Weekend in Islamorada

This past weekend we took a little getaway trip to Islamorada. We stayed at a cute little waterfront motel (courtesy of Jim & Sal, thanks guys!) and just spent the weekend relaxing and hanging out together. It was too chilly and windy for any water activities, so we mostly enjoyed the scenery and found some good local places to eat, as well as played tourist for a little bit.

The hotel we stayed at, la Jolla (located at about mile marker 82), was nothing fancy but it was super cute. The property is small and made up of 6 different buildings with about 20 rooms/efficiencies/apartments total. As soon as we turned off of A1A onto la Jolla's driveway, it felt like its own separate little hidden spot. There were palm trees everywhere and white and multicolored Christmas lights hanging on the buildings, along the fence, up the stair rails, etc. So cute! The buildings are a little older but very clean and freshly painted, cute and charming, and had a very laid-back Keys vibe. It was in a great location, within walking distance of a few really good restaurants and most importantly, right across the street from the Islamorada Beer Company. SCORE. The owners were super nice and were always making small talk, making sure we were enjoying ourselves, giving us restaurant recommendations, etc. We would definitely stay here again!

So here are some pics of our weekend. Saturday's weather was very cloudy and windy so those pictures aren't as pretty as Sunday's. Sunday was gorgeous but COLD (for the Keys, ha).

I'll try to caption as best as I can. Enjoy!

Friday evening:

We explored our home for the next 2 days and went to dinner at a place called Lorelei's, recommended by the owner. It was within walking distance, was on the water, and had great food. Everything we wanted. We chose to sit on the beach near where the live band was playing. It was really beautiful, with the moon reflecting off the water and palm trees all around. :)

night time view from our room

we were on the first floor of the little pink building

the guys who owns this boat has been staying here for the last 2 months. Must be nice!

dinner at Lorelei's

we ate at a little table on the beach, next to a live band, surrounded by palm trees :)

a boat-limo

 Saturday:

We had a pretty lazy morning on Saturday. We had a kitchenette, so we made breakfast in the room and ate out by the dock. There was this amazing legit French bistro across the street, so we picked up some freshly made deliciously frothy coffee and pastries to go.

After breakfast we tried fishing from the dock for a while, but caught no fish (surprise). I guess I won't be able to catch fish anymore, now that I'm a Marchetti. :P

breakfast view

after breakfast we (very unsuccessfully) tried to fish

For lunch we headed to Robbie's Marina (mm 77), which is a combination local spot/tourist trap/outdoor market. Their main attraction on a day like today was tarpon feeding. Usually you can rent any sort of watercraft and do all kinds of things out of the marina, but not on a yucky weather day like today. So after we ate lunch, we walked out on to the dock to watch all the silly tourists buy buckets of little fish and try to feed these huge 5-6 foot long tarpon. It was pretty entertaining to watch. There were also pelicans everywhere, waiting to snag a fish, so probably half of what people were trying to feed to the tarpon got stolen by the pelicans. Some even followed people around and stole right from their buckets, haha.

this was the most blue sky we saw all day. Still, that WATER <3

For the rest of the afternoon, we drove down A1A to find a good spot to stop and explore/take pictures. We ended up stopping at Anne's Beach on Lower Matecumbe Key (mm 73), which is a little nature preserve with about a 1/4 mile long boardwalk with little alcoves and pathways to pretty little spots.

 Before dinner, we spent about an hour or so at Islamorada Beer Company's tasting room. Jake had a flight of beers and I had a sip of each one. My favorite was No Tan Lines, which was a combination of their wheat ale and their citrus ale. Jake drank more beer of course, and we picked up a couple souvenirs before leaving.

Dinner was at a place called MA's Fish Camp. We went there specifically for the Key Lime Pie. Our dinners ended up being fabulous as well, so it was a good choice. But I have to say, MA's deep dish Key Lime Pie with strawberry puree and white chocolate shavings was hands down THE BEST Key Lime Pie I have ever had in my life. Yummmmm

Sunday:

On Sunday we got up and made breakfast in our little kitchen again. The sun was out and shining, the sky was blue, and there were no clouds. But it was COLD. It was in the 50s when we woke up, and when it did finally warm up, it was still in the 60s. I know it doesn't sound cold, but I've always said that 50 degrees is way colder in Florida than it is up north. I don't know if it's the moist air or what, but I swear it's true. I always thought that even when I was still living in Pittsburgh and would vacation here in the winter. Plus, being right on the water, it's extra breezy and the wind is cold. Even the guys who were getting ready to go fishing had long pants and sweatshirts/jackets on.

So anyway, I was bundled up in the warmest clothes I brought (I wish I had brought my jacket!) and did a little last minute picture-taking before we checked out.

I'll be here if you need me.

our cute little room

beautiful view out the front window

our room!

some other buildings on the property

Then we headed back down A1A and went back to Anne's Beach for some more pictures and a little walk, now that we had a nicer looking day.

Then we just drove along A1A and stopped when we saw a pretty spot that we wanted to check out. The water here is so beautiful, and so different on both sides. I can't get over all the different hues and variations of blues and greens you can see when you look out over the water. I wish the pictures did a better job of capturing what my eyes were seeing. There's really no way to replicate it in a photo; you just have to come see it for yourself!

underneath A1A

tourist Jake

On our way out of the Keys (boo), we stopped for lunch at Mandalay Oceanfront Grille in Key Largo. It was our last little bit of carefree vacation/us time/tropical waterfront dining before going back to reality.

a heart-shaped cloud at lunch in Key Largo!

Ooh, and our Islamorada souvenir! I loooove souvenirs, I am forever the tourist, ha :) Anyway, while at Robbie's on Saturday, we visited a vendor booth that was selling local artwork and these awesome frames made out of reclaimed wood from old Keys lobster traps. We got a coupon for a free art print if we stopped into their main store, which just happened to be right next to la Jolla. Before we left on Sunday, we cashed it in and bought a frame to go with it. It's now hanging on our wall and I LOVE IT! It makes me happy every time I look at it. :)

www.lobstertrapart.com