Southern FL - Jan 2024

Continuing on our five month East Coast roadtrip, we left Grayton Beach to spend two weeks in Southern Florida.  

Orlando

Our first stop was just one night in Orlando where we stayed at the Hyatt Place and met up for dinner with Heather, a Georgetown College roommate of Shawna's.  We met for dinner at Cooper's Hawk where we split a yummy fish dish and caught up on over thirty years from the last time we saw one another! 

Dinner with Heather at Cooper's Hawk

The next morning, we met up with David and Elisa at First Catch for breakfast where we got an omelet and breakfast tacos.  Keith knows David from his time working at Club Corp in DC.  

Breakfast with David and Elisa at First Catch

Big Pine Key

We then drove to Big Pine where we stayed six nights at Chris and Steve's beautiful house.  Shawna knows Chris from her time working at Chase in NYC after undergrad and Chris was also in our wedding. The last time we were at their house was when they were first finishing up the house so we finally got to see it all done!  We stayed in their guest house in a nice and comfy king size bed.

When we first arrived, we got the tour of the house and had a few beers before heading out to dinner to one of their local spots - Kiki's Sandbar - a great place on the water where we sat outside and enjoyed some music, tuna nachos and fish tacos.  Back at the house, we played poker with the kids.

On Saturday, Shawna and Chris went for a walk and then we went to the local farmers market to pick up some cheese and goodies that we enjoyed later that evening.  We also got some yummy sandwiches from a nearby market.  That afternoon, we drove into Key West and had a few drinks and snacks - key lime martinis at The White Tarpon and beer, oysters and fish bites at A&B Lobster House.  On the way back, we stopped to get a bottle of wine and enjoyed that while watching Edie at softball practice.  That evening, we sat outside at the house, drinking wine and eating cheese and bread that we had bought earlier in the day at the farmers market.

Key Lime Martinis with Chris at White Tarpon

On Sunday, Chris made breakfast for us and then a few of their friends joined us at their house in the afternoon for poker and snacks.  Shawna won the whole pot! That evening, we went to dinner at No Name Pub and shared a pizza and wings.

Dinner at No Name Pub

On Monday, we drove into Key West and did the 90 minute trolley tour of Key West.  The guide was not very exciting but we did learn some interesting facts about the town and its history and got to see some of the landmarks.  We hopped off the trolley and went into the Butterfly Conservatory which had some neat butterflies and birds! Of course, we had to get one more key lime martini at The White Tarpon before heading back.  That evening, Shawna made a salad and pasta dish for dinner.

Butterfly Conservatory

On Tuesday, we drove to Islamorada to have lunch with Nicole, a former colleague of Keith's, at Bad Boy Burrito. We shared some fish and pork tacos which were quite tasty.  That afternoon, we took a quick nap and then that evening we went to the local tiki bar to play trivia.

On Wednesday, we drove the kids to school and were amazed that they did this trek to Key West every day!  We stopped at Bagel Island on the way home and got a few bagels for breakfast.  Shawna then went for her run and then we had lunch with Chris and Steve at Forks and Stix where we had a yummy tuna poke bowl and spicy salmon roll.  That afternoon, we drove to Marathon and toured both the Dolphin Research Center and the Turtle Hospital which provides medical services to turtles who have been injured or got ill.  Both were very interesting.  That evening, Chris made us dinner - yummy fish and a salad.

Dolphin Research Center

On Thursday, after Shawna's run, we packed up and said our farewells and then drove to Miami.

Miami

We stayed three nights in Miami at the Confidante (a Hyatt hotel) on Miami Beach.  It was a decent hotel but one that is in transition to another brand so the pool area and several of the restaurants were closed.  When we arrived, we relaxed in the room to watch a few movies and then got a quick bite to eat at a pizza restaurant that was across the street from our hotel - we shared a salad and a pizza.  

Relaxing on Miami Beach

On Friday, Shawna worked out in the gym and then we released on the beach that afternoon, reading and enjoying a couple of beers.  It was the only relatively nice and warm day for us to enjoy some beach time in the two weeks we were in FL.  That evening, we had a tasty dinner at Zaytinya which is a Jose Andres restaurant.  We sat outside and had a bottle of wine and shared several small plates -- all of them were very good.  

Dinner at Zaytinya

On Saturday, we met up for a late lunch with another one of Shawna's Georgetown roommates - Mariana - who lives in Miami.  We met up at Regatta Grove which was a great outdoor venue on the water with some fun people watching.  We had a few drinks and ate burgers while catching up.  Since we ate a later lunch, we were not terribly hungry for dinner so we just had a few granola bars in the room and watched movies that evening.

Lunch with Mariana at Regatta Grove

On Sunday, we packed up and parked the car at a Park n Fly near the Miami airport and left all of our stuff in there except our carry on suitcases and backpacks.  We were a bit nervous about doing this but felt better that it was an indoor valet garage where we were parking.  We had to leave the car there for a week while we did a quick detour for a week to Louisiana and Texas.