Heading Further South

My bucket list for "things to do in FL without a dog" ;o( included Disney World and The Keys.  After researching how much three days in Disney would cost...nearly $1600!!! coupled with the fact that neither of us enjoys being around a bunch of kids, fighting our way through large crowds or waiting in long lines, we chose The Keys.  

It was damn cold this morning...30*. WTH?!  I set an alarm but we didn't get up till nearly 8:00.  We ate breakfast at home and were on the road to Marathon Key by 10:30.  It had warmed up to 48*.  We stopped at McDonalds for coffees (Mercer's is closed on Sunday) and decided the cinnamon rolls looked good, so we each got one.  

They were warm and gooey but kind of dry.  We drove the short distance to Bayshore Park and ate them in the truck, along the harbor.  

Back on the road at 11:00.

We stopped at 12:35 to use the bathroom at a gas station located at the intersection of Rt 41 and Rt 29; not a cloud in the sky, 57*.  At 1:02 we stopped at the Oasis Visitor's Center in Everglades National Park to see the alligators.  We took waaaay too many pictures of alligators, so I won't bore you with all of them.

Literally "just hanging out"

There's a nice boardwalk overlooking the end of a canal, filled with all kinds of fish, big and small.  There's plenty for these guys to eat.  We stayed for about 30 minutes, then continued south.

We were back on the road at 1:37 (a whole 59*).  Traveling rhrough the outskirts of Miami was interesting, with an abundance of farms and nurseries.  

We stopped in a McDonalds inTavernier at 3:36 to get iced coffees, a snack and use the bathroom, which only took us 20 minutes.  

Our destination was the Coconut Cay Resort & Marina on Marathon Key, where we arrived at 4:49, room #41.  It was surprisingly larger than we expected! 

Although our room was located in the front, facing the Overseas Highway, it was quiet.  We brought in our things and headed back out at 5:15 in search of Sunset Park, which was only 10 minutes away.  We had no trouble finding parking and got a front row seat to watch the sunset. 

As you can see for yourself...there weren't any clouds, which means there was no "after show".  We were back in the truck by 6:11 and both a bit chilly.  The temp was only 57* and it was breezy.  Delightful never-the-less.

We drove up and down the main drag looking for a place to have dinner, finally deciding on Triton Seafood.  Not because we wanted seafood but because it was the only place we found that was open.  It was quite pricey but we ordered pizza, which was reasonable, and we had leftovers.  

We got back to our motel at 7:50 and spent the rest of the evening watching football.

Day one of our Keys visit was in the books.

Thanks for stopping by...

;o)