Florida road trip part 2: to Key West and Dry Tortugas NP
Before we left Homestead, we stopped at the Everglades Outpost, a(nother) spot for rescued / illegally traded animals. We saw alligators, a camel, a zebra, wolves … so sad. They release if they can but most animals (like the declawed cougar and the teeth-removed lemur) cannot be released into the Florida wild. (https://www.evergladesoutpost.org/)
From there, we started our drive south to Key West, with the plan to stop at Robbie’s Marina to feed the tarpons (like we did in Belize). It was our first experience of with Florida roadside attractions … and our last! The pelicans were so aggressive and took all the sardines and the tarpons were so over fed that they didn’t seem to even want food! Ida got pecked by a pelican on the arm! It was also our first time experiencing a tornado warning as all the phones in the crowded marina went off at the same time. Then we experienced wind and rain like never before! (And we were all pretty scared for a few minutes)
On the road again, we drove down the beautiful keys, and loved the views of the water. Seven Mile Bridge was really really pretty. This is Fred and Wilma, trees growing out of seeming concrete!
Once down in Key West, we grabbed some dinner at The Cafe, a mostly-vegetarian health food restaurant that was delicious!
We stayed at Margaritaville, which at first seemed like a mistake, because it was a 10 minute drive from the hustle and bustle excitement of downtown Key West. But by our second sleep there, we were thrilled with the refuge from the noise (lots of bars and partying!) after spending the day exploring.
We started our first full day (Saturday) in Key West still on west coast time, so we went for brunch at the Bananas Cafe. It poured on and off while we ate but then the skies cleared and the sun came out.
We found some fun and empty-due-to-rain tourist spots
We thoroughly enjoyed the Hemingway House and the 59 6-toed cats who live there. Hemingway, an avid boxer and of course writer, was also a lover of 6-toed cats, and at one point, had 70!
From there, we explored the Key West Lighthouse.
Then we discovered the Eco Center and learned so much about the area.
Then back to Margaritaville for some swimming.
We feasted at MisoHappy our second dinner, a delightful sushi and Thai spot. We watched more women’s March Madness, since we were delightfully still on west coast time, staying up past 10 and waking up after 9!
Our second full day (Sunday), we started out with breakfast in our room, then a trip to the Butterfly & Nature Conservancy. It was an amazing and so worthy of a visit.
Then we visited two different book stores before beading back to play at the Margaritaville pool. On the way back to the hotel, we decided to take a lovely walk on the long pier that is the Key West AIDS Memorial.
Our third and final full day was our trip to Dry Tortugas National Park. We finally had to break off west coast time as we needed to be up by 6:20 and to the ferry dock by 7. The ferry ride was 2.5 hours each direction, and thanks to the storm, it was a bumpy one! For the trip there, we went with the wind and the crew was warning everyone that the way back, into the wind, would feel like “you’re getting punched in the face.” IT DID! The waves on the way back were 8 foot swells and the boat got tossed around for most of the ride. But it was so worth it. Dry Tortugas is the US’s most inaccessible national park, accessible only by sea plane or ferry.
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