2025 - Florida Keys (April/May)
One of our goals (while still in Texas) was to drive to the Florida Keys (Key West). While we have been to Florida several times, we never made it to the Keys. We decided to squeeze it in now before Hurricane season starts in June. I planned a 3 week road trip that includes my big 6-0 birthday, and front loaded some sightseeing so that we would be in a fun place to celebrate - Disney (yes, again...we were just there in 2023!) 😂
WEEK 1: East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, West Florida
This is not exactly the route (could not get Google Maps to cooperate), but gives you a good idea of our drive over 7 days:
On Easter Sunday we made our first stop in Magnolia, TX where Andrew and Lydia just purchased their new home north of Houston! It is a beautiful 1 acre property. We met some neighbors - ha! ha! and got to celebrate Andrew's birthday a few days early over steak at Refuge Steakhouse.
We drove through some beautiful marshlands before arriving at our stay for the evening.
Upon recommendation from Stacy, our host in Grand Chenier, we stopped at Suire's Grocery & Restaurant in Kaplan, LA. Talk about good home cookin'! This place has been around for over 40 years and now run by daughters Joan & Jackie.
Until I researched this trip, I did not know that the original McIlhenny's Tabasco Sauce was produced right here on Avery Island, LA. We did the self guided tour of the factory, and stopped at "Jungle Gardens", which was their private gardens that one of the ancestors turned into an attraction when automobiles became popular.
We've learned a lot about the Acadian culture on this trip by stopping at two of the Jean Lafitte Visitor Centers, as well as the LARC Acadian Village. The Acadians were hard working farmers from Northeast Canada, and escaped British rule (they refused to "bend the knee" to the king) and persecution. Some fled back to France and others left for Louisiana with encouragement from Spain (they were looking for colonists to develop their territories in the New World). I also did not know that "Cajun" is the same as "Acadian"...it originated from the term "Cadien", a shortened form of "Arcadien", which refers to the French-speaking people who migrated.
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| In addition to the Acadians, people from all over the world have come to this area, which created the Cajun language (similar to Pidgeon, spoken in Hawaii). |
We camped in New Iberia, LA for the night at a very cool HipCamp, which is a garden/farm that provides fresh veggies and fruit to the community!
Meanwhile, Luke with his gal pal Daisy!
We drove along the Old Spanish Trail towards Mississippi to Biloxi. Not much to see frankly...more gulf shores towns, but we did try to stop at the Ohr-O'Keefe Museum of Art which houses a collection of local ceramic artist George Ohr. The building was designed by Frank Gehry...unfortunately we arrived too late to get admission, but still got to look around at the buildings.
We continued on towards Pascagoula until we reached the border of Mississippi and Alabama. We stopped at the visitor center and got a tip that the drive down to Dauphin Island and a ride across the bay on the ferry would be a nice way to see the southern coast of Alabama.
On the way down we stopped at Bayou La Batre. There were several plein air artists there painting the shrimp boats in the bay for entries into a local plein air exhibition. Sadly, they told us that this scenery would likely be gone soon...the shrimp fishermen can no longer make a living there...weather changes have impacted their catch, and land prices are rising, so many of them would rather sell their properties and leave. 😞
In the morning we went searching for the beautiful beaches of Pensacola, and found them all the way across the bay. First you pass this iconic sign, which has now been "updated"! 😵
We visited Fort Pickens, which had not been on our radar, but reminded us of the fort we visited with Roland and Vivian on our trip to Savannah & Charleston.
We drove across the narrow strip of land to Navarre, then back to the "mainland" and the 98 before hitting the scenic 30A which goes through the beautiful Florida beaches of Destin, Seaside, Alyce, Rosemary. We learned about these beaches from all of our friends from Texas...apparently these are the beaches the Texans vacation at! They are really beautiful...fine, white sand and crystal blue waters. The problem is finding parking and access to the beaches seemed nearly impossible unless you are staying at one of the MANY resorts or beach houses there.
Luckily our RV spot for the night located in Panama Beach City had access to the beach, so we relaxed for a bit there...Barry caught some waves and then we called it a night!
Luke and Hana...he does not miss us one bit!
GOOD MORNING!
We continued along Florida's "Big Bend" along the 98, and saw more beautiful beaches before stopping in Apalachicola, a cute little town where I discovered I like Seltzer made from Mead, ha! ha! We made a pit stop in Wakula Springs, which reminded us of Austin's Barton Springs. This is where they filmed "The Creature from the Black Lagoon".
Stopped in Tallahassee for the night...not much to the town, besides being the state capital, and home to Florida State University.
WEEK 2: On to the Keys and Beyond!
Our approximate route...trying to hug the coast as much as possible:
We continued along the bend and down the Panhandle. Too bad the weather is too warm for Manatees, but we are grateful that back in 2007 when we did our big family Disney/Evergaldes trip we had a chance to see many. At Crystal River National Refuge we would have seen a lot if it were winter...look at how amazingly clear the water is!
A little further down the way we thought we would stop at Weeki Wachee State Park. Next door is where there is a mermaid show! Ends up it is like a gigantic water park, and we did not feel like paying for, and waiting for the show. Onward to our Airbnb via Clearwater!
While on the road I got an email from Cousin George that his mom sadly passed. I was debating if I should reach out to Jim & Shari on this trip...but with their mom passing I did reach out. Fortunately, we were able to put a last minute dinner together with them. They came out to where we were staying and picked us up for Italian. They explained to us that a lot of this area was impacted by the recent hurricanes. We have heard a lot about this along our route, but they pointed out damage that we might otherwise not have noticed.
We had a nice time catching up and took this pic too late in the evening so it came out all blurry!
We stayed at this little Airbnb called the "Avocado Oasis" in Gulfport which was the perfect stop to do a bit of laundry, and explore St. Petersburg for the day. We went to the Dali Museum, as well as the Chihouly Collection located at the Morean Art Center. Both were excellent! St. Petersburg and the adjacent towns are very cute (NOTE: we did drive through both Clearwater and Tampa. Clearwater was a madhouse and reminded us of Waikiki (crazy traffic)...Tampa felt like just another big city.
On our drive towards Homestead we stopped at Big Cypress Nationsl Preserve and Everglades National Park. Both great places for observing more amazing landscape and wildlife.
It was very interesting driving to our stay at Schnebly's Winery in Homestead. Clearly this is where all the tropical plants for landscaping and decoration are grown. We were surrounded by them! Got to the Brewery just in time to order from the Smokehouse BBQ and have some yummy beer & cider!
Luke and Luna - still not missing us!
On to The Florida Keys! Similar to Alaska, they have Mile Markers. The starting point (mile 127) is located just south of Florida City, ending at Mile Marker "0" on Key West.
We stopped at the first Visitor Center on Key Largo, the northernmost island. We were given this map, and tried to hit as many of the "highlighted" sights as possible...
Betsy, the giant Lobster (Mile Marker 87):
Robbies (Mile Marker 78) was a surprise hit! We fed Tarpon...they are naturally gigantic and a bit scary!
The water is clearly turning color all around us! We are basically driving from Key to Key (or Island to Island) on a series of bridges built over the water, which is Highway 1.
I'm showing Turtle Hospital next even though we did this on the way out. It is at Mile Marker 47. Very cool place! The guy that owned the old hotel (where the hospital is located) turned it into a hospital to care for the many many turtles who are found injured due to boating accidents, people's trash, and the chemicals ingested. It is now a fully non-profit endeavor that offers tours to help sustain it's operations. Very well worth the visit!
We stayed in the Keys for 2 nights at a KOA on Sugarloaf Key. This is the Southernmost KOA, and I have to say one of the nicest KOA's I have seen!
When we were in Louisiana at one of the Acadian Visitor Centers we met a lady that had stayed here years ago. She told us about Mangrove Mama's across the street! Food was great! Clearly a place that locals flock to 👍
On our full day in the Keys we drove down to Key West. This is where the famous Hemingway House is. What an interesting place to learn about the Man & Myth...as well as some history of the area. He lived in this house with his second of four wives...and the descendants of his polydactyl cat all still live there! There are over 50 of them! They live like kings and queens and even have dedicated Vets that watch over them.
"Mile 0" - or the "Southernmost Point of the Continental US" is just a bit of a trek down the street. We stopped there for a photo op...then walked down to the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center as well as Truman's Little White House. Did not stay long, we were pooped and hungry for lunch. We stopped at First Flight, which is housed in the building that was the birthplace of PanAm Airlines, and is now the southernmost micro-brewery! Dined with some chickens 😂
We brought our paddle boards and had not used them yet. This was the perfect opportunity, as our KOA has a little Marina. We got a great tip on where to go from the nice man that works there, and were able to launch just steps from our campsite!
Hungry for dinner - Turkey burgers!
Driving back up north, we stopped at Biscayne National Park. Actually this park is basically underwater. You can go to the Visitor Center and learn more about the coral reefs that are protected, and take boat cruises.
We attempted to get Cubano's in Little Havana, but it was a Friday, and already packed with people - too difficult to navigate parking with the van. We also attempted to go to the Art Deco Center in Miami, but again, so crowded! We got a few pics, and headed up the coast to our stay at Amy's Bistro in Pompano Beach.
We were able to see more beaches, and we also made an impromptu stop at the Navy Seal Museum located in Fort Pierce beach.
Arrival at Disney!
I asked Barry to make me ribeye for my "birthday dinner" - soooo good! 😋
WEEK 3: Orlando, NE Florida, More Louisiana...then HOME
Week 3 looks like this:
Sadly, it is raining...but Disney here we come!!!
We ducked in from the rain for Toy Story...
...and then basically hit things that were new (or that we missed) since our last time there. We had (2) two day passes - one of those passes is thanks to Jami for gifting us passes that she received through work! Barry got me the "birthday" button, which prompted happy birthday wishes from all sorts of strangers throughout our time there!
Our last full day in Orlando was spent at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Their newest "Land" is slated to open later this month.
This park visit brings out all the "KID" in Barry!
Good-bye Disney & Orlando!
We headed back towards the coast. Since we have been to Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach before, we drive northeast a bit to hit Daytona for a peek at the Speedway.
We stop at another preserve and beach, where the sand is very coarse and full of shells.
As we head further north we stop at Fort Matanzas - the first of two forts meant to defend Florida (Spain's territory) from invaders and pirates. Fort Matanzas is located about 15 miles south of Castillo de San Marcos, Castillo is located in St. Augustine proper. It really resembles a castle with a drawbridge and everything! It is raining pretty hard by the time we get to St. Augustine, but we make it in time to sit in on a Ranger presentation about the history of these two structures.
It is unfortunate that the rain keeps us from visiting St. Augustine. This is the oldest city in the US and looks like a great place to stroll around. Instead we drive a round a bit, and then head to camp (of course the rain dies down once we get there)! I got us a campsite adjacent to St. Augustine - at Anastasia State Park. We probably could have spent another night there. The state park has beautiful beach dunes and a bay that would be great to explore.
Today is a long 470 mile drive to Mobile, AL. Barry has tweaked his back, we think because he lifted the bikes onto the rack by himself at Disney and strained it somehow. We decide to treat ourselves to a night at Best Western and dinner out!
Scenery along the bayou towards New Orleans.
Since we had been in NOLA in 2017 for a pretty deep dive during Mardi Gras, we decided the only thing we really wanted to see was the National WW2 Museum. Our plan was to spend most of the day there, but really you could probably spend a good 2 days there (they sell 2 day passes!). Luckily their website directs RVers to parking at the NOLA Visitor Center, so we parked there for the day and UBER'd.
It was raining that day pretty hard, so actually it was perfect, until we wanted to get our Muffaletta's (at Central Grocery & Deli) and Beignets (at Cafe du Monde)! We made it just before closing, and Central Grocery only had a half sandwich left - we grabbed it, and ended up having dessert before dinner that night!
Last full day of our trip was spent in Baton Rouge. We are ready to go home, but not looking forward to the hot weather that is coming to Austin this week! 😳 The rain cooled things down here, so we enjoy our last full breakfast in the van and head out..
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