We had a little vacation in the Florida Keys as we visited Key Largo, Long Key, and drove through all of the Keys to arrive at Key West. Key Largo almost looked like just another part of Florida but they have many local restaurants and shopping opportunities here. The John Pennenkamp Coral Reef State Park that we stayed at had many many things to do such as kayak rentals, snorkeling, and scuba-diving. They also featured a very information visitor center with an aquarium inside, as well as a store and a cafe. Our first day at this campground we experienced a lot of rain and were concerned that our time in the keys would not be very good.
While it was raining at our campground, it was not raining at Key West, so we decided to make the 2 hour drive to the island and enjoyed a full day there. To begin, we explored an old civil war garden house that had many unique plants and trees, as well as many historical facts. As we were deciding whether to drive the truck around or walk, we ran into some people who were riding rented mopeds. We had a brilliant idea and decided to rent one as well, and let us just say, this was one of the best decisions we made during our time at the Keys. From our moped, we were able to see the entire Key from a different perspective. We also did not have to pay for parking and it was much easier to find a spot when we stopped to walk around. Key West holds a lot of history of pirate attacks and civil war forts (such as Fort Zachary Taylor), has wild chickens wandering everywhere, has many big green lizards, and a variety of unique shops. While we hope to be able to visit this “Mile 0” city again, this is probably a once in a lifetime experience for us.
After our stay at John Pennenkamp and our visit to Key West, we stayed a few nights at Key Largo State Park. Our site backed right up to the Atlantic ocean and we listened to the waves hit the beach all day long. We also found that this campground had many coconuts, and we collected 4. We learned a few new things about coconuts, as well, which we will share with you. Green coconuts have much sweeter juice, but not very much fruit. Brown coconuts have bitter-tasting juice but much more fruit. Coconut juice works great as a conditioner for your hair (ladies) and if you freeze the coconuts, they are much easier to get the fruit out of.
One of the biggest reason we came to Florida was to see the Keys, which neither of us had seen before, and we did! It was a very wonderful experience. We made so many memories!
John Pennenkamp Coral Reef State Park
Rating
4 out of 5 stars
Comments:
We had a lot of fun at this park, especially considering it was our first Key to visit. The park was clean and well kept up with full hook ups. They offered a variety of things to do. One of the biggest highlights for us at this place was our snorkeling tour, of course!
Cell Signal
Google Fi (combination of US cellar, T-mobile, and Sprint): 2 LTE bars
Verizon: 3 LTE bars
Weather
High was in the lower 70’s to lower 80’s
Low was in the mid 60’s
Time of Year
Beginning of November , 2016
Recommended Places To See & Things To Do
- There is a very nice visitor center with a small aquarium at this park. A must see for anyone visiting.
- This park offers snorkeling tours that take you 4 miles off the coast of Key Largo.
Price Per Night
$36 per night (Yes, the Keys are very experience, but we considered this an bucket list trip 😉 .)
Long Key State Park
Rating
5 out of 5 stars
Comments:
This is a beautiful campground and we would highly recommend it! We loved that the ocean was our back yard at this park. Also, the camp hosts there were extremely friendly and shared their collection of coconuts with us. With electricity, water, and clean bath houses, we lived pretty comfortably.
Cell Signal
Google Fi (combination of US cellar, T-mobile, and Sprint): 3 LTE bars
Verizon: 4 LTE bars
Weather
High was in the lower 80’s
Low was in the higher 60’s
Time of Year
Beginning of November
Recommended Places To See & Things To Do
- View the stars and planets through astronomer’s telescopes (held weekly we think*)
- Kayak and/or snorkel in the Atlantic (all campsites backed up to the beach)
- Collect fallen coconuts
Price Per Night
$36 per night (Yes, the Keys are very experience, but we considered this an bucket list trip 😉 .)
Follow the adventures!
