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We checked out of our hotel this morning and decided to head a bit further south along the Keys, stopping first to take a few pictures of the gorgeous water and then at Robbie’s Marina. You can pay to feed the Tarpon fish there…however, the smell alone was enough to deter me from wanting to go through with it (that and the large crowd of people already out on the dock). We decided instead to eat breakfast at The Hungry Tarpon, located in the front of the marina. It’s a local diner, the kind of place where everyone knows everyone else and the conversations are fun to eavesdrop on (the guy behind us was telling everyone how he’d consumed far too much whisky the night before). I had “The Gooey”, a French toast peanut butter and jelly concoction that was almost more of a dessert than breakfast, making it that much better.
After breakfast we set out north again, and to our dismay found that traffic had once again reached a stop ahead of us. Apparently there was a boating festival going on just south of Key Largo today. Once we passed that it was smooth sailing the rest of
Florida Keys
I could stare out at the gorgeous water all day!the way along the Turnpike to Fort Lauderdale, where we arrived by about 3pm. We headed down to the beach and drove down A1A to see what kind of hotels were in the area. We had no intention of actually staying at the beach, but when we came across a rather run down looking motel (the Ocean Holiday Motel) and found out it was only $65 a night, we decided to stay after all. The location was perfect, right between Sunrise Blvd. and Las Olas Blvd. which is where the majority of restaurants and shops are along the beach.
Before heading to the beach, we drove back down Sunrise Blvd. to the Swap Shop, a giant indoor and outdoor flea market held every day inside a Drive-in movie theatre. I think I was expecting there to be more second-hand/antique type things there, and instead it was mostly a bunch of cheap sunglasses, tennis shoes, perfumes and random knockoffs, so all in all I was a bit disappointed. But at least I can say that I saw it, because it was one of the random things on my “list”.
We headed back to the motel, dropped off the car
and headed out on foot to enjoy the Fort Lauderdale scenery. The stretch of beach between Sunrise and Las Olas is very nice, full of touristy shops, packed bars and various restaurants. We walked all the way down to check out our options and came back to Sangria’s, a Spanish restaurant with outdoor seating. I had vegetarian enchiladas and we split a huge basket of chips and salsa while watching the crowds pass. It was really good, but pricier than anywhere else we’ve eaten. I think we’ll be looking for cheap eats for the next few days to make up for it.
After dinner we walked back along the stretch of beach, stopping at a few shops on the way and only buying a magnet to add to our collection.
Tomorrow we’re planning on amending our itinerary a bit and heading as far north as possible to cut our remaining drive time a bit. We might end up back in Orlando but we’ll see how it goes.
We haven’t seen any more alligators since Wednesday, although we did see a giant iguana near Homestead and a rat in the parking lot at the Swap Shop. I
wonder what we’ll see tomorrow!
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MIchael
non-member comment
Dessert for breakfast, a sure sign it's a holiday! Being a grown-up is great because people can't tell you not to do things like that. Th Swap-Shop looks like it could have been an ace place to snoop around, it is a shame it was mainly knock-off goods. But you're blogs continue to make me hungry with all the tasty food you eat on your travels :D