The Florida Keys

Micah and I just got back from a trip to Florida. It was a graduation/anniversary trip of sorts. We haven’t gone on any “big” trips with just the two of us since having kids. Thankfully, we’ve gotten to do fun overnights here and there, but it’s so hard to leave for more than a day or two when kids are in the baby stage. As I anticipated Talitha turning one and being done nursing, I was eager to go on a longer trip and visit a new locale this summer. We booked tickets to Florida and got away for five days to celebrate me finishing my PhD and six years of marriage.

We paid a little extra money to fly into Key West. We wanted to explore the Keys, but we didn’t want to fly into Miami and drive all the way down the Keys and all the way back up. We decided that was too much time in the car. Instead, we took a red-eye from Phoenix (where we left our kids with grandma and grandpa), caught a connection to the Keys in Miami, and landed in Key West at 10am on a Tuesday morning. We rented our car from there and dropped it off in Fort Lauderdale five days later.

The Keys are a funny place. They totally run on “island time” where everything is done really slowly and inefficiently, but with a total aura of relaxation. When we walked into the airport upon arriving, a bartender greeted us two feet from the Tarmac with an offer of cocktails. We called to get the shuttle to our car rental place, but they didn’t answer the phone after repeated tries. The airport worker said that was totally normal and thankfully he spotted the shuttle we would need. A quick run down the sidewalk and we were in the correct van, but when we arrived at the rental place, we waited forever once again. There were two men working at the counter. Each one would check in a guest, run out, hand wash that guest’s car, and pull it up. And repeat. They were always running in and out, sweating in the hot sun, and never answering the phone, which explains why we couldn’t reach them from the airport. I made a mental note to enjoy island time and let my usual desire for efficiency fade from my mind. Also, the car guys surprised us with a convertible Mustang as our vehicle, so we forgave them for being inaccessible.

We drove around Key West with the top down. I picked up an iced vanilla cuban coffee from Cuban Coffee Queen. The coffee itself was delicious, but the barista put approximately three ice cubes in it, which melted in about five minutes under the hot sun. I chugged my coffee quickly so it wouldn’t get warm, and we drove past Ernest Hemingway’s house and did a quick tour of Fort Zachary before making our way to brunch. (Seriously, if you are a military family, the Key West base seems pretty pleasant.) We had crêpes at La Crêperie French Cafe. It was good, but I ordered a banana caramel crêpe that was too sweet. Micah got the strawberry and it was perfect. I also wanted to try Blue Heaven and Firefly, but a girl can only eat so much for brunch.

We headed up the Overseas Highway to the middle keys, where we would be staying for the duration of our trip. The Overseas Highway is exactly that – a road over the ocean and it’s amazing… nothing but bright blue on either side of the car. We didn’t see any crocodiles, but we did see ton of huge iguanas just hanging out on the side of the road.

We chose to stay in Marathon because it has the best snorkeling in the Keys. We stayed at the Hyatt Place there, and I cannot recommend it enough. Essentially the Keys are a string of islands known for their fishing and snorkeling and warm water. You can’t surf there, and since it’s hurricane territory, there are not a lot of fancy accommodations. Most people who live there have houses on stilts or they live in (very nice) trailers or on their boats. We looked into trying to stay somewhere fun through AirBnB, like camping on the beach or on a sailboat, but both were going to cost over $100 per night, so we decided to get a hotel instead for just a few extra dollars. We loved our room at the Hyatt Place. We had a view of the ocean, free parking, free WiFi, and free breakfast. Their continental breakfast was the best I’ve ever seen… waffles, french toast, egg breakfast sandwiches on homemade biscuits, fruit, etc.

We got into Marathon and drove directly to Keys Cable, a water sport park about 15 minutes from our hotel. Micah discovered cable wakeboarding a couple years ago and he loves it. They are starting to create these parks all over where you wakeboard off a cable system rather than a boat, and there are features in the water where you can slide, jump, flip and do other tricks. He has done it a handful of times, but at Keys Cable, I got brave and decided I would try it too. It wasn’t crowded at all, and the beginning course looked more manageable to me than other parks I’ve seen. Micah wakeboarded for an hour, and then I strapped on a life vest and took a turn. I haven’t wakeboarded in over 15 years, but I got up right away and had a blast. Micah and I both had blisters on our hands for the duration of our trip, but it was totally worth it!

The first night we had dinner at Grassy Key Outpost, which felt like Luke’s Diner on an island. The inside was super cute, with a cafe and a grocery store in the same space. Micah and I split the roasted garlic pizza and it was amazing. After dinner we hit up Sweet Savannah’s for Key Lime Pie, rumored to be the best in the Keys. It was really good, and Micah enjoyed some of their birthday cake ice cream as well.

The next day we went snorkeling on the Sombrero Coral Reef with Spirit Snorkeling. We took a catamaran out to the reef and saw lots of fun fish. After we got back, we hit up Florida Keys Snoballs for an afternoon treat. Nothing beats shaved ice on a hot day. I highly recommend the nectar flavor. Apparently, the shop owner won a prize for it — much deserved! We ate dinner at Florida Keys Steak and Lobster House, and I tried in vain to make it to Burdines for dessert. I wanted to try their fried Key Lime Pie, but the kitchen had just closed when we got there. Sidenote for coffee lovers: There is a drive-thru espresso stand on Marathon, which makes the Seattle-ite in me so happy. Curly’s Coffee had great drinks, and I highly recommend it if you need a dose of caffeine while driving the Overseas Highway.

On Thursday, we headed up into mainland Florida. We wanted to snorkel by the Christ of the Abyss statue at the John Pennekamp State Park on our way through Key Largo, but the waters were too choppy for tours. Now we have something left on our bucket list if we ever get to visit the Keys again.

If you are visiting the Keys, don’t expect anything to be fancy or fast paced. The water is warm, the beaches are clean, and the people are friendly and laid back. It’s kind of like visiting a tropical island, but you don’t even need your passport. Once you slather on the sunscreen and switch your watch to island time, it’s a really fun place to relax for a few days.