The Explore All 50 States Project
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Florida is a beautiful place full of magic and mystery and natural wonder. Our theme of oceans and everglades could be traced through lots of our activities from sampling Cuban food, learning about shipwrecks and hurricanes, searching for shells on the beach, and even exploring the everglades in a fan boat. The most meaningful message that I wanted my kids to take away from our adventure was the importance of acting … [Read more...]
The first thing that catches your eye about Kermit's Key West Key Lime Shoppe is the bright yellow and lime green colors of the little shop beckoning you to come inside and try Key West's most famous tart and tangy treat. Inside we found all kinds of delicious sounding key lime products like key lime mustard dipping sauce, key lime cooler cookies ( I used to LOVE lemon cooler cookies when I was a kid), spicy key lime … [Read more...]
Mallory Square is pretty much the center of where all things are happening in Key West. It's a terrific place to walk around, check out the fun and unique shops and kiosks and do some awesome souvenir shopping. You can get the requisite t-shirt or shell art, but why not get something really unique with some Key West history? A really cool souvenir I bought here was a natural sponge at the Key West Sponge … [Read more...]
Visiting The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum feels like you've gone on an adventure with Mel and his crew, searching for treasure at the bottom of the ocean and finding the mother lode that you can touch and feel. Key West because of it's geography is one of the most famous shipwreck sites in the world. As numerous ships from Spain, England, Portugal traveled during the early colonial during the 1600 and 1700's … [Read more...]
Remember the classic Dr. Seuss book "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish", well these clever restauranteurs took half the name and made a dynamite eatery right on the shore called Red Fish Blue Fish. We discovered this place while milling around Mallory Square and boy are we glad we did. My kids have been eating fish from a very young age and they just love it. The secret by the way, is when you introduce it … [Read more...]
The Shipwreck Treasure Museum is literally right across the street from the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in the charming Mallory Square, and in all honesty, seems to be a little bit of a rip off of the same idea-with just a lot less exciting stuff. We probably would have enjoyed it more if a) we done it first and b) if it weren't trying so hard with it's theatrical shtick complete with costumed storytellers shouting … [Read more...]
Do not miss the marker for the Southernmost point of the Continental United States—Try to get a photo of yourself and stay dry as the waves keep crashing up on the platform. … [Read more...]
There are quite a few places in the Keyes where you can see, and swim with dolphins but we chose to visit the Dolphin Research Center on the island of Marathon. We had read about this place in our guidebooks and it seemed to be more animal preserve oriented instead of "experience" oriented so we decided to check it out and learn more about the friendly water based mammal. After paying our admission (which in … [Read more...]
Heading out to our fan boat experience, the tour said was located in Miami, but be forewarned, it's right on the edge of the Everglades about an hour outside of the city. It's also totally worth the drive! There is no better nor more thrilling way to experience the Everglades that in a fan boat. There are many outfits that offer tours that are located along the highway, but we chose the Everglades Safari Park … [Read more...]
Miami has a huge Cuban population-most of whom arrived here seeking political asylum after leaving Cuba when it became a communist country under Fidel Castro. Cuban food is very flavorful and unique combining the Caribean island flavors with those of spanish origin. To get to know more about the Cuban influence in Miami and to explore it's cuisine I decided to treat my kids to a Cuban food experience at one of my … [Read more...]
