*Updated* The Flouridation food trip report... May as well go with that

[Wismgari]

Originally Posted by Vanillapod

The hotel in Duck Key was Hawks Cay. It’s really lovely.
Definitely go and see the turtles 🐢

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Ah yes, sorry, got ahead of myself and thought you were in Key West already!

Your trip looks amazing and is making me very excited for next year!

[Vanillapod]

Day 5

I’d like to start by telling you all that a lizard just ran inside and over my foot!
I screamed a lot 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

OH and DS are off to get donuts for breakfast (healthy option) so I let them out of the back door which opens onto Pine Avenue but it’s quite over grown and is a lizard paradise.
Wowzers, that was much worse than a spider!
OH caught it in the kitchen and it happily sat in his had for a while.
I much preferred last night’s intruder 😍 🐱

Right, back to day 5

The alarm went off at about 6:30 so we quickly showered and were out of the door by 7 ish.
The guesthouse offers a free buffet breakfast which is quite small but actually there’s plenty there.
Fruit salads, cereal, yoghurt, bagels, pastries etc plus some hot options one of which looked like rice 🧐

Anyway, we were too early so we really were going to be consuming nothing but giant pickles and Ruffles all day 🤦🏼

We barely saw a soul on the way to Key West airport. Not sure there are too many early risers on a Sunday morning!

You get free parking if you’re going via seaplane so we ignored the paid parking and headed past the control tower to the SeaPlane Adventures office and parked up there.
I’m mentioning that as it may be worth considering all the associated costs if you’re weighing up the ferry or seaplane.

We checked in, paid the National Park entrance fee ($15 per adult) and were offered fins, snorkels, masks and drinks.
Like a whole cooler full of drinks!
I had not read the details properly so we already had plenty!
Take note! Drinks for the day are provided at check-in!

Once you’ve signed your life away you just wait outside for your pilot and then you’re off!

Our pilot was Kris and he didn’t even wear shoes!
The flight to Fort Jefferson only takes about 40 minutes and the ferry is about 2.5 hours!
This means you arrive when the park is empty (aside from a handful of campers) and can grab the best shady spot as your base for the day. Plus you can tour the fort without anyone else in your photos.
Now I don’t love flying but actually, small planes don’t bother me at all and I thoroughly enjoyed every second!
Kris pointed out all the sights and had loads of interesting facts about the wrecks we saw.
You fly over a section of water called turtle alley and you see so many of them! The view was far better on the way home because the water was so well illuminated at 3pm ish but we still saw loads on the way out.

Once we’d landed we grabbed a spot (swimmer’s beach, under the tree) donned our snorkels and got straight in.
I got out after about half an hours to take a few pictures and wander in the fort but then we all got back in the water just before the ferry arrived.

Photo spam coming up!
These are a mix of both journeys.
DS was very excited to ride shotgun on the way home!

The best snorkelling was either around the piles behind the helipad or around the back of the moat wall.
Because we’re actual idiots we forgot to take the GoPro so we have no underwater pictures at all 🤦🏼

Now as this is a food report I’d better find a shot of the rancid pickles before I move onto dinner which was much more civilised! 😆

They were so sour hence the hilarity. Their eyes were watering!
We left the island shortly after 3 and we’re back in the guesthouse shortly after 4.

We were absolutely starving so quickly booked a table at Lattitudes on Sunset Key on Opentable, showered, changed and made our way to Mallory Square for a drink before boarding the ferry over there

[Vanillapod]

Originally Posted by collybird

Those pizzas looks incredible, intrigued by the star one.

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So delicious! 😋

[dixonsontour]

Wow the seaplane and your day looks amazing. Been to Key west many times but never over to the dry tortugas

[Vanillapod]

Day 5 continued...

Where mistakes were made 🥴

So we made it to Margaritaville which is where the ferry leaves from.

We were a little early so decided to have a quick cocktail on the sunset deck

These were actually rubbish pina coladas but we still drank them obvs. DS had a rubbish virgin daiquiri too. I’m not sure the bartender knew what he was doing?
Despite the hopeless cocktails, it’s a great place to watch the sunset

I thought I’d taken pics of the ferry journey on my phone but I didn’t so here’s the back of the camera! (I’m doing this in the car to take my attention away from the horror of undertaking cars)

It’s a really pretty restaurant and the food was really good.

I don’t seem to be able to upload any pictures at the mo so I’ll add more when we arrive

OH and I made mistake number 2 here...
Whilst delicious, a key lime margarita is really a dessert.
I felt mildly Sick after this!
The rim had a salty graham cracker crust

There was some bread which I didn’t eat. I think DS inhaled it

For starters we had

OH
beetroot, ricotta, almond and something else 🤔
Sorry to be vague

Me
Crab and lobster cake with a spicy mirin slaw

DS
Fried green tomatoes with burrata

These were all really fresh and delicious. The lobster was really tender.
We all agreed the beets were the best though.

Mistake 3 happened when OH ordered a bottle of Albariño

For mains I had

Lobster with a red curry sauce, sweet potato risotto and greens.
The sweet potato risotto wasn’t my favourite but the rest was lovely.

OH had
Scallops with corn and polenta purée with some veg accompaniments

He loved this. We heard someone on a neighbouring table complaining that the scallops were gritty but we’re fairly sure that would
have been the polenta

DS had wagyu beef with mash I guess and asparagus.
He loved this.
I was sure I’d taken a menu pic but again, clearly not!

We paid up and caught the ferry back to the Margaritaville and decided to hit Duval Street 🤦🏼
We popped into Kilwins for some chocolates, a caramel and walnut Krispie treat and a caramel apple.
These weren’t eaten until the next afternoon.

Next it was Willie T’s
We were drawn in by the live music

That’s a lot of dollars pinned up. Surely people try and take them?

Way too many pina coladas were consumed. OH also got involved in group shots of Santa’s Balls! I declined and I’m so glad I did 🥴

We wandered back when DS decided he was ready! OH suddenly suffered from FOMO but I dragged him away!
According to my phone he may have stroked some sleeping chickens on the way home and I definitely recall him giggling at the ladies of the night 😬🙈

It was a very full and exciting day and we definitely paid for it in the morning 🥴

[Goldia]

What a fantastic day with the sea plane. We've never made it to the keys, but I'm sorely tempted reading your report. It sounds like bliss. Apart from those gherkins of course, I might give those a miss if we ever get there.

[OB1LukeLucas]

Really enjoying reading along with your trip. I’m still giggling to myself about the beagle and possible French connection-I definitely think it was the top but only as we have a bit of a family joke with striped t-shirts too...sorry I’m wittering on! So much to say, all the hotels look great, I would love to eat at the Matador Room, oh and those pizza’s at the secret place look amazing...I do like a bit of pineapple on a pizza and the star shaped one looks fab. The seaplane sounds fantastic, we need be more adventurous and visit the keys. Can’t wait to read more...

[Floridaagogo]

Great looking food.You are very brave going on a seaplane ! Thank you for your reply about bubble butt.Very interesting xx

[4holibobs]

Oh wow... loved the latest updates - what a fab couple of days you have had. Thanks for sharing!

[Tracy34]

Intrigued by what's in Santa's Balls..

We also love Irish Kevin's... fab music and they are generous with their measures as well..