Upon leaving the timeshare in Orlando, we were reserved in Thousand Trails Orlando (Clermont) where we will be spending quite a bit of time this winter. Because the half price discounts offered via Passport America are not accepted after November in most parks in the keys, we realized we should make a trip down there while the discount is good. So off we went for 9 nights in the keys.
On the way down, we stopped in at John Pennekamp State Park and spent a couple hours there. Then we spent our first couple of nights at Fiesta Key. Some things about this park were very nice - they put us in a spot just behind waterfront - not bad for the half price deal. Their restrooms had been remodeled, the restaurant / bar area and many other areas of the park were in the process of being upgraded. Nice to see Encore is working on it! However, there were some areas that really looked run down, including the sad little hot tubs (new layer of paint probably isn't gonna help much). We did enjoy our stay, had several really nice neighbors including a guy who clued me in to using Shea Butter to keep off the no-see-ums. It works - seems to be a real solution for noseeums - awesome!
I also like this area for the Florida Overseas Heritage Trail which ran uninteruppted all the way north to the Channel 5 Bridge and all the way south through Layton and Long Key State Park...I was able to do a 6 mile walk easily without ever having to walk on the highway.
During our stay at Jolly Roger, we donated blood at Dolphin Research Center and spent the rest of the morning seeing our dolphin friends. We also visited our old favorite restaurants including Sparky's (still has the 25 cent wings and shrimp, but wasn't as good this time!) and Kings Seafood (which still has outstanding and very inexpensive seafood soup). We also got together with some Jolly Roger friends for happy hour at Cabana Breezes (they also have 25 cent wings and shrimp now, and a really good band) in Key Colony Beach. It was great to catch up with many of our friends at Jolly Roger! Sorry we missed a few who haven't arrived yet.
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| at John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo |
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| Gary just has to get that bobber! |
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| Showing off his bobber as we walked the Wild Tamarind Trail |
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| Nice long entrance road into Fiesta Key, and they've given it a facelift |
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| All new beach furniture |
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| The swimming / snorkel area was pretty full of seagrasses during our stay, due to the wind |
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| Hot tub not operational, they are repainting |
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| The bar / restaurant was closed, but you could still sit at the tables on the waterfront |
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| Their pool area has a fantastic water view all around |
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| Mouth of the harbor |
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| Looking from the pool area over their very large harbor |
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| It's a large pool with an 8-ft deep end |
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| This harbor can accomodate some pretty large boats |
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| Waterfront and pavillion near the premium sites |
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| One entire section was full of trailers for a reality TV show filming |
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| Fiesta Key is almost directly south of Flamingo in the Everglades |
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| Just one row back from the waterfront |
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| Nice sunset over the harbor |
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| This vulture adds a special touch to the "Drive Carefully" sign |
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| Our old favorite |
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| Ah, Talon and Pax - glad we were able to spend some time here |
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| Snorkeling with the nurse shark at Jolly Roger |
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| And a puffer fish |
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| And the big school of brightly colored parrot fish |
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