My List of The Top 10 Things To Do In The Florida Keys
I have vague memories of the first time I visited the
Florida Keys. Mainly that my parents, brothers, and I couldn’t all fit into my
grandma and grandpa’s two-bedroom condo, so we had to stay somewhere down the
street. Thankfully, I’ve had the opportunity to go back a number of times and
create clearer memories of what is the closest you’ll get to the tropics in the
continental U.S. Should you ever have the opportunity to take the trip south of
Miami and visit this beautiful island chain, keep in mind my list of the Top 10
Things to Do in The Florida Keys.
1. The Turtle Hospital
In Marathon just north of the Seven Mile Bridge is a small
green building resembling a motel, with an orange and white “ambulance” parked
out front. It did in fact used to be a motel, but now the buildings hold turtle
operating rooms and housing for students and employees, the deep swimming pool
holds injured turtles, and the “ambulances” carry the turtles to the hospital
after injury and back to the ocean after rehab. This non-profit organization
has been around since 1986 and offers tours seven days a week. The patients at
the hospital are all named by those who discover them, leading to names like Lilo
(and Stitch), Montel, and Bubble Butt, who is a permanent resident and has a
syndrome named after him. The tours are informative and fun and something I’ve enjoyed
on multiple occasions. You can also support the organization on their website
after the tour by donating, “adopting” a turtle, or just having fun tracking
some of the turtles they’ve released back into the wild.
2. Snorkeling in Bahia Honda
South of Marathon, Bahia Honda State Park comes in at just
over half the size of Long Key State Park, but with just as much if not more
opportunity. My most memorable experience there has been the snorkeling tour of
the Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary offered by the park concession. I’ll
start by saying that while I know safety is paramount, the gentlemen running
the boat seemed a bit abrasive and curmudgeonly, which initially sucked some
joy out of the trip. The boat out to the reef is also a little dated,
definitely no frills. Once you’re off the boat and in the water though, things
pick up. The reef is shallow and accessible, colorful fish are everywhere, and there
are small jellyfish (the non-stinging variety) right in your face. Regardless
of their small stature and lack of danger, any time you’re swimming and have a
jellyfish right in your face, it’s something you’re going to remember.
3. Dolphin Research Center
Northeast of Marathon in Grassy Key is the non-profit Dolphin Research Center. With roughly 90,000 sq. ft. of lagoons, it is home to over 20 dolphins, a few sea lions, and a number of exotic birds. General admission allows you to see all of the lagoons, including any number of scheduled shows. The information provided for reading at each lagoon is in-depth and interesting, with some new information even for someone like me who has been to a lot of these places. There are also a number of encounters offered (at extra cost), ranging from just playing with a dolphin, to a full in-water encounter, to being a trainer or researcher for the day.
4. Ernest Hemingway’s House
Ernest Hemingway may best be described as a man on the move.
In just over 60 years of life, he went from growing up outside Chicago with
summers in Northern Michigan, to serving in Italy during WWI, to work in
Toronto, Paris, Spain, and residences in Cuba and Idaho, where he would take
his own life. However, for almost all of the 1930s Key West was home. His house
on Whitehead Street across from the lighthouse is now a tourist attraction and
offers interesting tours. The house was one of the first around to have many
luxuries, including the in-ground pool and a deep basement, rare in the Keys.
Most notable however, is the continued residence of many polydactyl cats, which
are descendants of Hemingway’s cats themselves.
5. Kayak at Bahia Honda
If you don’t have the chance to take part in a snorkeling
trip at Bahia Honda, or if you’re already gone snorkeling somewhere else, the
2.5-mile beach was once rated as the best in the U.S., and campsites and
vacation cabins are available. There is also a marina with overnight slips
available, and the opportunity to rent kayaks. On my kayak rental (wear
sunscreen) I was able to paddle almost the entire length of the park, and to
the rocky uninhabited island about 3/8ths of a mile offshore.
6. Long Key State Park
This state park north of Marathon holds something that is at
a premium in the Keys: 965 acres of open land. There are two hiking trails, 60
campsites, swimming, snorkeling, kayaking, and the opportunity to see numerous
saltwater fish and wading birds.
7. Sunset cruise
The extent to which your getaway feels like a getaway can be
limited if you just drive down the highway, arrive at your destination, and
never view things from a different perspective. So, get on a boat, leave shore,
and get full appreciation for the Keys by viewing the archipelago dotted on the
horizon from the water. Lay back on a sailboat, stare up at the mast and out at
the sea, and enjoy one of the best sunsets you’ll ever see.
8. Just be on the beach
Admittedly, slowing down and sitting is not normally my
vacation style. However, the Keys are one of the best places to do it. The sun
is hot (again, wear sunscreen) and will tan you in a hurry. More importantly,
the waters are usually relaxed and relaxing, turquoise, and the closest to a
postcard view that you can get in the continental U.S.
9. Spend New Year’s Eve in Key West
This party scene wouldn’t usually be for me, but I have done it once and will say it’s
worth the evening. Walk through the marinas, check on the cruise ships, watch
some street performers in Mallory Square, and then have some seafood at any
number of restaurants. Then, pick from a few different midnight celebrations
(one at the marina and the main one at Sloppy Joe’s bar), and get on the road
out of town before those who may have partied too hard.
10. Take a boat to the Dry Tortugas
The Dry Tortugas are seven islands almost 70 miles west of
Key West whose area is reshaped constantly by wind and waves. Surrounded by
historical shipwrecks and only accessible by boat or seaplane, the highlight of
this island National Park is Fort Jefferson. Begun in 1846 and composed of 16
million bricks, the fort covers 16 acres and is the largest masonry structure
in the Western Hemisphere.
The fort remains unfinished to this day, but stayed in Union
hands throughout the Civil War and was used as a prison that at one time housed
four conspirators in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, including Samuel
Mudd. Mudd was the doctor who treated John Wilkes Booth’s broken leg and is the
source of the phrase “his name is mud.” The all-day ferry trip aboard the
Yankee Freedom III is expensive, but affords you enough time to take a tour of
the fort, snorkel, and have lunch. You can even arrange ahead of time to camp
on the island overnight if you wish.
Low Country Lone Star
Cattle. Oil. High speed limits. Churches. Mexican
restaurants. If all of these things sound like they would be prevalent in
Texas, you would be correct. On a recent trip between Christmas 2018 and the
New Year, I was able to cross off one of the larger (figuratively and
literally) items on my remaining “States Visited” list, spending four days in
and around Houston, Texas.
After arriving late at night and picking up our rental car, my brother and I drove to a hotel near the airport and settled in
for the night. The next morning, we hustled north on I-45 through bustling
suburbs reflective of Texas’ thriving economy. Reaching Huntsville, we chose to
bypass the Texas Prison Museum and “Old Sparky” and head west to College
Station, home of Texas A & M University. We breezed through miles of mostly
two-lane road with speed limits reaching 75 mph. Ranch after
ranch only gave way to low-lying areas next to rising rivers, revealing why
this region is prone to vicious, fast-moving flooding.
Although he had no formal ties to the university, Texas A
& M is home to the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum. Having been a Naval aviator, he was likely pleased that the library sits less than a half mile from the runways at Easterwood Airport. The museum lobby and
surrounding plaza create a gentle and contemplative atmosphere, including a
pond, a statue of the late president, and a sculpture of horses bursting over
the Berlin Wall, a symbol of President Bush’s effort to bring an end to
communism in Eastern Europe. Although the museum was closed the day we visited
due to the partial government shutdown, a short walk around the pond from the
museum allowed us to visit the tranquil gravesite of George, Barbara, and their
daughter Robin who sadly died from Leukemia shortly before her fourth birthday.
From the library and museum, a short drive into downtown College
Station took us to Kyle Field, home of the Texas A & M Aggies football team
and the “12th Man,” the name the university has given to the prohibitive
effect their wild and rowdy home crowd has on visiting opponents. Originally
having hosted games in 1904, the stadium has now grown to a capacity just short
of 103,000, making it the largest stadium in the Southeastern Conference and
the fourth-largest in the United States.
From Kyle Field we headed back east to Huntsville, which is home to Sam Houston State University and the Sam Houston Memorial Museum. The 15-acre grounds are home to a number of structures, ranging in noteworthiness from the Steamboat House (where Houston lived, and died) to the staple of historic site visits, the blacksmith shop. Chickens roam the property. The museum itself is split into three sections, each conveying a portion of the life of the man who lead the Texas Revolution and is the only person to be elected governor of two states (Texas and Tennessee). Continuing east, we stopped at the Texas fixture that is Whataburger for lunch. My first try of the famous burger? It did not disappoint, but it did not change my life.
We moved on down US-190 until we reached Woodville and took
US-287 south to the Big Thicket National Preserve. The roughly 112,000-acre
area is heavily forested and is extremely biodiverse. Unfortunately, our stop was
very brief, as none of the National Park Service-operated activities were open.
Going south into Beaumont with the majority of our driving for the trip complete,
we had dinner and settled in for the night.
The next morning, we got our first realization that no one
in east Texas wakes up before 10 a.m. Beaumont is one of three cities that form
the “Golden Triangle” of Texas oil prosperity, and it is home to over 100,000
people as well as Lamar University. However, driving toward downtown on
Saturday morning revealed not a soul on the streets of the city. At the
McFaddin-Ward House, we learned about the life and times of the McFaddin
family, who prospered in cattle, farming, and real estate before finding even more
success when the Spindletop oil gusher was discovered in 1901 on land they
partially owned. Leaving Beaumont and going south on I-10 we reached Winnie,
and went further on TX-124 to the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.
The 34,000-acre preserve’s location bordering Galveston Bay,
the 7th-largest estuary in the U.S., makes it an ideal resting place
for migrating birds. A two-mile loop scenic drive only reveals a portion of the
expansive area, but across the marshes and prairies in a gray, chilly, gusty
sky you could see how vast and open east Texas still is. You could also bear
witness to the toll that the cooler, harsher, December temperatures take on southern
wildlife, as there were no alligators out in the open, a turtle dead by the side
of the drive, and the only visible fish lying smack dab in the middle of the
street.
Back on TX-124 and through High Island, TX-87 turned
southwest down the Bolivar Peninsula, a 27-mile stretch of road where every
house, church, and school are raised 20 feet or more on stilts in an effort to
spare them from the next hurricane. Sixty-two percent of the peninsula’s
structures were destroyed or severely damaged by the storm surge of Hurricane
Ike in 2008, and in the unincorporated community of Gilchrist, 995 of their
1,000 structures were knocked off of their foundations. At the southern end of
the peninsula we came to the Galveston – Port Bolivar Ferry, which is free and
the only way to get to Galveston from the northeast. The wait was long on a
high-traffic weekend, but the short trip was enjoyable.
Upon arriving in Galveston in the late afternoon, my brother
and I had just enough time to find parking and visit the Texas Seaport Museum
before it closed. The museum is small and its two floors tell two distinct
stories. The first floor tells the history of Galveston’s role as an immigration
hub in the 1800s. The second floor covers the livelier history of the Texas
Navy. One common theme of the Texas Revolution and its independence emerged between the Seaport
Museum and the Sam Houston Memorial Museum: People are really bad at taking
orders.
At the crucial Battle of San Jacinto, Sam Houston’s Texian
army had the larger force and a conservative plan. However much to the chagrin
of Houston, during the battle many infantrymen rushed onto the battlefield,
exposing just how strong the Texian force was. Avenging previous battles
(including the Alamo) and ignoring Houston and other officers’ attempts to control
them, the Texians mercilessly raided the Mexican encampment, killing or
capturing 950 Mexican soldiers in comparison to 41 Texians killed or injured. This
was not without the expense of Houston himself being shot in the ankle.
The next year, with Houston now President of the Republic of
Texas, the Texas Navy schooner Invincible
went on a piracy spree and prompted Houston to relieve participants,
including the captain and the Secretary of the Navy, of their duties. Six years
later, Commodore Edwin Moore went on a rogue campaign to disrupt Mexican
interests in the Gulf of Mexico, despite Sam Houston refusing funding and ordering
the fleet back to Galveston for sale. Moore allied himself with the Republic of
Yucatan, who was then fighting against the central Mexican government. He would
eventually fight the Naval Battle of Campeche, the only battle where sailing
ships held their own against steam powered ships, and would be acquitted of the
piracy charges levied against him by Houston. The Seaport Museum is also home
to the 1877 Tall Ship Elissa, a 141-foot long three-masted sailing ship that
you can board and tour.
The main street in downtown Galveston is called “The Strand.”
The historic buildings themselves hold some appeal, but the businesses are
mostly basic bars and tourist gift shops. There is no need to pack a t-shirt
for your trip to Galveston, they are selling plenty of them. After a brief walk
up and down The Strand, we took a drive down Galveston’s second most popular street, Seawall Boulevard. Seawall Boulevard runs atop the 17-foot high, 10-mile-long
seawall the city created after the hurricane of 1900. Having killed somewhere
between 6,000 and 8,000 people, to this day the hurricane stands as the
deadliest natural disaster in U.S. history.
On Seawall, we stopped at Nick’s Kitchen and Beach Bar, the
sister restaurant to the larger, more upscale, and very crowded Gaidos Seafood.
Nick’s interior has a very ‘60s feel to it, but the food was good. The Seafood
Stuffed Jalapenos were the culinary highlight of our trip, and my shrimp po’ boy was very good. Nick’s also has an outdoor venue called the Redfish Pool
Bar, which is a nice little novelty addition to the property. We took a quick
drive down more of Seawall and stopped at Magic Carpet Mini-Golf where we braved cold ocean gusts and damp conditions for the thrill of competition. Then, one of us
won a free game by blasting the ball straight into the frog’s mouth, so we played another round on the second, more well-protected course before settling into the hotel and planning the next day.
After breakfast (and of course, 10 a.m.) we set out to the
Moody Mansion, a 31-room home that was bought for a fraction of its worth after
the 1900 hurricane. The Romanesque-style mansion includes an elevator among the
other technologies rare for that time period on its audio tour. Down closer to
the harbor we found the Galveston Railroad Museum. The museum is big, but
mostly because it houses actual rail cars. The exhibits themselves are a little
limited, spending a lot of time covering things like dining car china, and
history of now-defunct local railroads. The highlight of the museum (other than the random cat wandering the grounds) is the
presence of Santa Fe Railroad engines in classic Warbonnet livery, the same
train that has graced the foot of our family Christmas tree for some 20+ years.
Our exit from the museum entailed navigating around traffic
arriving to board two cruise ships, one Carnival and one Royal Caribbean. The Port
of Galveston is the 4th-busiest cruise ship homeport in the U.S. and
sees nearly 1 million people embark on cruises each year. Our next stop was the
Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig and Museum. As indicated in the name, the
museum itself is within an actual oil rig that has been removed from most of
its moorings and placed in the Galveston Harbor. The museum has three large
floors, and covers everything about the industry from the history, to the different
uses for oil, to the science involved in extraction, to safety and different
kinds of rigs and equipment and life on board. Last on our stops for the day
after the rig was the Bishop’s Palace, another huge home that survived the
hurricane of 1900 and many others since then. Nineteen thousand square feet and
Victorian in style, Bishop’s Palace combined with Moody Mansion to show how
homes were designed in the late 19th century in Galveston to fit
social norms, to bring families together, and to maximize airflow during the
hot Texas summers.
After Bishop’s Palace we drove out to Fort San Jacinto
Historic Point to watch the two cruise ships depart, and then to Pelican
Island, home of Seawolf Park and Texas A & M University at Galveston. Then,
we joined I-45 north right where it starts and headed back toward Houston. In
Clear Lake, we had our last meal of the day at Killen’s, where the Texas BBQ is
everything you expect it to be, and the mac n’ cheese comes thicker than even
the mashed potatoes. East of Clear Lake we drove by the Kemah Boardwalk, home
of a huge marina, shops, restaurants, an aquarium, a roller coaster, other
amusement rides, and most importantly of all: abundant free parking.
On our last day of the trip (and of the year) we visited
Space Center Houston. The staff there started off our day by informing us (and
many others) that a mistake had been made on the website and they would be
opening at 9:45 rather than 9 (that’s a full hour earlier than 10 a.m., after
all). We sat in the car and watched people park poorly, then finally entered
the Space Center. The most popular thing to do is to take the tram tour. Lines
form quick and can sometimes last for hours, so we decided to do that first
while the line was short(er). Guests are tasked with choosing between taking the
tour that focuses on mission control or taking the tour focused on astronaut
training. In my opinion, neither justifies being on its own, and they should be
combined into one tour.
The tram takes you inside the gates of NASA’s Johnson Space
Center, past many office buildings, and then to either astronaut training or
mission control. We chose the mission control tour, and the information about
what is entailed in being a mission controller was engaging and interesting.
Whichever tour you take, the second stop on your tour is Rocket Park, which
outside houses a few small rockets but has one highlight inside the building: a
Saturn V rocket. Other than being one of my favorite items ever, the Saturn V
is the tallest, heaviest, and most powerful rocket ever in operation. Standing
in a room with it, it’s almost impossible to fit into one picture.
After leaving Rocket Park and returning to the main museum,
you’re free to wander the varying exhibits that cover everything from Mars, to
different space suits, to the space station, to the history of space
exploration and so on. Overall though if you really want to see the most
interesting things NASA has to offer, Cape Canaveral in Florida is the better
choice.
Everything really IS bigger in Texas. Although we only
visited a relatively small area within an hour of Houston, it seems like the
state and its history are vast enough that there’s something for everyone. From
war history to architecture to wildlife and a museum for every kind of
transportation or industry you can think of, it’s impossible to come into town
and NOT find something to do. Although I ended 2018 by crossing state #34 off
of my list, a few more visits will definitely be required to see all that Texas
has to offer.
A Winter Weekend In The Home of The American Revolution
Leaving the Boston Logan International Airport, the first
thing you realize is: “you have to pay a toll to get anywhere in this town.” If
you visit and rent a car like I did this past January, the in-car toll pass
will definitely be useful.
Due to the rental car, I chose to stay at the Hampton Inn
Boston / Cambridge. Parking at most downtown hotels costs $50 - $60 / night,
but the Hampton has free parking in it’s own garage and is only a one mile walk
from TD Garden, Faneuil Hall, and the rest of downtown. I checked in to the
hotel and printed out the ticket to my Friday night entertainment: a hockey game
between Ivy League archrivals Harvard and Cornell.
A 20-minute drive along the Charles River took me to the
Harvard University Campus and cheap $5 parking close to the Bright – Landry Hockey
Center, which holds just over 3,000 people. Intimate like most college hockey
arenas, the building was packed for the rivalry that has existed since 1910 and
I found a good spot to stand. The atmosphere was electric despite my position
surrounded by people who seemed to know almost nothing about hockey and the
presence of more Cornell fans than Harvard fans. Cornell even brings their
hockey band to the road games. I was most amused when the Cornell students
initiated a “safety school” chant. AT HARVARD. Cornell did prove to be superior
that night, winning 3-0.
Saturday morning, I set out on the hour and a half long
drive to the town of New Bedford. On the south coast of Massachusetts and just
west of Cape Cod, New Bedford is home to roughly 95,000 people and is the sixth
largest city in Massachusetts. The city was quiet and would have been very
walkable if not for a chilly coastal wind. New Bedford is best known for being
the setting of Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick, and in fact was a huge base for the
whaling industry in the 1800s. For that reason, it is home to both the New
Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
Both sites provide great insight on the history, culture, science,
and technology of the 19th century industry that fueled the world
before petroleum. The whaling ships left port on voyages that would last up to
six years without returning home. Due to the length of the journeys New Bedford
was a hotbed for freed or escaped slaves, who could find ample work and get on
a boat and not be found for years. Among those who found themselves in New
Bedford in 1838 was a 20-year-old escaped Frederick Johnson and his free wife,
Anna. He had chosen Johnson as his married name, giving up his mother’s surname
of Bailey and a second choice of Stanley. After moving in with Nathan and Mary
Johnson in New Bedford and finding the name to be non-distinctive, young
Frederick and Anna would finally settle on the last name of Douglass.
The town is also home to the Seamen’s Bethel, which was the
model for the Whaleman’s Chapel in chapter seven of Moby-Dick. The rest of the
town itself reflects the large impact that the fishing industry has in its
economy, with harbors full of fishing trawlers and neighborhoods full of modest
multi-family homes.
For lunch I stopped in Brookline at Anna’s Taqueria for some
burritos I’d heard about, but was underwhelmed. They were good, but not great. My
underwhelming afternoon continued at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in the
Fenway neighborhood. I lucked out and got free street parking right in front of
the museum, but left feeling shortchanged. The Venetian-style Palace area where
most of the works are held is beautiful and the architecture itself is
impressive. But the crowds can be stifling and the art itself doesn’t come with
much description of what it is or why it’s important. Additionally, the highly
regarded, flower filled courtyard is roped off, only good for looking at from a
distance. A mere hour later, I’d walked through everything and left wondering
why I’d just spent $15.
Back at my hotel, I looked out across the empty construction
site across the street and could see the Bunker Hill Monument. I made the mile long walk over
and first stopped at the Bunker Hill Museum, which is free and run by the National
Park Service. The museum is right-sized and includes exhibits about the major
players in the Revolutionary War battle and the strategy, as well as the
history of the Charlestown neighborhood and the monument itself. While the
battle itself was actually a victory for the British, they experienced many
more causalities than the colonists, including a large number of officers.
After the museum, I walked around the monument grounds and
the neighborhood. I found the neighborhood to be the nicest of the ones I had
experienced in Boston. Then I returned to my hotel and settled in for the night.
Monday was my last day in town and also the coldest day of my visit, but I
set out to walk around town anyways. After stopping by the National Park
Service visitor center, I went by the current Massachusetts State House and the
Park Street Church, and stopped at the Granary Burying Ground. The burying
ground is the final resting place for Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock, Robert
Treat Paine, and the five victims of the Boston Massacre. After the burying
ground, I walked a few blocks to the Old South Meeting House.
Built like a three-story sanctuary, the wood-floored, wood-pewed
meeting house is where 5,000 colonists gathered to unsuccessfully negotiate
regarding a shipment of taxed tea in December 1773. Immediately afterward, the
Boston Tea Party began. Next, I visited the Old State House. The Boston
Massacre occurred outside the building in 1770, and was also where the Declaration
of Independence was first read to Bostonians. Both the Old South Meeting House
and the Old State House have interesting meeting exhibits and the Old State
House offers an engaging and interesting guided tour.
On my way back to my hotel and rental car, I stopped for
some clam chowder at the Union Oyster House. The restaurant is a National
Historic Landmark and, established in 1826, has the designation of being
America’s oldest restaurant. Among many famous patrons of the past, the
restaurant was a frequent Sunday afternoon stop for John F. Kennedy, whose
booth is marked with a plaque. The clam chowder was great of course, because it’s
New England clam chowder.
Overall, Boston is definitely a warm-weather town for
tourists. Most of the historic attractions in the area are closed during
the winter, and the local and regional activities on the water are especially
appealing during the summer. However, there is still history, culture, and sports
to be had in the winter, and short drives out of town open up even more
options. In the off-season, flights and hotels are very affordable, and Boston
makes for an enjoyable winter weekend visit.
No comments:
Post a Comment