Key Largo and Biscayne National Park, Florida

 End of January, 2021

Here Fishy Fishy…Biscayne Bay National Park and Key Largo

We spent a few days in the Key Largo Area just to enjoy the personality of the Keys.  Key West is hyped up with history and architecture, but Key Largo is layback with an attitude of take it or leave it.  I loved this area of the Keys.  It is filled with kitsch and good food. 

Our first stop in Key Largo was at the Rain Barrel Artisan Village to visit Betsy the lobster.  This set of stores (art and kitsch together) supports the restoration and maintenance of a 30-ft tall and 40-ft long fiberglass sculpture done by Richard Blaze (1980), in the front of the store.  Fun to see all the artwork in the little stores behind the lobster.  

We then moved down the road to the Lorelei Bar and Restaurant to see a Wyland-painted mermaid called Lorelei.  This huge relief was painted by the famous Californian Wyland in 1980.  The tarpon gills were meticulously glued onto the glistening tail one by one.  My family has always had a fascination with mermaids.  She was no exception.  The Lorelei was a character of German legends. She was an enchantress who haunted a steep rock on the bank of the Rhine River.  She sang sweet songs to lure fishermen to their death on the rocks. When attacked by warriors, she called the foam from the river to the top of the rock to carry her down current, never to be seen again. What a great legacy for the restaurant to carry. 

Rock crab is in season so we tried a few crab claws paired with a key lime martini.  Oh my!

We ended up at one of the most popular tiki bar and restaurant in Key Largo; it is called” 88.” This was such a fun spot on the beach.  We went for dinner, drinks, and the sunset.  None of these disappointed.  The music was also pretty great.   This place is how I imagined the Florida Keys would be…relaxed, personal, and very good food.  Of all the key lime pies that I tried in the Florida Keys, this one was the best.  My partner also tried hogfish and I had a local beer and calamari and approved.  We saw the most beautiful sunset here, which made the memory very special. 

The next day we were ready to do a little snorkeling at the 3^rd largest coral reef in the world; Biscayne Bay National Park is one of the largest national parks in the U.S.A. and it is all within the bounds of Florida Bays and Atlantic Ocean.  Just as a side note, while walking up to the visitor center, I spotted and photographed a small frog framed against a royal palm.  Such a beautiful contrast. 

I am realizing that there are quite a few really good contractors that work with the National Parks to bring you great experiences.  For Biscayne Bay, their diving and snorkeling contractors are right there at the Visitor Center.  We booked a 2.5-hour snorkeling experience for $89, which I thought was a pretty good deal.  The day was little windy and cool, but the snorkeling was spectacular out on the reef; diversity and number of species and ages was so high (e.g., different sizes of many different reef species).  We also rented body suits and I recommend that on a cold day.  We were able to stay out longer.  In fact, after spending time on the reef, we got to go snorkel one of the mangroves on the east side and the water was pretty darn cold, but I think that might have been the highlight of my snorkeling in Florida.  This is the ecosystem that serves as a nursery and hiding place for many species including manatees and alligators.  I saw huge and tiny fish.  

After we finished the captain made for shore, trying to beat a storm back to shore, so the ride back was pretty cold, but I was nicely distracted by a talk with the interpreter, who has learned about nature through Women Outdoors.  So nice to hear that she wants to do a Pilots license.  Exciting to see the next generation of naturalists. Florida is turning out to be quite the place for exciting and fun things to do.