I have mixed emotions about our stop along the Gulf Coast in Florida. When we first conceived the idea of going to Florida for spring break, we were just thinking of going to the Gulf Coast. I had never been there and heard that the beaches were fantastic, and there was a certain appeal to a relaxing vacation after the year it had been. But I really wanted to go to the Everglades and my husband was interested in the Keys too and we had always wanted to go to Saint Augustine. So hey, why not just go all those …

When we decided on a last minute spring break trip to Florida, my original thought was to spend a week on the Gulf Coast. We had never been before and I had always wanted to check out the beaches there. I had heard lots of great things about Sanibel in the past so I zeroed in on that area. We were pretty late to be planning and we were also doing a weird mid-week, Wednesday to Tuesday trip because of my work schedule. So it was pretty much impossible to find a place to rent for that whole time. That …

Our last stop in the Everglades was a tram ride in Shark Valley. The Shark River Slough is a freshwater marsh on the northern end of the Everglades, roughly 50 miles from where we started at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center. There is a 15 mile loop road through the slough’s valley that you can explore on foot, bike or tram. We pre-booked our tram tickets for the last tour of the day at 4:00 and headed there after our airboat tour. There was some tiredness and general lack of interest amongst the group by this point and we …

Probably the most iconic Everglades activity is an airboat tour. Airboats are a great way to explore the shallow waters that are typical of the Everglades. In many areas, the water isn’t deep enough to allow for a boat with a submerged propeller engine. Airboats have their propeller in a cage on the back of the boat (like a fan) and the boat’s bottom is flat to let it glide across shallow – or no – water. There are many companies that claim to offer Everglades Airboat Tours but only 3 are authorized by the National Park Service to give …

After finishing up at the Anhinga Trail, we had some time to kill before our scheduled airboat ride. We had stopped at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor Center on our way into the park and a ranger there had suggested the Pahayokee Overlook Trail if we had some extra time. The trail was only about 20 minutes from the Anhinga Trail, although it was in the opposite direction of where we needed to go for our airboat ride. The Pahayokee Overlook Trail is a boardwalk that leads to a platform overlooking the river of grass. (Pa-hay-okee in Seminole means “grassy …

The part of our trip that I was most excited about was our day in the Everglades and it did not disappoint. This was the only day of the trip that I really had planned out – Anhinga Trail, followed by a fan boat ride, and finally the tram at Shark Valley. The Anhinga Trail is named for the anhinga bird, which means “devil bird” in the Brazilian Tupi Indian. It also has the nicknames “water turkey” due to its turkey-like tail and “snake bird” due to its snake-like neck. Anhingas swim underwater and stab fish with their sharp bills. …

The one thing that I was certain we would do while driving the Overseas Highway was stop to feed the tarpon at Robbie’s of Islamorada. It is widely recognized as the #1 tourist attraction in the Florida Keys and I knew the kids would get a kick out of it. Robbie’s has a little bit of everything – open-air market, restaurants and bars, fishing charters, kayak/paddle board/jet ski rentals, and of course, tarpon feeding. The story behind the tarpon feeding goes back to 1976 when Robbie rescued an injured tarpon. After sewing up his wounded jaw, Robbie and his wife …

The Overseas Highway runs 113 miles along the Florida Keys, from Key Largo south to Key West. This was the one thing my husband wanted to do in the Keys and the thing I probably researched the most. I had read dozens of ideas of places to stop and things to do along the way and after much debate narrowed it down to 8 potential activities. We only did 3 of them (and 2 of them begrudgingly). But such is the nature of a road trip with tired kids and competing interests. Much like Key Largo itself, my expectations of …

Key Largo is the northern-most island of the Florida Keys. It is the largest of the keys at 33 miles long and is the self-proclaimed “Diving Capital of the World”. Water sports are extremely popular here, from diving and snorkeling to fishing and boating. I will be the first to admit that I did not fully understand the Florida Keys before our visit. I read about the beautiful Overseas Highway connecting all the different islands and pictured each island having its own town and individual vibe. I was really surprised to find that, with the exception of Key West, there …

As the oldest city in the US, St. Augustine holds a lot of other “oldest” distinctions within the city, among them the oldest masonry fort in the continental US. Castillo de San Marcos was built by the Spanish starting in 1672 following an English raid of the city that caused significant damage and exposed its vulnerabilities. (In total, 9 wooden forts had been burned to the ground by invaders over the years.) Construction spanned 23 years, and upon completion, the fort’s 12-foot thick coquina (shell and limestone) walls were a formidable defense that proved both impenetrable and fire-resistant. The fort …