Our Florida Keys Road Trip Continues

by Tony · May 23, 2018

Marriott Key Largo Bay Resort Florida Keys

Next stop The Florida Keys

The third day of our road trip began with an early morning stroll on Ormond Beach. It’s a beautiful beach. The ocean was much calmer than it was the night before. The storm clouds had cleared and rising sun hinted at the warmer temperatures we would find in the Florida Keys. I even got to see pelicans for the first time in my life, unfortunately I had left my camera back in the room.

The Lotus Hotel provided a continental breakfast in the lobby so we gathered up a couple of yogurts and muffins and went out on the patio and enjoyed the ocean view while eating breakfast. After that we loaded the car and hit the road for another 350 miles. Next stop, Key Largo.

We Arrive

Florida is an extremely long state to drive thru. At first it appears to be just vast areas of nothingness. As you progress further south towards West Palm Beach it becomes much more populous. We arrived at our destination around 3pm. We are to spend the next 3 days at the beautiful Key Largo Bay Marriott Beach Resort.

Once everyone was checked into their rooms we headed to the beach for some much needed R&R. In short order the waitress from Flippers Pool Bar had our drink orders taken and in our hands as we sat and enjoyed the beautiful views of the bay. Later that evening we stayed on the resort property and dined at Gus’ Grille. The service and food were outstanding as were the views. We would also dine at Gus’ for the next 3 days for breakfast which was a wonderful spread of everything from smoked salmon, fresh fruits, custom made omelets, to the usual breakfast fair of bacon, eggs, and toast.

The next morning following a late breakfast it was back to the beach where were spent most of the day redefining the term beach-bums. That consisted of drinking Pina Coladas , playing corn-hole, eating Firecracker Shrimp, and generally hiding in the shade of the Tiki umbrella and soaking up the warmth and the views. That evening we headed off property and visited the famous Fish House for dinner. As expected the place was packed but the food was good.

Key West bound

The next and final full day in the Keys was spent traveling to Key West for the day. The drive thru the Keys leaves you with mixed emotions. The water views were stunning with the blue and turquoise colors, but they are in the backdrop of the damage left by the hurricane. The first place on our list to see was the Hemingway House. It was a bucket list item. We didn’t take the guided tour but with all the plaques throughout the house we were able to understand the history of this historic landmark. The cats, 57 in all, were pretty cool. I was assured they were all six toed cats. We then took a short walk from there and had lunch at the famous Blue Heaven Restaurant . It was topped off with the obligatory piece of key-lime pie.

A short drive landed us at the Water Front Brewery where we enjoyed a local brew before beginning the 100 mile trek back to Key Largo. The return trip was highlighted by the beautiful views of a spectacular Florida Keys sunset.

The next morning following breakfast it was time to say good-bye to the girls as well as the Florida Keys and begin the next leg of your journey. As they headed off to Miami to catch their flight back to Milwaukee, we loaded up the car. Our next stop was back up the coast for a one night stay in Jacksonville on the beach. This is where we will pick up our next installment of “The 10 Day Road Trip”. If you missed the first installment if can be found here: Key Largo – 10 Days of Fun on the Road.