Next is Key Largo, the first and largest key in the chain. Stop at the Caribbean Club, a small bar w

Stops along the way to break up the trip. On the South Carolina-North Carolina border, along I-95, is a unique place called South of the Border drury inn hotels . You ll see signs for miles. Tacky meets goofy at South of the Border. drury inn hotels Plaster animals drury inn hotels dot the grounds, providing some interesting photo opportunities. Each building has a theme from video games to knick-knacks to hats from around the world. There are also amusement park rides and places to get a bite to eat.
Other stops can be made along the way, such as historical St. Augustine, the oldest city in the United drury inn hotels States. Visit the Spanish fort, Castillo de San Marcos, and the old section of town. Take a ghost tour. It s haunted as hell. Past St. Augustine are the beaches from Daytona to Ft. Lauderdale. Any of those can break up a long trip.
In Homestead, there s a little caf that s a great stop for food. Mario s Latin Caf that features Cuban food with an American touch. Order the rack of ribs. Awesome. Or beef strips with onions and peppers, congris (beans and rice) and plantains. Maybe chicken strips. So don't just stop at fast food restaurants.
In Florida City, next to Homestead, is the Everglades Alligator Farm. The farm has a welcoming, family-operated feel and lots of things to see, including snake and alligator handling displays and alligator feedings. No shortage alligators either. Hundreds of the monsters lingered in the sun until feeding time when they snap at the food.
How about an airboat ride? It travels in only four inches of water, speed across the grass before whirling into 360s, splattering swamp water over passengers and drives drury inn hotels by gators in the water and shore. Visit www.everglades.com to find out more about the park.
Next is Key Largo, the first and largest key in the chain. Stop at the Caribbean Club, a small bar with a great view. Carl Fisher envisioned the Lincoln Highway the first highway across drury inn hotels the country, developed Miami Beach and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Once worth over $100 million, he lost it all during the stock market crash in 1929. Undaunted, Fisher moved to the Keys and established the Caribbean Club as a poor-man s retreat.
Humphrey Bogart starred in the movie Key Largo in 1948 with Lauren drury inn hotels Bacall and Edward G. Robinson, drury inn hotels eight years after Fisher died. While most of the movie was shot in a Hollywood sounds stage, the outside shots were taken at Caribbean Club. Also in Key Largo, the local Holiday Inn houses the African Queen, the boat used in the movie The African Queen , staring Katharine Hepburn and Bogart.
Key Largo is also known as the diving capital of the world. The third largest reef in the world is located in the Keys. In Key Largo, snorkel at John Pennecamp State Park. There s a novice section where they sunk cannons in the reef to give the look of a shipwreck for visitors. Snorkelers can spot parrot drury inn hotels fish and angel fish, among others, as well as enormous spiny lobster.
In the Middle Keys, visit The Turtle Hospital in Marathon. The Turtle Hospital opened in 1986 to rehabilitate turtles injured by boats, fishing and disease and return them to the wild. Also, the hospital educates people about sea turtles. They work to make life safer for turtles through new laws and changing people s minds, such as changing the look of the fishing hooks so they don t damage sea turtles. A motel supported the hospital, but Hurricane Wilma ravaged the facility in. The non-profit operation is still getting back on their feet. Go to turtlehospital.org drury inn hotels to find more info and how you can help.
Bahia Honda State Park, located just south of Marathon, has been named one of the top beaches in the United States. Founded in 1961, visitors can swim, fish, snorkel and kayak on either drury inn hotels the Atlantic or Gulf side of the small key. Great facilities. drury inn hotels Walk out onto the old Bahia Honda bridge for a great view of the island and the waters.
Originally established in 1931 as a general store, the No Name Pub, located appropriately on No Name Key, morphed by the end of the 1930s to a brothel. In the 1950s, it changed into a pub. It s a small bar with typical - but delicious drury inn hotels - bar food, but its decor that makes it unique. Visitors are encouraged to write on dollar bills and staple them on the walls and ceiling. The bartender drury inn hotels estimated that over nine thousand dollars cover the walls (nonamepub.com).