I've done daily recaps of each of our days, but I thought I'd do a little summary of our time there as well. You can click on the names of the days of the week to view each day's full review on my travel blog.
Vacation Summary
We got in SUPER late on Saturday night after an extremely long day of travel and got settled into our condo around 2am.
On Sunday, we were lazy bums and rested a lot, swam, played at the playground and ate out. We were all still pretty worn out from the previous day, so we didn't have any rhyme or reason to the day. We ate out for super at Upper Crust Pizza and it was good pizza.
Monday we went to the Gator Park and took an air boat ride and Mama got to hold a baby alligator. We had lunch at Pit BBQ.
Tuesday we spent some time at Bahia Honda State Park, then took a quick, unnecessary trip the rest of the way down to Key West, which just didn't end up being our type of scene these days. We had lunch at Berdine's in Marathon and supper at IHOP also in Marathon.
Wednesday was another lazy day and we didn't do much earlier in the day, but after lunch we took the boys to Harris Beach in Tavernier and then out to eat. For supper we at Chad's in Tavernier and the food was alright, even if it was a horrible experience with the kids (not the restaurant's fault).
Thursday, we took the boys to Theatre of the Sea in Islamorada in lieu of the Miami Seaquarium, since we were just too weary to drive to Miami again. We had lunch at Theatre of the Sea.
Friday was more time at the condo swimming, feeding the fish and playing at the park. Mama also got some time during naps to shop a little bit. We ordered Papa John's for lunch, had Arby's for supper and got Mr. C's (mint chip) ice cream before bed.
Saturday was an excruciatingly long day full of driving and flying, and we got home around 9:30pm.
The Worst Parts
Eating Out
Never.Ever.Ever.Ever. plan to eat out more than maybe one or two meals while on vacation with toddlers. Eating out with toddlers in tow is just plain stupid. It ruined half of our days and left us feeling beat down and exhausted. We should have stocked the condo better and planned more meals at "home".
Beaches
Also, we should have done a little more research about family-friendly activities. We really might have made a different decision as to where we went if we realized that aside from the warmer temps, the big draw in Key Largo and the keys is the snorkeling and fishing. If we weren't going to do those things (and we weren't), then we should have picked somewhere with more exciting beaches or more activities for kids to do. We definitely had a good time, but we might have had a better time up near Miami or further north in Fort Lauderdale perhaps. The boys loved the beach, and I only wish there had been better beaches to take them to.
Finding Sunsets beyond our Condo
Great sunset views aren't easy to come by in Key Largo unless you are either prepared to deal with tantrumming toddlers at a fancy restaurant and hope you get a good table for the view, OR are prepared to leave town and drive either north or south (preferably south). Good to know if that is any sort of priority for you. Thankfully, we were able to check out a few beautiful sunsets from our condo, even if they weren't over the ocean.
Never.Ever.Ever.Ever. plan to eat out more than maybe one or two meals while on vacation with toddlers. Eating out with toddlers in tow is just plain stupid. It ruined half of our days and left us feeling beat down and exhausted. We should have stocked the condo better and planned more meals at "home".
Beaches
Also, we should have done a little more research about family-friendly activities. We really might have made a different decision as to where we went if we realized that aside from the warmer temps, the big draw in Key Largo and the keys is the snorkeling and fishing. If we weren't going to do those things (and we weren't), then we should have picked somewhere with more exciting beaches or more activities for kids to do. We definitely had a good time, but we might have had a better time up near Miami or further north in Fort Lauderdale perhaps. The boys loved the beach, and I only wish there had been better beaches to take them to.
Finding Sunsets beyond our Condo
Great sunset views aren't easy to come by in Key Largo unless you are either prepared to deal with tantrumming toddlers at a fancy restaurant and hope you get a good table for the view, OR are prepared to leave town and drive either north or south (preferably south). Good to know if that is any sort of priority for you. Thankfully, we were able to check out a few beautiful sunsets from our condo, even if they weren't over the ocean.
The Best Parts
We thoroughly enjoyed the Gator Park and LOVED the air boat ride. We'd highly recommend this, but there wasn't a ton more to do there beyond the air boat ride.
Theatre of the Sea was a huge hit with our boys! It was just the right size to hit from 10-2 and still get naps in without feeling like we missed anything. The dolphin show and sea lion show were both excellent, and the other animals (parrots, turtles, fish) were really cool to look at too.
Our Condo at Kawama Towers in Key Largo had some pretty great features. We LOVED having the dock with fish, the playground and the pool all within just a few steps. It made it really easy to have fun without having to pack for a day away.
The incredible views along Hwy 1. We only went down to Marathon and beyond one day, but it was so beautiful to see the brilliant ocean. If we hadn't had such squirmy toddlers in tow who were ready for lunch, it would have been nice to spend a little more time just being by the ocean. It was so beautiful! We stopped by a couple beaches, but none had quite the view we saw just driving along the highway.
Harris Beach was so PERFECT for us, and we only wish we had chosen a warmer day to visit! It had this perfect little rock wall protecting from the ocean's full strength, so we didn't worry about the boys playing there, and it was just gorgeous. There was also a little park right there too (which we didn't visit), and seemed like just the perfect place to hang out with a little family our size. We were MUCH more impressed with this beach compared to Bahia Honda State Park, which will NOT appear in our "favorites" section. It had a clean beach with picnic tables, shelters, palm trees and perfect sand for sand castle building.
Sunsets from our condo. Boy were we lucky that they were so beautiful right there, because there wasn't a single night we were fortunate enough to be able to actually see a decent sunset over the ocean. When the sun was setting, it was like all of us just sort of settled down and stared at it in amazement.
Theatre of the Sea was a huge hit with our boys! It was just the right size to hit from 10-2 and still get naps in without feeling like we missed anything. The dolphin show and sea lion show were both excellent, and the other animals (parrots, turtles, fish) were really cool to look at too.
Our Condo at Kawama Towers in Key Largo had some pretty great features. We LOVED having the dock with fish, the playground and the pool all within just a few steps. It made it really easy to have fun without having to pack for a day away.
The incredible views along Hwy 1. We only went down to Marathon and beyond one day, but it was so beautiful to see the brilliant ocean. If we hadn't had such squirmy toddlers in tow who were ready for lunch, it would have been nice to spend a little more time just being by the ocean. It was so beautiful! We stopped by a couple beaches, but none had quite the view we saw just driving along the highway.
Harris Beach was so PERFECT for us, and we only wish we had chosen a warmer day to visit! It had this perfect little rock wall protecting from the ocean's full strength, so we didn't worry about the boys playing there, and it was just gorgeous. There was also a little park right there too (which we didn't visit), and seemed like just the perfect place to hang out with a little family our size. We were MUCH more impressed with this beach compared to Bahia Honda State Park, which will NOT appear in our "favorites" section. It had a clean beach with picnic tables, shelters, palm trees and perfect sand for sand castle building.
Sunsets from our condo. Boy were we lucky that they were so beautiful right there, because there wasn't a single night we were fortunate enough to be able to actually see a decent sunset over the ocean. When the sun was setting, it was like all of us just sort of settled down and stared at it in amazement.
Overall...
We really did have a great time, but just as it is in life, every day was full of ups and downs, so that stayed the same even if the weather drastically improved. We have certainly vowed that if we do another big vacation like this WITH kids, it'll be when they're a few years older. As far as traveling with two toddlers goes, I really do feel like it went fairly smooth. But I'll admit that I was drooling over the 20-something girl with wedge heels and Starbucks hand in the Miami airport effortlessly floating up the stairs while I was carrying a 30+lb toddler and lugging my carry on and a bulging bag going down the escalator. Oh how life changes when you have kids. :)On another note, I think the next big vacation we go on will be without kids. As such, it might be a little shorter than week, but I think it's definitely called for :)
