# United States & Canada Vacations Forums > Florida Travel & Vacations Forum >  >  Florida Keys ...

## MIke R

We ended up this year checking out possible  locations for the Tub for Two as Lena has been asking to maybe consider a place easy to get to as opposed to the Caribbean which isn't so easy to get to so she can visit more often....fair enough....so the Keys immediately came to mind ......we spent  a  fun day in the North End of Boston walking around and having an early dinner before our evening flight out ...we continue to love having a pre vacation decompression day before our actual vacation ...

Jet Blue....I am loving this airline more and more ...this was our third time using them ...first time was to SXM, second to STT and both were flawless....we arrived at the airport, tickets in hand and carry on only, as always ....the security lines were spilling out past the maze and onto  the open floor.....we had the  More Speed option and our line had a half dozen people in front of us, so what would have been a tediously long process was over and done  in minutes and we were on our way to the gate ....we were scheduled to go through BWI and change planes to Fort Lauderdale  but when I checked in at the gate, the agent told us there was a non stop leaving  a little before our flight which had available seats and if we had no checked bags, for 50 bucks a person extra he could get us on it ......well we were all over that so off we go a few gates down to our non stop which was getting us in much earlier than originally scheduled....what a deal!!!.....and what great customer service !!! 

Grabbed  the car from Enterprise ( love  this car rental company ) and off to the Royal Sonesta which was a very nice and reasonably priced ocean front hotel in Ft Lauderdale 

view from our room .....image.jpg


Next morning we were off for the 2 hour ride to our duplex ...we rented a duplex with an ex forum member Martin who some of you old timers might remember ....it was in Key Colony which is a part of Marathon....on a deep water canal, with a private dock, underwater lights for night viewing of fish etc....we had a lot of day and night visitors including Dolphins, manatees, a huge 200 pound Jewfish, a spotted Ray, a barracuda and a few Snook along with a few hundred mangrove snappers .....the apartment itself was very nice, clean, spacious and modern....two bedrooms.. ..two full baths a well appointed kitchen and a comfortable living room with Sat TV ( never turned it on ), wifi  ( used only for music )  and a nice sound system ....the only caveat is I would never rent this duplex not knowing who my neighbors would be, which is why having Martin and Lisa next door was perfect ...being in the tourist business 365/24/7 we are burnt out on people in general and the last thing we want to do on vacation is make new friends ...we already  have  enough thank you ....we just want to be left alone to enjoy each other's company while  unattached to the phone and computer,  which doesn't happen enough in real life ..we were going to rent a boat and put  it at the dock, but it was a little rough offshore all week from the non stop breeze, which we loved on land, but wouldn't have loved offshore ...so we passed on the boat ...another time perhaps


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Weather......simple....mostly cloudless breezy 85 degree days and clear sky 75 degree nights ...not a drop of rain




Beaches  .....empty....low season www clearly happening there


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gotta start a new post .....put of space for photos ....

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## MIke R

Turtle Hospital .....amazing place...they have 60 turtles  rehabilitating and most won't be healthy enough to return to the wild so they will go to aquariums to live out their lives....most were hit by speed boats 

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Food.....mostly very good....went to the docks and scored Stone Claw crabs and shrimp almost every day for our happy hour food...grilled some Mahi for dinners.....ate conch  fritters almost every day 

didnt eat out much ...loved the Sunset Grille ....I would hate this place in high season as it would be a NB like zoo but it was perfect now....big bars and tables ..a warm saltwater pool for swimming....live music....the food was very good as well. ..a few pics from the place..


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conch fritters

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..a blackened  grouper and a yellowfin tuna salad


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No Name Pub....very much off the beaten path ...oldest bar in the Keys....really cool place....inside of bar lined with dollar bills said to total over 200k.....Grouper fish and chips and a Hogfish  sandwich all outstanding....


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Blue Heaven ...this is where David Wegman works at and calls home when he is in Key West ....a bigger version of Select  with  much much better food...we REALLY loved this place ....we had lobster grilled cheeses, and lobster Caesar Salads which were incredible ..we played ping pong....we drank punches....we had a really fun time here



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## MIke R

Key  West .....thankfully it  was quiet  the  day we went....they ve clearly drank the Kool Aid  but  this was the first time I ve been there since I did the Mariel  Boat lift  from Cuba and wow has it changed ....still we had to do the obligatory visit to Capt Tony's on Duval St  for a Pirates Punch image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg

assorted shots from the week


Barred owls born in a drainage ditch under the drivewayand somehow the mom kept them from predators ...she was vicious and went after me when I snapped this shot

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resident egret


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really cool. Iguana...check out the colors....and these guys jump off the dock and swim!

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## andynap

Looks like a good time for all. We had friends who lived in Marathon before it went big time- lol. Depending on how Phyllis fares this year we may be looking at a closer and easier  place to go.

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## MIke R

Andy...check out Key Colony where we stayed....Theresa turned us on to this....part of but separate from Marathon.....very residential..strict noise laws and strict  zoning etc....very nice

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## Peter NJ

Very nice report and pics so whats the verdict is it in the running for the tub?

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## MIke R

> Very nice report and pics so whats the verdict is it in the running for the tub?



very much so...lot of advantages over going all the way down to USVI or BVI...easy and cheap  for Lena to visit ( which equates to more visits which is good ) .....easy for us to get north if our business needs us there short term.......better health care and I ain't getting any younger .....great weather ...and plenty of work for me if I want to fish a little as I would have no issue at all finding work as  there are so many fishing boats .....

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## JEK

Nice report and nice pictures. What's this with Martin being a "former" member? Has he resigned in the past two weeks?   :Big Grin:

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## MIke R

he doesn't  read or post anymore ....his words..not mine 

that s former where I come from..... :Big Grin:

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## JEK

Well someone has his password and posted a week or so ago  :Big Grin:

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## MIke R

Count his posts over the last year or two and get back to me...LOL

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## MIke R

BTW ...no Carib there, but Fat Tire - so a decent trade off ....Whispering Angel for 19.99....good enough 


Lenas musical slide show will be posted in a day or so.....

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## Theresa

So glad you all enjoyed Key Colony Beach.  We definitely intend to go back.  Love the photos too!  Can't believe Lena is taller than Wendi!!!

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## cec1

Looks like a great trip . . . fun to read the enthusiasm in your report!

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## amyb

Nice post. Love the sharpness of your shots. Good to see you all enjoying the Keys. Great nature-birds, turtles, etc I could like that...

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## Bart -my real name-

Nice report!

I think those are Burrowing Owls.

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## MIke R

> I think those are Burrowing Owls.




I think  you re right

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## amyb

The purple sky is a knockout.

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## stbartshopper

We chartered a sailboat out of Islamorada and sailed down to Key West and back. We fished for our dinners, swam coral reefs, sunbathed and relaxed both ways. It is one of the high adventure camps of the Boy Scouts. There were 4 fathers each with a son. The captain was a hoot. The boys did all of the sailing and work while the fathers 'supervised.'

http://bsaseabase.org

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## Peter NJ

The big question is how was the Dover Sole?

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## MIke R

> The big question is how was the Dover Sole?



the good news is virtually every place I went to ONLY had locally sourced fish on the menu....nice to see a community  100%  supporting local fishermen.... unlike St Bart's ......I will be awash in Georges Bank Dover sole starting this weekend  as the summer gig officially begins

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## MIke R

Lena's video is up.....hopefully the oink works 


https://vimeo.com/165170721

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## amyb

Excellent--great shots, music and casting!

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## stbartshopper

We miss you Mike R!

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## JEK

> We miss you Mike R!



He doen't lurk here anymore.

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## andynap

> We miss you Mike R!



Forget about it. 5 year old thread?

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## JEK

Hop just discovered there are posts "below the fold"  :cool:

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## andynap

Very dangerous

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## stbartshopper

No- just reminiscing over Mike R’s many wonderful posts! That’s all- I promise!

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## stbartshopper

Bye the way- what languages are the plays in the theatre festival?
 :Wink:

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## JEK

Woo-Boy!

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## stbartshopper

:Big Laugh:

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