Help me with a day in the Florida Keys...

[Stinasmom]

We've made our way to Miami today from Washington state.

Son is fishing from 6:30am to 2:30 pm with a guide off of Key Biscane tomorrow.
So our time is still 8 hours, but that is so early! We'll likely drop him at the pier and come back to the hotel to get ready.
I am thinking we'll NOT snorkel or swim, and instead drive as far as we are comfortable then turn back and stop at sights on the way back.
Bahia Honda maybe? Robbie's? Pennekamp? Islamorada for lunch?

I love all the input we've gotten!
I think this thread could be helpful to others traveling to this area too!

I will let you all know what we ended up doing with our time!

 

[King Schultz]

We've made our way to Miami today from Washington state.

Son is fishing from 6:30am to 2:30 pm with a guide off of Key Biscane tomorrow.
So our time is still 8 hours, but that is so early! We'll likely drop him at the pier and come back to the hotel to get ready.
I am thinking we'll NOT snorkel or swim, and instead drive as far as we are comfortable then turn back and stop at sights on the way back.
Bahia Honda maybe? Robbie's? Pennekamp? Islamorada for lunch?

I love all the input we've gotten!
I think this thread could be helpful to others traveling to this area too!

I will let you all know what we ended up doing with our time!

Robbie's

 

[JimMIA]

From Upper Keys to Lower:

Pennekamp - MM 106 -- unless you are going to take a 2-4 hour snorkeling trip, I would not bother with Pennekamp.

Your time constraints pretty much eliminate snorkeling anyway -- you have to allow at least 3 hours for the round trip between Key Biscayne and Key Largo, so that only leaves 5 hours in the Keys max, at least one of which will be having lunch. ETA: You're going to drive past a number of tempting things -- Theater of the Sea, dolphin swims, etc -- but you really don't have time for any of those.

Islamorada -- MM 82 -- Others have recommended the Islamorada Fish Company, and you can't go wrong with a lunch there overlooking the water. If we're going to pick up seafood in the Keys on the way home, that's where we stop.

Once you get beyond Islamorada, you are in the Middle Keys and it gets MUCH prettier.

Robbies - MM 77, I think...but keep in mind that it's a 15-minute stop. Just see the tarpon, feed them, experience the moment and move on.

Bahia Honda -- um...MM 37 -- so 40 miles beyond Robbies and about 140 from Key Biscayne. To get there, you would go through Marathon (MM 60ish) -- one of the few places in the Keys which actually has a decent beach (Sombrero Beach), and also across the Seven Mile Bridge...which is exactly as billed.

If you are going that far, I would not actually stop at Bahia Honda State Park. I would just enjoy the views of the prettiest parts of the Keys and go on to...

Big Pine Key -- MM 29 - Take a quick right into the residential area and find some Key Deer or visit the Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge. And after that, if you haven't eaten lunch, go a little bit further down US 1 to Boondocks on Little Torch Key at about MM 28 for a good lunch. We spent a weekend on Little Torch recently and ate both dinners at Boondocks because of the good food and service. No views, but the grouper sandwiches are very good.

From there, of course, you are only 28 miles from Key West, but you won't have time to enjoy it much. I'd drive back to Key Biscayne.

 

[JimMIA]

We'll likely drop him at the pier and come back to the hotel to get ready.

Get ready for what???

You're going to the Keys. If you are dressed enough to drop him off at a pier in Key Biscayne, you are overdressed for the Keys!

Get on the road!

 

[JimMIA]

Hope the weather clears for you! Let us know what you did and how you enjoyed it.

 

[bcla]

Get ready for what???

You're going to the Keys. If you are dressed enough to drop him off at a pier in Key Biscayne, you are overdressed for the Keys!

Get on the road!

Rain I guess. I packed a lightweight waterproof, breathable rain jacket for my trip to Florida. Did the same for Hawaii. Definitely came in handy. Made me wonder why the state motto wasn't "The Rainy State".

 

[JimMIA]

Rain I guess. I packed a lightweight waterproof, breathable rain jacket for my trip to Florida. Did the same for Hawaii. Definitely came in handy. Made me wonder why the state motto wasn't "The Rainy State".

We don't pay that much attention to rain...unless there is a name attached (like, oh maybe "Hermine").

Our general Floridian rain plan is "if it rains, we get wet." But we're dry in seconds and the rain usually doesn't last long.

It was a little grey and thundery this morning, but turned out to be a decent day. Hopefully they had a good day.

 

[bcla]

We don't pay that much attention to rain...unless there is a name attached (like, oh maybe "Hermine").

I was told the rain isn't quite as big a deal as the wind, and the stuff that it tosses around. OTOH, don't the insurance companies make a big deal about wind vs flood damage?

 

[JimMIA]

I was told the rain isn't quite as big a deal as the wind, and the stuff that it tosses around. OTOH, don't the insurance companies make a big deal about wind vs flood damage?

I assume you are talking about hurricanes, and if so both wind and flooding can be big issues. Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is a classic example of what flooding can do.

Hurricane Andrew in Miami in 1992 is the classic example of what a wind storm can do. I went into areas in the aftermath of Andrew where there was nothing standing (manmade or natural) above knee-high. Big pine trees were literally sheared off and gone...no sign of them anywhere.

Insurance companies emphasize wind damage because that's all typical homeowner's insurance covers. Flood insurance is a separate policy.

The NHC's storm categories are also essentially wind-based, which only gives a partial picture of a community's risk -- but nobody's ever found a better way to describe storms.

 

[bcla]

I assume you are talking about hurricanes, and if so both wind and flooding can be big issues. Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans is a classic example of what flooding can do.

Hurricane Andrew in Miami in 1992 is the classic example of what a wind storm can do. I went into areas in the aftermath of Andrew where there was nothing standing (manmade or natural) above knee-high. Big pine trees were literally sheared off and gone...no sign of them anywhere.

I remember Andrew in the news. In particular was a story about a family that prepared their house and turned their evacuation into a long vacation. In Kauai. Where they found themselves in the basement of their hotel waiting out a Cat 4 hurricane. Ironic.

If you saw Jurassic Park, the storm scenes were filmed in Kauai right before the film crew had to hole up.

http://www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/22-years-later-iniki-devastate/33832091

 

[Stinasmom]

While our son caught this:


We drove as far as Marathon experiencing bridges, land, and surprisingly a lot of corridors of bushes blocking the view.
Did have Cuban food at Habanos and saw the tarpon at Robbies. Good day leaving me wishing I could have booked a stay in Key West and gone to the end!
Thanks again for the info!

 

[King Schultz]

View attachment 190259 While our son caught this:


We drove as far as Marathon experiencing bridges, land, and surprisingly a lot of corridors of bushes blocking the view.
Did have Cuban food at Habanos and saw the tarpon at Robbies. Good day leaving me wishing I could have booked a stay in Key West and gone to the end!
Thanks again for the info!

Nice permit!!

Glad you had a nice day. . .

 

[bcla]

View attachment 190259 While our son caught this:


We drove as far as Marathon experiencing bridges, land, and surprisingly a lot of corridors of bushes blocking the view.
Did have Cuban food at Habanos and saw the tarpon at Robbies. Good day leaving me wishing I could have booked a stay in Key West and gone to the end!
Thanks again for the info!

Nice catch, but why is he dressed like a modern revolutionary soldier?

 

[Stinasmom]

Nice catch, but why is he dressed like a modern revolutionary soldier?

He's got all the latest sun protection from Bass Pro Shops, including the buff which is the fabric that fishermen wear around their necks and faces to protect what hats and sunglasses miss.

Yes, I wish he'd pulled it down for the picture! Mom's always want the cutest pics of their kids! but it's tough to upstage that fish!!

 

[JaxDad]

He's got all the latest sun protection from Bass Pro Shops, including the buff which is the fabric that fishermen wear around their necks and faces to protect what hats and sunglasses miss.

Yes, I wish he'd pulled it down for the picture! Mom's always want the cutest pics of their kids! but it's tough to upstage that fish!!

The fish looks a little overwhelmed by recent events...