From the Florida Keys to Everglades National Park

The final day of our too short sister trip, and it was not going to be a boring one.

After an amazing Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas Adventure, we were up and out by 4:45 am with some super-secret stalking to do before leaving for the Everglades National Park. As we learned from the tasting room host at Pilar’s Distillery, sometimes Kenny Chesney sneaks into the Jimmy Buffet recording studio in Key West in the wee early hours of the morning to record on his off-tour time. He gets there early to get in and out without being seen. . . but we were there to foil that plan!

Shrimpboat Sound Studio

Cuban coffee in hand (fabulous, amazing Cuban coffee, BTW from Lil’ Lepowski Café, from the kind of place where the locals are picking up their coffees from on their way to work), we were off for some serious sister-level stalking. This is where I would like to insert our amazing story about meeting Kenny and being invited to hang out on his boat, day drinking with him and his crew. I would really like to.

However, by 6 am we came to the realization that we should probably just hit the road, leaving Kenny to wallow in disappointment when he learned via our new blog that we had been waiting for him.

It may sound completely crazy, but we had decided to spend our final night in the Keys milking out every last drop of the sun-soaked goodness. Which meant driving the entire way back up to Tampa for our flight home the next day before 4 pm, no biggie.

Sister side note (ssn) – we had one more mandatory stop before we left, the Southernmost Point marker. It had been too crowded during the day so we made time to snap a few pics on our way out of town.

Leaving Key West for the Everglades

ssn – after heading back across 7-mile bridge (I think Patti was finally getting used to it!), we started looking for places to watch the sunrise. It was not disappointing!

We grabbed some breakfast in Key Largo, our last meal before leaving our beloved Florida Keys behind. It was still early on a weekday, and we had a long drive ahead of us. So we took a pass on the all you can drink mimosa place and landed at a little place in Islamorada called Keys Bite. I had the best chilaquiles, which are my breakfast weakness, add on the steak which was sheer breakfast perfection. We really stumbled on an amazing find with this little family owned joint! Couldn’t have been happier for our last meal on this adventure.

And then we were off, leaving the Keys in the rearview mirror.

Everglades National Park

But first…after our fabulous drive through the Everglades National Park on our way south, we knew we could not possibly pass up the chance to take an airboat tour to see some gators. I mean, come on, what do you do after a seaplane except an airboat, are you on our train of thought yet? We had settled on Coopertown, because it was essentially the last one we had passed on the way down, and the first one we hit on the way back. Plus, the sign said it was the Original, you can’t argue with that, they are the original!

But First…Wildlife

A bonus at Coopertown was the Wildlife Show before the boat ride. Now, I’m not saying I was a little freaked out, but chances are I was a lot freaked out being out in the open all exposed and ready to be gator bait. Peggy was taking it like the champ that she is. Oh, look caged up croc, oh look bigger caged up crock. . .oh look, SNAKE CAGE? WHAT? SNAKE CAGE??? And this is where the “noping” begins. They brought around a cute little baby gator for us to touch while they held it all snug as a bug. But then they thought they should tell us all about the snakes of the ‘glades. Dear Lord Almighty, Peggy is taking me to be eaten by a gator. And if that doesn’t work some anaconda is going to snatch me out of that boat…I mean, I’m not J-Lo by any stretch of the imagination, but I know what snakes can do in a swamp, I saw that movie!

ssn – I touched the snake! I realize that sounds dirty but I did and it was a huge deal! The gator was cute, but I am terrified of snakes!

Everglades Airboat Ride

Then it’s time to board the boat. We were put in the back. This is a bummer, but definitely safer during an attack. Luckily they sat some 8 year old looking boy upfront. I’m pretty sure they were planning on him being the bait. If you’ve ever raised an 8 year old boy, you know he had it coming. So I was getting all safe and secure that I might survive this adventure.

The girl in front of us finally asks what we all really want to know. Has a gator ever actually jumped into a boat? The river assures us that he doesn’t think so, but it’s his first day, so he doesn’t actually know for sure. I am comforted by his humor, and by the fact someone else was on my side of preparing for death. And we depart. And it’s loud. It is also incredibly beautiful. We saw some gators, and they looked fairly harmless and uninterested in us. The airboat is pretty stinking cool gliding along the water. I ended up loving this brush with death. Then we got to switch places so I could sit on the outside of the boat, and the good happy feeling melted into a mini panic attack. Yet I still survived to tell the tale.

Back to Tampa

Side note, for those that are National Park amateurs, I had found out in the Dry Tortugas (thanks to my older and wiser sister), that there is such a thing as a National Park Passport. That’s right, you buy a passport book, and then you can collect stamps at each national park you visit. Who am I to pass up that challenge, and how cool of a thing is this to do with your family? This meant we definitely had to stop at the Everglades for my second stamp in my new book.

Sorry to say, the rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. A fabulous meal at Datz in St. Pete with my most favoritest niece on the planet. I had their Barry C’s Stuffed Meatloaf, which was incredible – yeah and by stuffed they mean bacon-jalapeno mac and cheese INSIDE, ketchup glaze, side of mashed potatoes and peas.

ssn – the most favoritest niece is my gorgeous daughter, Sydni. Thank you for letting us use your car!!

That got me to my coast to coast flight. Leaving my sister behind in Denver, continuing home via Spokane.

It was an amazing journey, and one of our bestest vacations ever. A Happy 50th Birthday to the best sister on the planet. Let’s do that again real soon!!!