After leaving Cape Coral first thing in the morning and then spending a day in the Everglades we were ready for dinner. We were not sure how easy it would be to find somewhere to eat in Key Largo but saw that there was a Texas Roadhouse on route. We all had steak apart from Tom who opted for the ribs. We were quickly back on the road again and made it to our hotel by 6.30pm

Hampton Inn, Key Largo

We didn’t know what to expect as the reviews weren’t great but the hotel was really expensive (due to its location). We were able to park right outside our room and before Stu had even unloaded the car Tom and Izzy were wandering down to check out the pool and the beach.

They both returned to get changed and were quickly in the sea.

It wasn’t long before they disappeared to the pool where they made some friends whilst Stu and I ordered a margarita from the pool bar and watched the sunset. Although, despite being covered in bug spray something kept attacking us which we later learned were called ‘no-see-ums’ probably because you can’t see them but the following day we were covered in little red marks.

^{Enjoying the sunset!}

The following morning we didn’t have much of a plan so decided to travel south to Robbies where we heard you could feed the fish and then work our way back to the hotel stopping at various places and maybe hiring some kayaks.

Robbies Marina

Robbies Marina is a marina/dock with a shop selling lots of nautical and Keys themed gifts and some food stands.

We made our way to the Tarpon feeding area where we paid about $20 which gave us access to the dock and 2 buckets of fish food. As we entered all the pelicans were swimming on the water and roaming the dock hoping to get the fish food – we hadn’t realised how big they were close up. To feed the Tarpon you had to throw the fish through holes in a net so as the pelicans couldn’t get it – and they tried!!! It was really good fun.

^{Feeding the tarpon at Robbies Marina}

Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail and Anne’s Beach

We then stopped at a heritage trail where we walked along one of the bridges and found a geo-cache. The sea was so blue and there were some people on the bridge fishing.

We then made our way to a little cove called Anne’s Beach. There was a raised boardwalk with picnic areas off it (although they were all full). You could climb down to the water but it wasn’t really somewhere we would swim.

Lazy Days Restaurant

It was getting on towards lunch time so we googled nearby restaurants and came across Lazy Days which had glowing reviews. We must have been quite early as we were given a table right next to the sea. Tom opted for a chicken parmesan sandwich, Stu and I both had fish sandwiches and Izzy went for pasta.

We all agreed it was one of the nicest restaurants we had ever eaten at (due to the location).

Paddle the Florida Keys

We now had a free afternoon with no idea what to do so found a shop (Paddle the Florida Keys) which rented Kayaks near to our hotel. They were really good as they gave us a route to take which involved crossing quite a wide river but then having 2 inlets we could paddle up and just take our time.

We decided to do the inlet which was furthest away first as it was described as having an area we could swim in and then it would get really narrow but open out into a clearing.

At first the paddling was quite easy – the water was really clear so you could see fish swimming around. We got to an area which we thought may be the swimming hole but weren’t convinced so kept going. At this point the river got really narrow and you had to use your hands to move through the trees as it wasn’t possible to paddle.

You had to be so careful where you put your hands as at one point I spotted a massive spider sitting on one of the tree branches! It didn’t take long until we reached the end and there was a lagoon. Tom and Izzy got out of their kayaks for a swim – with the life jackets on – whilst I tried to do some family photos!

It was really hot so we couldn’t stay in the clearing for long so we headed back the route we came to the location which was the swimming hole. The kids had another swim before we kayaked back to the shop.

We were really pleased we did the kayaking as I am not sure what we would have done otherwise. We headed back to the hotel with a detour to the Key Lime Pie Factory. The key lime pie was so good!

One of the bad reviews about the hotel was that there were iguanas in the grounds. When we returned we saw one in the carpark which we were quite excited by – it was huge. I think they lived in the woods to the side of the carpark.

^{Iguanas at the hotel}

Tom and Izzy spent the evening in the hotel pool whilst Stu and I watched the sunset. We ordered dominoes pizza for tea which Stu collected as we didn’t really want to eat out again.