Our first stop along this 110 mile Overseas Highway was at the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park just inside Key Largo for a brief beach walk, aquarium tour & a short hike. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to spend much time here, as it is all about exploring the underwater world however our timing with the scheduled tours just didn’t align.
Now it’s vacation time! In Momma Jo’s mind, it’s not a vacation until you have hit a local craft brewery. And to hit 2 in one day, was a touch of heaven.
We stopped first at the Florida Keys Brewing Co. where Clain, the bartender, was quite the host even letting us behind the bar for a photo op. Just a 1/4 mile back up the road was the Islamorada Distillery & Beer Co. This broke Steve’s rule of never backtracking, but in the end it was well worth it. Here we had Mikey as our bartender who took good care of Jo while Steve had some run tastings of his own just next door. Now, we were still driving so Steve was very limited in his beer & rum intake!
We also stopped at Robbie’s Marina to watch the hustle & bustle of the crowds at this very busy tourist stop. It’s not what one would expect at a marina in that there were markets, many small vendors with their food & souvenirs, a large restaurant & bar, Tarpon Feeding (at a cost) and the normal watercraft rentals. We took it all in from a beach bench and didn’t spend a nickel.
We stopped at a few other photo ops along the way before arriving at Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge. We were fortunate to get the last “rustic” (i.e. unserviced & gravel) site, which will be our home for the next 2 nights as we will be heading Key West tomorrow. Steve has found online a “Key West in 48 Hours” trip which we will be trying to fit into an 8-hour day! Note: Momma Jo is rolling her eyes.