Looking for Old Florida

 

This trip was conceived from a sense of nostalgia. Every trip we plan brings anticipation and the hope of new discoveries but this trip was always rooted in the desire to look for places that bring back the elusive feeling of a simpler time; the old Florida Mark remembers from the 70’s. One way we’ve pursued that goal is trying to find places to eat with some history.

The Fish House, in Key Largo, is one of the few remaining establishments that buys fish from local commercial fishermen; fresh off the boat. Local fishermen bring their daily catches every week to the back door of the Fish House where it’s filleted on the premises.

Herbies has been part of the Keys dining scene since the 1940’s making it the oldest continually operated restaurant in Marathon. As one reviewer noted, it’s not really a dive; more of a shack, but good food and atmosphere. 

However, our best find of the trip was probably the No Name Pub. Its history goes back to 1931. Years ago people from all walks of life started hanging dollar bills on the wall and the tradition continues today. It’s in the lower Keys and far off the beaten path. Their own website notes “A nice place if you can find it.”










Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Coming to a Close

Image
  Black Friday saw us up and on the road early but not to shop for special deals. It was time to head home. We left northern Florida with one last stopover. in Georgia, at Blanton Creek Campground; a campground run by Georgia Power. We loved the park and were able to choose a lakeside spot because it was the last day the park would be open for the season. Very few people were there. We showed up at the park in flip flops and left wearing wool socks and down jackets. When we left on this trip the only downside of leaving in October was knowing we’d be gone during one of Tennessee’s loveliest times of the year. I was sad we wouldn’t see the beautiful fall colors this year. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we arrived home and stepped out on our condo balcony. The maple trees in the courtyard held onto their leaves until we got home!
Read more

New Journal with Jackson

Image
  This blog is a journal or scrapbook for family and friends who might want to follow along with me, my husband Mark and our dog Jackson as we travel in our 2007 75th Anniversary Limited Edition Bambi Airstream. We have been Airstreaming since 2017 and most of our adventures can be accessed on our former blog called travelswithstarbaby.blogspot.com Welcome to Journeys with Jackson! Our first trip with Jackson was suitably to Jackson Center, Ohio. We had an April appointment with the Airstream service department to have a few maintenance issues addressed. We chose April for the appointment because Jackson Center just happened to be in the path of totality for the Solar Eclipse. We headed to Ohio a week before our appointment to set up at St. Mary’s Grand Lake State Park for the momentous event. The weather was gray and rainy when we arrived in Ohio but we didn’t lose hope. Our campground neighbors, Don and Ann, were also hopeful. They had transported a state of the art telescope and...
Read more

Key Deer

Image
  A trip to the Keys wouldn’t be complete without visiting Key West and having your picture taken with the buoy proving you made it to the southernmost point in the continental USA. There’s also the Ernest Hemingway House and the six toed cats to see.There’s no missing the Key West roosters because they are everywhere! They’re believed to be descendants of the fighting roosters released on the island when cockfights became illegal in the late 1970’s. We appreciated the history and culture in this vibrant city but after spending the morning in Old Town we happily headed north again. Our plan was to stop at mile marker 30, on Big Pine Key, in hopes of seeing the endangered Pine Key Deer. The island of Pine Key is home to the National Key Deer Refuge and this section of the Keys is the only place in the world you can see these miniature creatures. Sometimes called the “toy deer” an adult female can weigh as little as 45 pounds. (about the size of a German shepherd) The original specie...
Read more