Miami-Key West drive and return to Punta Gorda - Mar 15 & 18 2010

(See prior posting of Mar 15-17 of Key West.)

Monday, Mar 15 2010

As planned, we got away around 7:00 am for a 9:15 am departure of a reef tour in a glass-bottomed boat from John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (102601 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo) (http://www.pennekamppark.comglassbottom.html), filling up in Homestead and getting a fruit smoothie at Robert Is Here Fruit Stand (19200 SW 344th St). The smoothies were kinda granular icy, but Lynda also got a few specialty jams. Their mangos were the size of footballs!

We were at Robert’s by its opening time at 8:00, but opening was maybe 10 minutes delayed. It turns out that, by the time we got away, got turned around for a few minutes by the GPS, and had some slow going behind slow traffic on portions of the highway that are 1-lane, we arrived at Pennekamp with but 10 minutes to spare. While I parked, Lynda got the tickets, and we had plenty of time to spare as even latter arrivals showed.

Unless the interest is above water for the 2 ½ hr duration trip - 1 ½ hr at the reef - this is not a trip to recommend. Whether it was just the way it is or the reefs are not healthy, there was generally an absence of colour in fish and coral, and any fish were few in number and extremely small. I don’t know if the tour at Key West is any better. Very early into the trip, while rotating my newly acquired $200 polarizing camera filter, it became untwisted and fell off into the water. I have replacement insurance from Henry’s Camera if broken, but something tells me they’re going to want to see the filter…






Just down the road is the Key Largo Conch House (100211 Overseas Hwy) (http://www.keylargocoffeehouse.com). It has a colourful interior and a good reputation for tasty seafood. Lynda had bowl of lobster bisque, while I had a cup and 1/2 chicken fajita. We polished off a couple of key lime pies with teas.


From Key Largo, it’s a 2 hr drive to Key West. Along the way, we’d planned to check out 3 possible Tiki Bars in Islamorada for consideration when returning Thursday; visit Robbie’s to view the tarpon feeding there; and stop in at Sombrero Beach in Marathon. The 3 Tiki Bar prospects in Islamorada were:

Holiday Isle (84001 Overseas Hwy) (http://www.holidayisle.com)
Holiday Isle is on the Ocean side, offering multiple venues and is reputedly the originator of the rum runner drink. Of the 3, it was our preferred because of its vibe, our view being that we might opt for the others on the bay side if we wanted to catch the sunset.




Lorelei (81924 Overseas Hwy) (http://www.loreleifloridakeys.com)






Tiki Bar - Islamorada Fish Company (81532 Overseas Hwy) (http://www.fishcompany.com)




A bartender at Islamorada Fish said some tourists had told him the Holiday Isle was pricey i.e $15 mixed drink. He said the locals favoured the Island Grill on the bay side and The Islander Resort on the Ocean side. As we were past each, I made a mental note to check them on our Thursday return.

We also stopped at Lazy Days Oceanfront Bar in Islamorada (79867 Overseas Hwy) (http://www.lazydaysrestaurant.com) to confirm supper reservations for our Thursday return.




Close by in Islamorada is Robbie's Marina (77522 Overseas Hwy) (http://www.robbies.com), where people can feed these huge tarpons, in competition with the pelicans.




Roughly 50 mi outside of Key West, we stopped in at Sombrero Beach (MM50), on the Ocean side in Marathon.




As projected, we arrived at The Key West Bed & Breakfast - the Popular House (415 William St, Key West) (http://www.keywestbandb.com) - at 5:00 pm.

Thursday, Mar 18

Breakfasts at the B&B had been so good that we delayed our departure enough to have one last nosh. Jody was holding the fort this morning. While eating, we raved to all about about last eve’s piano bar, which led to a description of our “O-H” “I-O” experience the prior evening at Willie T’s (525 Duval St) (http://www.williets.comKey_West). Wouldn’t you know it, but one of the previously reserved guests was energized, he also being a grad. His wife, from Michigan State could only lament that “It isn’t easy being around someone from Ohio”. Also included in the discussion was the lady from AL and her husband, who originally came from Cleveland before he landed in Miami Beach as a young man, never to return North.

We bid our goodbyes and headed off to our interim destination for an overnight stay at Oceanview Inn & Sports Pub (84500 Overseas Hwy) (http://www.theocean-view.com) in Islamorada and a final supper there at Lazy Days Oceanfront Bar (79867 Overseas Hwy) (http://www.lazydaysrestaurant.com). Islamorada is a 1 ½ hour drive from Key West, and we wanted to take in a few hours in the morning at the beaches and views of and from the 3 beaches at Bahia Honda State Park (http://www.bahiahondapark.com) and its Old Bahia Honda Bridge, now displaced by US 1 and The Seven Mile Bridge.

The Seven Mile Bridge is a famous bridge in the Florida Keys, running over a channel between the Gulf of Mexico and the Florida Strait, connecting Knight's Key in Marathon in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. It was among the longest bridges in existence when it was built. It appears in the films, “True Lies”, “2 Fast 2 Furious”, the James Bond film “Licence to Kill”, “CrissCross”, and “Up Close & Personal”. Since the Keys curve in an arc as one moves north, this section effectively is running E-W.

The park has 3 beaches - Sandspur to its eastern end and Loggerhead and Calusa on either side to its western end (and beside Old Honda Bahia Bridge at its tip). Calusa, the smallest beach, is on the ocean side, facing the Seven Mile Bridge. Loggerhead and Sandspur are on the bay side. From the Old Bridge, one has a panoramic view of the entire area and its aquamarine waters.

Sandspur has often been ranked among the best beaches in the U.S., including #1. If it betters either the beautiful beaches and white sand of the Gulf’s Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota or Clearwater Beach, it would be because of the advantage of its crystal clear water and aquamarine images and relative seclusion. Sandspur has many sections that would be ideal for one’s own private, undisturbed beach. Its water is crystal clear, soft under foot, warm and provides a paddling experience that few places in Florida (and quite possibly the whole of the US) can come close to matching. Sandspur is achingly beautiful, with pure white sand like powdered sugar and crystal clear turquoise waters stretching to the horizon. Sandspur has an extremely gradual grade, with no dropoffs - the water remains shallow for hundreds of feet. You can walk WAAAY out from shore and still touch bottom. Loggerhead is known for its shallow sand bar just offshore.

We started at Sandspur. While Lynda remained on the beach because of her recovering wrenched knee, I walked the beach - maybe 15 minutes - to its eastern end, where I had a view of the Seven Mile Bridge and channel that separates that end of the Key.






We then drove to the other end of the Key, beginning with Calusa Beach and its views of the Old Bahia Honda Bridge. We exchanged photo takings with a German couple and then proceeded to climb a path that led to the foot of the Bridge.





Another path brought us to the same level as the bridge itself. From there, we had a panoramic view of the entire area and 3 beaches.








At the overlook path and as we drove out, we had a look at Loggerhead Beach.



About 10 minutes away is Marathon and Seven Mile Grill (1240 Overseas Hwy, Marathon), situated just beside the highway and not on the water. A relatively simple stand, it has a reputation for great food at cheap prices. Its key lime pie won the local paper's "Best in the Keys" award three years in a row. I guess I must have overlooked this latter note, as we didn’t accept the challenge in our taste competition. We were regaled throughout our meal by our server, who seemed to have a line for everything. We each had a bowl of shrimp bisque. I had a really tasty blackened mahi-mahi sandwich, while Lynda opted for a grilled chick Caesar. All good.



Shortly as we exited Marathon, we stopped at the end of a bridge span because of the turquoise views for a photo op. While there, a couple fishing pulled up a Shovel Nosed Shark, which they released.


Coming down, a bartender at Islamorada Fish Co had said that the locals in Islamorada favoured the Island Grill on the bay side (http://www.keysislandgrill.com) and The Islander Resort (MM 82.1) (http://www.islanderfloridakeys.com) on the Ocean side. We only stopped at the Islander and never did return for the after supper dinner drinks that we were considering, but it is a beautiful place. Its bar food is reportedly quite good.





By 3:00, we had arrived and checked in at the Oceanview Inn & Sports Pub (84500 Overseas Hwy, Islamorada) (http://www.theocean-view.com) in Islamorada. Short on pretense, and all about the “product” and quality choices, its frontage isn’t frontage or inside bar aren’t that pretty, but the rooms are fabulous and have huge, hi def TVs.



The pool and grounds at the rear are very nice, all maintained in good condition. The King bed is huge - 6’ across - offering maybe the most comfortable sleep we’ve ever had. Each room has a secluded patio with table/chairs and an individual pathway that leads to the rear pool and bar area.




It is owned by two U of Miami grads: Gary Dunn, former defensive tackle and captain of the Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers; and Dennis Harrah, an All-American and 1st round draft choice and former right guard with the LA Rams. In short, the standard is that which professional athletes would demand in their frequent travels.

We had an opportunity to sample a handful of margaritas within a short period of time at the outside bar, which is adjacent to the pool. At $4 each regular, though, they’re still about ½ the HH price of some in S. Beach and KW.


For our final supper in the Keys, we had a 6:30 reservation at Lazy Days Oceanfront Bar in Islamorada (79867 Overseas Hwy, Islamorada) (http://www.lazydaysrestaurant.com), so that we could catch the 7:30 sunset. Lazy Days has a gorgeous view and has repeatedly been voted "Best Restaurant Overall", "Best Waterfront Dining", "Best Seafood Restaurant", "Best Lunch" and "Best Wait Staff" in the Annual Upper Keys People's Choice Awards. Our table was on the outside balcony at the rail, affording us a front row seat to the changing light and its reflection on the 8:25 low tide (which is very slight but impactful on the shallow waters).













I had its Lazy Days tropical drink while we awaited supper. We each had a cup of conch chowder and Lynda had a garden salad. We each had a yummy shrimp scampi linguini - lots of huge shrimp - maybe 10-12. Key lime pie topped it off, but not in contention, and tea. A fabulous meal at a substantial discount to our equally fabulous Key West meal at the Rooftop Café, and a lovely setting to end our whirlwind tour.


Friday, Mar 19

Awake at 6:00, we had a quick stop at Bob’s Bunz Islamorada Restaurant & Bakery) in Islamorada (81620 Overseas Hwy) (http://www.bobsbunz.com/) for a pastry before getting on the road at 7:15 for the 4 hour return to Charlotte County Airport in Punta Gorda. In late morning, we stopped at a nice IHOP (6631 Dudley Dr) near one of the I-75 exits to Naples and had a very affordable mushroom, cheese & spinach omelette that comes with pancakes for me and 2-2-2 eggs, bacon, and pancakes for Lynda with our respective coffee and tea.

Upon landing in Niagara Falls, we tried Caffe Lola, where I had a croque monsieur with sante fe side salad, and Lynda had its quattro fromaggio with a side salad, all accompanied with a chardonnay. While stopping to gas up, a British couple sought directions to the Rainbow Bridge, which is very close to Lolla’s. I had them follow us, but it soon became clear to me that my GPS was taking us away from the bridge, no doubt because I had just reset the GPS for Canada preferences of no toll routes… Anyway, we got turned around, and hit the Duty Free Shop. The border was plugged with Canadian March Breakers and those returning from the local NCAA basketball playoffs. Compounding matters, a car seized in the single-lane exit at Duty Free and couldn’t be rolled. Things quickly got sorted out and we were on our way with good speed in no time at all.

These holidays are exhausting. I need a break!