Guest post by kjakubczak
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I traveled to the Florida Keys with my mom and husband over Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend to visit my uncle who lives in Marathon. What a great place to visit in January!
We flew from Cleveland to Key West on Saturday morning – flights to Key West are super expensive, but the other option is to fly into Fort Lauderdale or Miami and drive, which is almost 4 hours.
Once we arrived in Key West, we started sight-seeing! Key West is easy to navigate so no reason to rent a car if you’re going to be staying only in Key West. You would need a car if you were going to visit any of the other Keys (we rented a car once we got to Marathon).
Day 1
- Hemingway House
- The Truman Little White House
- Mile 0
- Mallory Square
- Duval Street
- Southernmost Point
First we visited the Hemingway House and the Truman Little White House, which are perfect choices if you’re a literature or a history buff. A little expensive, but worth the time I would say. We had lunch at DJ’s Clam Shack, where I had the best lobster roll outside of New England. Make sure to stop at Mile 0. Later in the evening we went to Mallory Square for a famed Key West sunset, and then wandered around Duval Street. We also visited the quintessential Southernmost Point in the United States. Go early in the morning or late at night to beat the lines. Yes, you’ll wait in line to take a picture there. We spent the first night in a hotel in Key West.
Day 2
- White Street Fishing Pier
- African Cemetery at Higgs Beach
- West Martello Tower
- Marathon
- Sombrero Beach
Day 2 started with a delicious breakfast at Blue Heaven. The odd thing about Key West is that chickens run wild – they were running free at the restaurant, too! We visited the White Street Fishing Pier and the African Cemetery at Higgs Beach. Both are nice stops by the water, and the cemetery was very interesting. We went to West Martello Tower which is a free botanical garden and quite lovely to walk around. Recommend it if you have time! We left Key West in the early afternoon and made the hour drive to Marathon. It’s a great drive, especially over the Seven Mile Bridge! Once in Marathon my uncle showed us around, including the nearby beach, Sombrero Beach, which would be a nice place if you were looking for some quality beach time. Later that evening we went to a restaurant called Key’s Fisheries for the best stone crab! It’s a perfect place to watch a sunset.
Day 3
We spent some time on a friend’s boat on the 3rd day, but the water was choppy so we didn’t stay out for too long. Had lunch at the Sunset Grille, which actually has a pool available for use. Amazing hogfish sandwich, and a terrific view of the Seven Mile Bridge. Didn’t do much more sight-seeing that day.
Day 4: Sea Turtle Center – The Turtle Hospital
On the next day we visited The Turtle Hospital in Marathon. It’s about a 90 minute guided tour, but you get to learn a lot of interesting facts about sea turtles, and see plenty of them, too! We made a necessary lunch stop at Burdine’s Waterfront Restaurant to try their deep fried key lime pie. Yum!
Day 5
On the last day, we drove back to Key West in the early afternoon for our flight home.
Traveled in January 2017
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