. We have been to the northern most point in the contiguous states in Washington so it is only fitting that we do the opposite.
Fountainebleau Hotel
The Keys are the southernmost location of the United States. It’s where the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean come together to form the Straights of Florida. Although it’s one of the many hundreds of islands in this part of the world it’s the end of the line as far as driving a car. The drive to get here is over many of the islands which are joined together by Highway 1. But there is more to see past Key West and we aimed to see some of that too!
Miami Beach
Our trip started out with a nonstop flight to Miami. We wanted to stay a couple of days in Miami to explore the area and to enjoy some relaxing beach time on Miami Beach. We chose the iconic and trendy Fountainebleau Hotel which is at the north end of the South Beach area. It’s not as crowded as the heart of South Beach and it’s right on the beach. This hotel was frequented by the Rat Pack and you may recognize some scenes from one of the many movies that have been filmed there. The complex has grown up over the years and is a destination in itself: the beach, 11 pools, 6 restaurants, spa, night club, and lots of room so you never really feel crowded. Our room was huge and had a terrific view of the ocean. We enjoyed Michael Mina’s Pizza and Burger, and Hakkasan restaurants and both were so fun and tasty. We took in a Marlins baseball game and enjoyed the air conditioned dome stadium since the weather was rather hot and muggy. I’m a baseball fan that’s not enamored with inside baseball but this stadium was better than I expected. We also took time to drive about an hour to see Biscayne Bay National Park. While we enjoyed seeing this from land, 90% of this Park is in the water so you need to plan this trip to include exploring it at sea.
Dim Sum at Hakkasan
The second part of our trip involved the drive to Key West. This drive is about 170 miles which could be done in about 3 hours but we wanted to enjoy this scenic drive so we took two days with stops to see the Everglades and Marathon. The Everglades National Park is a short detour and is an easy drive. The park is the third largest of the National Parks. Once you get past the entrance station it is about 40 miles to the Flamingo visitor center. This area has a lot to offer in the way of water fun. There is a general store, marina, camping and fishing. On the main road into the park are several places to take short spurs off the main road to various scenic spots. We wished we had allowed more time to explore this awesome park.
Mrazek Pond in the Everglades
Next stop was Marathon, Florida, about 60 miles north of Key West. This beautiful fishing town was a surprise bit of fun and relaxation before we headed into Key West. We stayed at the best Courtyard Hotel I’ve ever seen. It was on the water, had a nifty infinity pool, and a great outside bar. The night we were there they had a fellow playing guitar and a fire dancer (which turned out to be not what we expected). Rather than a Hawaiian in a grass skirt twirling torches on fire this was a lady who was part belly dancer, part sword dancer, swinging blades that were on fire! The bartender was friendly and served up tasty bar food. The accommodations at this hotel were excellent and so was the service.
Marathon FL
Next morning we got up leisurely, ate a cooked to order breakfast at the hotel and headed out to Key West and the ultimate destination. The rest of the ride on Highway 1 was so pretty in the morning sun and worth the drive. Once we arrived in Key West, we stayed on Sunset Key which is a private island and a short 5 minute boat ride off the dock by Mallory Square. The island is 75% private homes and the other 25% were rental cottages. It had a great pool, tennis courts, basketball hoops, and a beach with beach chairs, thatched roof shade umbrellas and of course beachside service for drinks and food at your desire. This resort had many advantages over a typical hotel room. The cottages were very large and included a living room, full kitchen and deck or porch. There were one, two, and three bedroom floor plans. A breakfast basket of fresh goodies (fruit, muffins, croissants and fresh orange juice) was left on your porch each morning. An ice cream truck comes by every afternoon and the pool bar always has a nice treat for everyone. These were all included in the price of the rental. A rum tasting was done at 4:30 in the afternoon which included a key lime colada with a gram cracker coated rim on the glass. I picked up a fishing pole and bait from the friendly and gracious concierges and had a blast fishing off one of their docks. Caught several and sent them back for big brother. The resort has a first class restaurant with a view of the sunset that can’t be beat. Inside and outside seating is available. The lobster and crab cake was one of the best I’ve ever tasted and the lobster bisque was awesome.
Sunset Key Island Resort
On the mainland is a step into a relaxed and casual town of marinas, docks, charter fishing, bars and restaurants. Duval Street is the main hangout corridor which is great for walking and people watching. It has some interesting history from the days of a sleepy Caribbean styled town. We took the time to visit Truman’s little White House and Hemingway’s house. Both were worth the price of the tour and are highly recommended. More on each of these later in another blog post. It’s a very walkable city and there are many places to shop and eat. The highlight of each evening is gathering in Mallory Square to watch the street performers and the spectacular sunsets. Everyone claps as the sun disappears below the horizon. Happy hour starts early in Key West so everyone seems to be in a good mood most of the time. Perhaps it’s being in such a unique place where the laid back party is whatever you want it to be.
One of our favorite meals was at El Meson de Pepe. This was a Cuban restaurant with its roots in Cuba and is still family run. Traditional Cuban fare with awesome mojitos, margaritas, and one of the best cafe con leche you’ll ever taste.
El Meson de Pepe
Finally one of the most intriguing parts of our trip was a venture to the Dry Tortugas. We are fans of the National Parks and are trying to visit them as we come close to one each trip we make. Sometimes the park is the destination. I don’t believe we ever thought we would make this one as it is 67 miles off the coast of Key West and can only be reached by sea plane or boat. However, we researched the options and found that there is a daily ferry that will take you there and bring you back the same day. This adventure was perfect. The Yankee Freedom is a huge catamaran that can hold over 200 guests. It provides a very comfortable two and a half hour ride to the National Park, breakfast and lunch, nice restrooms (there are none at the park), snorkeling equipment, and a cash bar on the return trip. The ride back seems to become a bit of a party boat as everyone enjoys an early happy hour and talks about the day’s adventure. Also included in the trip is a tour of Fort Jefferson which was built in the mid 1800’s and is said to be the largest brick building in the Americas. The tour guide made the day as he was funny, loaded with facts and stories, and had a real love for the place.
Dry Tortugas National Park
The entire trip was one of our favorites. Happy Anniversary to my lovely bride of 45 wonderful years of life and travel. You’ve made it special for me everyday!