Making the Most of Our Last Day in the Keys

Cal and I were up early so that I could cut his hair before we left our resort.  It also gave Cameron and Doug a little bit of time to sleep in before we checked out the rest of the Keys.  Our first stop of the days was in the historic district for frozen key lime cheesecake dipped in chocolate.  Everyone thought it was delicious.  I bought some key lime chocolate cookies to take for our road trip back.

Next, on the agenda was miniature golf on Marathon Key.  It was hot, but we all had a lot of fun.  I was surprised at how many iguanas there were on the course.  I was a little bit scared of them after our night kayaking tour, but they must have helped my golf game as I ended up winning by one over Cameron.  Cal was one stroke behind Cameron and Doug was one away from Cal.  It was by far the closest match that I could remember ever playing.  Once we were done, we stopped at Big Pine Key to see the Key Deer that Cal said were everywhere when he stayed there four years ago.  We didn’t have to drive very far off the main road before we saw several of them in the Publix parking lot.

For lunch, we stopped at Robbie’s Marina on Islamorada.  It not only got good reviews for the food, but also for feeding the tarpon.  I had never heard of doing that before, so we stopped to check it out.  The place was a madhouse with cars parked everywhere, craft tents galore and a packed restaurant.  Cal and Cameron decided that they wanted they wanted to join the crowd.  Thankfully, we found a table right away and soon were enjoying delicious fish tacos and sandwiches.  

After eating, we walked to the pier where there were a dozen people feeding the tarpon.  The fish were a lot bigger than I thought that they would be, but Cameron wanted to try it.  It was very intimidating when the fish jumped out of the water, but Cameron was able to feed several of them by hand.  The teeth felt like sandpaper, but did not do any major damage.  I was surprised by how many little children were feeding them as well.  It was definitely a unique experience and Cameron was glad that we had stopped.  

Our last visit of the day was at the bird sanctuary in Tavernier.  It wasn’t as big as I thought that it would be, but we did get to see a few of the large birds that they had rescued including an owl and white pelican.  I was too nervous to go near the end of the trail because of alligators, but we did enjoy the boardwalk.  Cal and Cameron also had fun checking their “wing spans” against those of high flying birds.  

It was only an hour and a half back to the Fort Lauderdale airport which gave all of us plenty of time to talk about our favorite parts of the weekend.  I was sad that it was all over, but extremely happy with how well the trip went.  I not only got to check off a bucket item list, but had a fantastic time with Cal, Cameron and Doug as well.  It had been quite awhile since we had taken a vacation and this definitely was one to remember.                                     

Bucket List Item #1 Checked

Today was one of my favorite days of 2025.  We started early before it got too hot and the lines were too long getting a picture at the “Southernmost Point in the Continental USA.”  Cameron couldn’t stop talking about the stupidity of it being an actual tourist stop “as the Keys were islands and not part of the continental USA plus it wasn’t even the southernmost point as that one was on private property. “ Either way we got a picture and “waved to Cuba” as Aunt Jan suggested. 

Next on our agenda was the butterfly museum with a live butterfly forest.  We weren’t sure that it would live up to the one in Gainesville, but it definitely did.  There were beautiful butterflies everywhere and even a few flamingos and other birds as well as a few turtles.  It was a wonderful way to spend the morning.

Our next stop was my entire reason for wanting to visit Key West, Ernest Hemingway’s home.  I had put it at the top of my bucket list since I read nine of his biographies when I was pregnant with Cal.  Touring his home with the child that I carried twenty-eight years ago made it all the more special.  Although I did not learn quite as much as the boys, I absolutely loved the entire tour.  Seeing the writing studio where he wrote the majority of his books was the pentacle of the trip for me especially since it still housed his World War I backpack and his original typewriter.  Cal and Cameron’s favorite part was all of the six-toed cats that were descendent of Hemingway’s beloved feline.

After the tour, the four of us walked to the original Margaritaville for lunch.  Although not technically “parrot heads” we were extremely excited to eat at the Jimmy Buffet restaurant.  It was a lot different than any of the other Margaritaville’s that we had eaten at, and we all enjoyed the atmosphere.  The food and drinks were delicious.  We thought about buying a souvenir on our way out, but they were all a lot more expenses than we thought they would be.  Thus, I really appreciated the photo that we had taken at our table, especially since all four of us were in it.

It was extremely hot today, so we spent the rest of the afternoon watching the US Open and swimming in the pool.  It was a lot of fun and very relaxing.  Afterward, we walked back to Duval Street to eat dinner at Hog’s Breath Inn, another famed Key West bar.  It was fantastic and we were even visited by one of the islands free range roosters.  Before heading back to the resort for a late night game of Bocce ball, we stopped at a few bars for drinks and did a little souvenir shopping as well.  I was absolutely exhausted but extremely thankful for our wonderful second day in Key West.  

It was extremely hot today, so we spent the rest of the afternoon watching the US Open and swimming in the pool.  It was a lot of fun and very relaxing.  Afterward, we walked back to Duval Street to eat dinner at Hog’s Breath Inn, another famed Key West bar.  It was fantastic and we were even visited by one of the islands free range roosters.  Before heading back to the resort for a late night game of Bocce ball, we stopped at a few bars for drinks and did a little souvenir shopping as well.  I was absolutely exhausted but extremely thankful for our wonderful second day in Key West.