Miami and the Florida Keys
Spring Break 2017
Spring Break 2017
Miami and the Florida Keys 2017
For Spring Break 2017 Paul and I picked Miami and the Florida Keys so that we could visit the three National Parks in the state. This was such a great idea! The weather was perfect and though we traveled around in a constant whirlwind of planes, boats and cars, I loved every single minute of our adventure. South Beach in Miami was spring break in full effect! Big booties in small swimsuits, everyone competing for the loudest jams in their cars and boats, Cuban food on every corner, large cruise ships in port and my new favorite coffee, the cortado.
The Florida Keys were vacationland personified. As we drove down US 1 through each Key on the way to Key West we saw people fishing on the side of the road, iguanas zipping across the road, key lime pie stands, Tiki bars, cormorants and pelicans swooping for fish in the ocean, scuba advertisements and lots of billboards for sandals and tee-shirts. This spring break we took a true break from Kansas winter and visited summer for seven whole days. Here's what we did:
Monday
After driving to Memphis to visit family and our favorite Memphis restaurants and shopping we flew to Miami. As soon as we got in our rental car we drove straight to Little Havana and ate at Versailles. I had read about this place online and it truly lives up to the name The World's Most Famous Cuban Restaurant. It was packed with tourists and locals and I ordered everything I possibly could on the menu: the Classico sampler plate, an extra order of fried sweet plantains, key lime pie, my first cortado (love at first sugary sweet sip). Paul had a delicious Cuban sandwich on crunchy French bread. The bill was so reasonable that I wish I'd ordered more. Afterwards we checked into our apartment in South Beach and though we were in a great location it took forever to check in. Three hours, in fact. Paul took a nap while I walked up and down Collins Avenue and then down to the Lincoln Road Mall. I bought a large vanilla macaron in Paul patisserie. I hadn't had one of these since my last trip to Paris 8 years ago! I began to relax into the summery weather as I watched all the young spring breakers walking around in groups flirting with other groups and sipping drinks in bars and outdoor cafes. That night we ate at Babylon Turkish Restaurant on Washington Ave near our apartment. I loved this food so much! The hummus was creamy and delicious, the cabbage rolls were amazing, the falafel crunchy and delicious topped with goat cheese, and Paul ordered a lamb steak that was the best I've ever had. Also, the cafe style seating outdoors under covered garden trellises and candles on the table made the evening romantic. The weather was perfect for this meal.
Tuesday
Tuesday was my favorite day of the trip. We drove to Homestead, FL to take a sailboat tour of Biscayne National Park. I had never been on a sailboat before and I loved it. We were on the sailboat with two other couples and the captain. We sailed to an island that was once a private island used for parties. Paul and I kayaked a little and wandered around the island, had a picnic lunch and took lots of pictures of beautiful water and mangroves. The conversation with the two other couples was so fun and relaxing. I could have spent the whole spring break doing this! For dinner Paul and I drove back to Little Havana and ate at the Cuban restaurant across the street from Versailles called La Carreta. The food was delicious and the pina colada was too. I basically ordered the exact meal I'd ordered at Versailles. I'm ready to try cooking seasoned Cuban hamburger steak and onions. Maybe a Cuban dinner for our favorite guests will happen this summer?
Wednesday
We slept in a little and then drove to the Everglades National Park where we lingered over amazing wildlife, lily pads and a very intriguing fruit stand/petting zoo called Robert Is Here. We took tons of pictures (alligators and cormorants basically posed for us at every step) and hiked a short hike in the overgrowth or "hammock" near the boardwalk. We ate fresh mango and I bought some Tortuga Rum cakes that I haven't seen since my last cruise in the early aughts. We drove down US 1 and stopped in Key Largo for sushi at Sushi Sake. Paul had a delicious Cuban roll that combined seasoned beef and plantains as well as a crab roll. I had some perfectly seasoned hibachi scallops. We drove down to Key West slowly where we checked into a very tiny and cute hotel on Duval Street. We walked back and forth across Duval street between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico a few times stopping in Kermit's Key Lime Pie Shop for key lime pie. There were macaron shops, souvenir shops, crowded bars and tons of happy people having a dang good time. We also walked over to Hemingway's house to take pictures. We saw the six-toed cats walking around inside the gates! We ended up eating dinner at Sloppy Joe's which had a great live band. We loved the local beer, the strong and sweet strawberry daiquiris, and fried fish and French fries. And it was true what everyone had said: there are roosters everywhere! They're beautiful...and loud. Key West is a must-see, people! I'd say it is a combination of Charleston, New Orleans and island culture all rolled into one.
Thursday
The next day was our day cruise to Dry Tortugas National Park. We left very early in the morning and unfortunately this boat trip wasn't as fun as the sail boat. We sped through six-foot waves and didn't fare so well. We both got sea sick but Fort Jefferson was cool, the island was beautiful and I took my favorite picture of the trip on this excursion. The fort was huge and we were able to walk around on top of it and watch cormorants and other birds nesting on the beach. After the cruise we ate dinner at Pepe's Cafe in Key West where I had delicious peel-and-eat shrimp, barbeque chicken, a tart margarita and a slice of amazing coconut cream pie. After a long day on the ocean we drove back to Homestead, FL to spend the night.
Friday
Our last day in Florida Paul dropped me off in Miami Beach to shop at Lincoln Road Mall before he headed back to the Everglades to hike 15 miles. I was so happy to spend five hours shopping and eating in a place I'd once visited with my parents. It was relaxing to watch svelte Europeans and young Americans shopping and sipping espressos in all the outdoor cafes. I found a bookstore and touched beautiful books. I ended up only buying a Lucky Peach magazine (the chicken issue). There were a million choices for lunch but I chose Shake Shack because I've never eaten there. I am enthralled with the west coast-east coast competition between In and Out Burger and Shake Shack. Having tried neither I thought Shake Shack was delicious! The burger was yummy and reminded me of our local Midwest favorite Freddy's burger. The crinkle cut fries were perfect! So unusually crinkly that there was maximum crunch on all the surface of each fry. The salted caramel shake was okay. I also found the Laduree macaron shop and tried the coffee macaron and the cognac one. I had a Starbuck's iced coffee and sat and texted my travel buddy Stephanie (who was at work) for a while. I walked to Paul patisserie again and ate another large vanilla macaron while I people watched. I shopped in Zara, Athleta, Taschen (where I was tempted to buy the Mad Men picture book) and walked into a million other places along the mall. I walked to the beach and took in some last longing looks at the beach before I hopped into a taxi and went to our airport hotel to watch Diners, Drive-ins and Dives until I fell asleep. We flew back to Memphis early the next morning, spent some more time with my mom and drove home to Dodge City all day Sunday to be back at work Monday morning.
I am so thankful I married a kind and loving man who travels with me. I am so grateful that he encourages me to go to places I would never seek out on my own. This trip was so much fun and I've even started following Misha (one of the fellow sailboat travelers from Portland, OR) on Instagram. I may have to visit Portland again soon!
For Spring Break 2017 Paul and I picked Miami and the Florida Keys so that we could visit the three National Parks in the state. This was such a great idea! The weather was perfect and though we traveled around in a constant whirlwind of planes, boats and cars, I loved every single minute of our adventure. South Beach in Miami was spring break in full effect! Big booties in small swimsuits, everyone competing for the loudest jams in their cars and boats, Cuban food on every corner, large cruise ships in port and my new favorite coffee, the cortado.
The Florida Keys were vacationland personified. As we drove down US 1 through each Key on the way to Key West we saw people fishing on the side of the road, iguanas zipping across the road, key lime pie stands, Tiki bars, cormorants and pelicans swooping for fish in the ocean, scuba advertisements and lots of billboards for sandals and tee-shirts. This spring break we took a true break from Kansas winter and visited summer for seven whole days. Here's what we did:
Monday
After driving to Memphis to visit family and our favorite Memphis restaurants and shopping we flew to Miami. As soon as we got in our rental car we drove straight to Little Havana and ate at Versailles. I had read about this place online and it truly lives up to the name The World's Most Famous Cuban Restaurant. It was packed with tourists and locals and I ordered everything I possibly could on the menu: the Classico sampler plate, an extra order of fried sweet plantains, key lime pie, my first cortado (love at first sugary sweet sip). Paul had a delicious Cuban sandwich on crunchy French bread. The bill was so reasonable that I wish I'd ordered more. Afterwards we checked into our apartment in South Beach and though we were in a great location it took forever to check in. Three hours, in fact. Paul took a nap while I walked up and down Collins Avenue and then down to the Lincoln Road Mall. I bought a large vanilla macaron in Paul patisserie. I hadn't had one of these since my last trip to Paris 8 years ago! I began to relax into the summery weather as I watched all the young spring breakers walking around in groups flirting with other groups and sipping drinks in bars and outdoor cafes. That night we ate at Babylon Turkish Restaurant on Washington Ave near our apartment. I loved this food so much! The hummus was creamy and delicious, the cabbage rolls were amazing, the falafel crunchy and delicious topped with goat cheese, and Paul ordered a lamb steak that was the best I've ever had. Also, the cafe style seating outdoors under covered garden trellises and candles on the table made the evening romantic. The weather was perfect for this meal.
Tuesday
Tuesday was my favorite day of the trip. We drove to Homestead, FL to take a sailboat tour of Biscayne National Park. I had never been on a sailboat before and I loved it. We were on the sailboat with two other couples and the captain. We sailed to an island that was once a private island used for parties. Paul and I kayaked a little and wandered around the island, had a picnic lunch and took lots of pictures of beautiful water and mangroves. The conversation with the two other couples was so fun and relaxing. I could have spent the whole spring break doing this! For dinner Paul and I drove back to Little Havana and ate at the Cuban restaurant across the street from Versailles called La Carreta. The food was delicious and the pina colada was too. I basically ordered the exact meal I'd ordered at Versailles. I'm ready to try cooking seasoned Cuban hamburger steak and onions. Maybe a Cuban dinner for our favorite guests will happen this summer?
Wednesday
We slept in a little and then drove to the Everglades National Park where we lingered over amazing wildlife, lily pads and a very intriguing fruit stand/petting zoo called Robert Is Here. We took tons of pictures (alligators and cormorants basically posed for us at every step) and hiked a short hike in the overgrowth or "hammock" near the boardwalk. We ate fresh mango and I bought some Tortuga Rum cakes that I haven't seen since my last cruise in the early aughts. We drove down US 1 and stopped in Key Largo for sushi at Sushi Sake. Paul had a delicious Cuban roll that combined seasoned beef and plantains as well as a crab roll. I had some perfectly seasoned hibachi scallops. We drove down to Key West slowly where we checked into a very tiny and cute hotel on Duval Street. We walked back and forth across Duval street between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico a few times stopping in Kermit's Key Lime Pie Shop for key lime pie. There were macaron shops, souvenir shops, crowded bars and tons of happy people having a dang good time. We also walked over to Hemingway's house to take pictures. We saw the six-toed cats walking around inside the gates! We ended up eating dinner at Sloppy Joe's which had a great live band. We loved the local beer, the strong and sweet strawberry daiquiris, and fried fish and French fries. And it was true what everyone had said: there are roosters everywhere! They're beautiful...and loud. Key West is a must-see, people! I'd say it is a combination of Charleston, New Orleans and island culture all rolled into one.
Thursday
The next day was our day cruise to Dry Tortugas National Park. We left very early in the morning and unfortunately this boat trip wasn't as fun as the sail boat. We sped through six-foot waves and didn't fare so well. We both got sea sick but Fort Jefferson was cool, the island was beautiful and I took my favorite picture of the trip on this excursion. The fort was huge and we were able to walk around on top of it and watch cormorants and other birds nesting on the beach. After the cruise we ate dinner at Pepe's Cafe in Key West where I had delicious peel-and-eat shrimp, barbeque chicken, a tart margarita and a slice of amazing coconut cream pie. After a long day on the ocean we drove back to Homestead, FL to spend the night.
Friday
Our last day in Florida Paul dropped me off in Miami Beach to shop at Lincoln Road Mall before he headed back to the Everglades to hike 15 miles. I was so happy to spend five hours shopping and eating in a place I'd once visited with my parents. It was relaxing to watch svelte Europeans and young Americans shopping and sipping espressos in all the outdoor cafes. I found a bookstore and touched beautiful books. I ended up only buying a Lucky Peach magazine (the chicken issue). There were a million choices for lunch but I chose Shake Shack because I've never eaten there. I am enthralled with the west coast-east coast competition between In and Out Burger and Shake Shack. Having tried neither I thought Shake Shack was delicious! The burger was yummy and reminded me of our local Midwest favorite Freddy's burger. The crinkle cut fries were perfect! So unusually crinkly that there was maximum crunch on all the surface of each fry. The salted caramel shake was okay. I also found the Laduree macaron shop and tried the coffee macaron and the cognac one. I had a Starbuck's iced coffee and sat and texted my travel buddy Stephanie (who was at work) for a while. I walked to Paul patisserie again and ate another large vanilla macaron while I people watched. I shopped in Zara, Athleta, Taschen (where I was tempted to buy the Mad Men picture book) and walked into a million other places along the mall. I walked to the beach and took in some last longing looks at the beach before I hopped into a taxi and went to our airport hotel to watch Diners, Drive-ins and Dives until I fell asleep. We flew back to Memphis early the next morning, spent some more time with my mom and drove home to Dodge City all day Sunday to be back at work Monday morning.
I am so thankful I married a kind and loving man who travels with me. I am so grateful that he encourages me to go to places I would never seek out on my own. This trip was so much fun and I've even started following Misha (one of the fellow sailboat travelers from Portland, OR) on Instagram. I may have to visit Portland again soon!
Little Havana, Miami
South Beach, Miami
The Everglades
Key West, Florida
Biscayne National Park
Dry Tortugas National Park
A few of my souvenirs from the trip!