Miami Day 1.5

On our way out of Miami, and to Key Largo and Islamorada, we passed a saloon called "Last Chance Saloon" and saw signs for Alligator Crossings.  The roads were fairly empty, for a Friday morning, pre-breakfast, and the sun was trying to break through the clouds.  Blue sky could be found every now and then.  Once we got to Key Largo, we stopped at the third place that served breakfast (that we saw), easily lured by the "as seen on the food network" sign.  The quaint little place "The Conch House" was a traditionally key-west-looking house with a wide wrap-around porch and beautiful garden, set just back off the highway.  We drank freshly squeezed orange juice, and dined on the Cracked Conch Benedict and a piece of Key Lime Pie!  So now I can officially say that I had key lime pie for breakfast... seriously the best I've ever had!  And we can only assume that the key lime pie was made from Florida key limes, and that the orange juice was squeezed from Florida oranges.  Rightly so, me thinks.  ;)

 

We continued our trek down the islands in search of a place to see the ocean and get our feet wet.  At first glance, Key Largo was relatively normal... upper Florida-ish even.  We hadn't seen the ocean yet, there were less souvenir shops than I had imagined, and we hadn't crossed the 7-mile bridge.  And it really wasn't until we got to Islamorada that I started feeling like we were there.  We stopped at the Tourist Info shop and the lovely woman inside showed us the map and informed us that there was a nice (free) beach about 10 miles down.  Happily, we decided to head there!  And it was great!  Anne's Beach featured close parking, bathrooms, access to the beach, clear water, a bevy of teeny-tiny hermit crab shells, and the ability to wade through the ocean water for 1/4 mile out.  And it wasn't too chilly either.  We spent a good half hour out there sitting in the water, sorting through the sand to find the pretty little shells, and enjoying the view.  It was overcast and not overly hot, so it was incredibly pleasant! 

After our jaunt to the water, we headed back towards the mainland, stopping at a touristy shop on the way, and then went up Card Sound Road (the only other way to get back to Florida) to find Alabama Jacks.  And we found it!  After driving for 15 miles, paying a dollar toll, and then looking to the left.  This restaurant was seriously the only restaurant on this road...  it was weird.  lol.  But it was good!  It is an open-air place that is sitting right on the causeway, with the best conch fritters.  (I keep pronouncing it conch btw, and not "konk" like it is supposed to be pronounced).  We snagged a table right next to the rail, sat, ordered, and enjoyed watching the birds and the fish freak out over the crumbs being thrown off the side.  We had an order of fritters, some smoked fish dip, and some chili-cheese fries.  And it was lovely!

After lunch, we got back on that really. long. road. and continued north.  Eventually, we were back in Homestead and before we knew it, back to Kendall.  And after resting for a quick second, we are getting ready to hang out with the Stones and have some more fun!

things to consider:
miami is confusing to drive around, and the traffic is bad.
key lime pie should be served at every meal.
the road barricades going to the keys were teal, very "key west".
don't doubt the "hole in the wall" joints for the best food ever.
and take pictures whenever possible.