Day 7: The Everglades and The Drive

Today started in Stuart, Florida and now we are in Tavernier, down in the Keys. Wow did we have a day! We left our Airbnb and had a delicious organic and vegan breakfast. It was a nice treat to try something new, even if a few people passed. The fruit was awesome and the vegan sausage was actually really good. It was a nice way to start the morning with some light fare.

We headed south an hour to Fort Lauderdale airport. Next week we fly home out of this airport but today we needed to talk to Thrifty rent-a-car to talk to them about our new reservation but keeping our old car. Did you know that one-way rentals for cars are much more than return to the same place rentals? Well we saved about $600 by making a second reservation and Thrifty was kind enough to not make us trade cars. Thank you Thrifty!

So we headed west for 50 minutes and found our first excursion for the day. An airboat ride! We thought about skipping this but realized that it was only slightly off our path to the Keys so we figured we should just do it - and boy are we glad that we did! We went to Gator Park which had lots of good reviews online.

For $21 we went on a 40 minute ride, saw a rather funny animal show, and sat down to have a picnic lunch at their plentiful tables. At the animal show, we learned that there are only 2 types of aligators but 22 types of crocodiles.

Their brain is the size of a quarter, so they aren’t smart enough to hunt prey - they just snap down on anything that touches their mouth. It was entertaining and educational (my favorite). It was a blast and a day none of us are sure to forget. Those who wanted to, even got to hold a baby alligator.

Next,we headed south an hour and found the Everglades National Park. Which due to the government shutdown, there was nobody manning the gate to collect fees. There were park rangers in the visitor’s center though. This was a quick stop but a really fun one. We checked out the visitor’s center and then hopped over to the Anhinga Trail. This was a short 1/4 mile trail all on raised decking. The water was crystal clear and had lily pads galore along with multiple fish. On land we saw a few aligators and even some cool birds. Have you seen the hilarious movie The Big Year? Um, you need to. It’s hilarious and a total family movie. And you’re welcome. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1053810/

Guys, the day isn’t over yet. So we head south another hour and finally make it to Key Largo! You know, the city in that famous song. Well, it’s pretty. We were surprised that the drive was mostly over land. These islands are technically not attached but there’s only a small sliver that isn’t so most of the time we were still driving on land to get here. Amazingly, before highways and cars, these islands
were all connected by railroad. Dating back to 1885! That’s pretty amazing. You can read more here https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florida_East_Coast_Railway

This is a shot of the marina or canal that our restaurant overlooked. Before we even went to check in at our next Airbnb, we needed some grub. We had already scoped out a few local favorites and landed at Sharkey’s Pub and Grill. We had conch fritters, fish tacos, calamari, chicken wings, fish and chips, and even a burger and a quesadilla. Something for everyone!

And finally we found ourselves checking into our much nicer than the last two nights condo. Guys, it was an interesting experience, but nobody wants to stay at that Airbnb again. It just wasn’t for us. Eh, the floors. The water. I tried to stay positive and just remembered that we can do anything for two days, but it wasn’t the most pleasant place to be. Soooo glad to be in a normal place again! Todd snapped this view from our balcony. That’s the Atlantic Ocean.

A quick trip to the Winn Dixie super market and we are set for breakfast. Since we have a party of 8, we try not to eat out too much on vacation. Our entire budget would be spent on restaurants and that’s not really where we have the most fun. Have you had this ice cream? Not available in NorCal but it’s amzing!!!

The first day of 2019 was a long road traveled and pretty amazing. We started up north of Jupiter and have found ourselves down in Key Largo. It wasn’t really a long drive. This state is pretty cool. Hope you all enjoyed the first day of a new year!