U S Highway 1, The Overseas Highway

   We started on our 8 day vacation to The Florida Keys early. My wife, Darlene, and I had researched, planned, and paid for most everything except meals and souvenirs. We chose an American Eagle direct flight from Birmingham, Alabama to Miami International Airport. We left at 6:00 AM and with the time zone change, we arrived in Miami at 9:00AM. The walk to baggage claim and then to get a bus to our rental car seemed longer than it probably really was; almost as long as the 2 hour flight.

   We got our rental and headed to Bayside Marina, about 10 miles away. There are several restaurants, stores, tiki hut bars, live music, and a Marina. We stopped at The Bacon Bitch for a bite to eat. This is kind of a unusual place to eat because of their greetings. We walked in the door and hear ” hello bitches.” We get seated and the waitress says, ” hi, I’m Lisa and I will be your main bitch today.” However the menu had a lot of bacon dishes, so it couldn’t be bad. The menu was also unique.

   Darlene got the Bacon, Egg, and Cheese croissant. I opted for the pancakes and bacon. The syrup was in a bottle labeled ” sticky bitch” was funny. Anyway the food was good. We were leaving and you guessed it, the staff yells ” bye bitches.”

   We walked around and looked in a couple of the shops, and strolled down to the Marina before we left.

   We located our route south and drove the 39 miles to Homestead, Florida. Our research showed Robert Is Here Fruitstand is an iconic institution and should not be missed. I have to agree. It has been here since 1959 and is interesting if nothing else. The place was crowded and very busy. They have so many different and exotic fruits; some we had never heard of. Robert’s also has a petting zoo with emus, goats, baby brahma bulls, and many other animals. They all like to be petted and fed. There were also several antique relics and photo opps. It is well worth the few minutes to stop and visit.

   We left Robert’s Fruitstand and drove 11 1/2 miles to the Royal Palm Visitor Center in The Everglades National Park. If you intend to do much traveling, I highly recommend purchasing a lifetime National Park Pass. We got ours 4 years ago and it has already been worth the one time $90 price. It is much better than paying $35 every time you go to a National Park. They are easy to get online, even for someone like me. This visitor center is on the eastern edge of The Everglades. There is a pond behind the restrooms full of lily pads. You can see turtles all around the pond, and am told gators, although we didn’t see any of those. There are 2 short hiking trails you can take and both are handicap accessible. We took the longer of the trails. We took the 0.8 mile loop known as The Anhinga Trail. We saw many Herons, Cranes, Wading Birds, and the Anhinga. We had never seen one of these long necked birds before. We later learned they are often called “snake birds” because of their long necks, they look like a snake swimming with its head up. All of the birds we encountered were used to people and not shy. You also learn about the sawgrass, reeds, cattails, and other fauna. We did not take the shorter 0.4 mile trail called The Gumbo Limbo trail. It is more of a shaded hammock walk. We were too tired. Be prepared. Carry water and bug spray.

   We then left and headed south on the Overseas Highway, 72 miles to our living quarters for the week. We chose Lime Tree Bay Resort on Long Key in the town of Layton.  Darlene picked the spot because it is centrally located. Since we are visiting and seeing all of the Keys, we wanted to be near the middle. We were 47 miles north to Key Largo and 61 miles south to Key West. The drive down was absolutely beautiful. The Gulf of America on one side and The Atlantic Ocean on the other. The waters are a mix of teal greens and turquoise blues. Lime Tree Bay Resort is nice with a super friendly and accommodating staff. The room was very clean and the king bed was comfortable. There was also a table and 2 chairs, but plan to live out of your suitcase because there is not much room for anything else. The bathroom is tiny with no counter space for anything. The shower was however a good size. The resort offers a private beach, kayaks, snorkeling gear, fishing rods and tackle to fish from their pier, 3 different pools, shaded hammocks, beach chairs, cornhole, and a large chess board with the 3 foot pieces to move and play. This is all free to guests of the resort. I would stay here again and consider it a good bang for the buck.

   There is a nice restaurant and bar on site, The Long Key Bar And Grill. It is very easy and convenient to get to. I got our coffee there every morning and it is great for an afternoon drink. Darlene and I ate there upon getting checked in. She had Mahi-Mahi with Mango Salsa and I got the Fried Grouper. Both were good.

   It was a long but very satisfying day and a terrific start to our vacation. Check back here in a couple of days to hear about our short 15 mile trip south to Marathon Key.