A week in warmer weather!
Hi folks! We just got back from a week away in sunny Florida. Wow, was this trip needed. We have been so busy with work and the holidays that we just needed some down time and sitting on beach was just what the doctor ordered. 🙂 The first few days were spent in Key Largo. We have never visited the Key before and were excited to see what it was all about. We have, however, spent time in Key West and we thought if Key Largo is as much fun as Key West, then we were in for a good time. Well…not much fun to be had on this Key. In fact, after two days we were pretty much done with it. The hotel we stayed at was just beautiful, but the surrounding area not so much. The Key Largo Hotel/ Playa Largo Autograph was still decorated for the holidays and the trees and decor was just stunning.
There were not many restaurants to choose from (in fact many of our meals were eaten in one of the many hotel restaurants), but we did find this gem- Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen. This place offered a large menu and probably the best Key Lime Pie either one of us had ever tasted.
We did end up taking a sunset cruise on a glass bottom boat while in Key Largo. The company was called the Key Largo Princess- Glass bottom Boat- charter and cruises. They were very professional and we did see lots of sea life through the glass bottom, but nothing was better than the sunset on the water. My new camera was clicking away, as I could not get enough of the beautiful setting. We also stumbled across the real African Queen steam boat! I now want to rewatch the film so I can see the boat again. They do offer outings on the old boat and I wish we had done that tour instead, next time.
We rented a car through Costco and drove to Miami for the rest of our trip. We have been to South Beach before and we really like staying at the Marriott Stanton while there. The hotel is located right on the beach and right on the running/biking trail. The trail itself is just awesome. It’s paved, it’s on the water front, it’s well lit at night, it’s well used – there are always people enjoying it. I could go on and on- that’s how much we love this trail. The beach is made up of miles of white sand, the water is clear, the hotel has a very nice pool where you can relax and order whatever beverage or meal you want. It’s really just a great escape in the cold winter months. Oh, and the hotel is located at the end of the South Beach strip so the noise level is greatly reduced. That is why we love this hotel and why we visit it every single year. Enough said. 🙂
Beautiful park next to the hotel.
They had some really good German choices and since visiting Germany is on our radar we have been enjoying many good German brews.
We also found the Gelato very tasty at a weekend Jazz fest .
We also stumbled upon an outdoor movie in the park– South Beach Soundscape Park offers a monthly viewing of all types of movies for free.
The movie was New York, New York. The picture and sound quality were very good.
And we found time for a crazy large dessert at the Big Pink. We indulged in a Red Velvet Cheesecake that was so large we couldn’t even finish it all- but I guarantee we gave it our best shot. 🙂
One of our favorite places to eat while vacationing is Whole Foods. Yup, you read that right. It’s inexpensive, nutritional, has great variety, has craft bottled beer (and some locations actually have draft beer) that you can drink on the premises, and did I say variety? Dave goes for a hearty meal where I tend to favor the homemade soups.
In South Beach there is a street called Espanola Way. It’s full of wonderful restaurants, bars, shopping and has great people watching to partake in. On the weekends it’s wall to wall people having a good time!
