Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail: Day 3 (MM102-MM90)

Day 3 - Friday, December 3

Key Largo MM102 - Islamorada MM90

Day 3 was around 11 miles, we left the Hampton Inn - Key Largo headed south towards Creekside Inn - Islamorada. We we excited to start the "real" miles on our hike but a bit sad to be leaving our mini-paradise at Hampton Inn.

Leaving the Hampton Inn we saw our first two manatee! Seeing them has been on my bucket list for years! Of all our visits to Florida, we had never seen one in the wild!! That got us really excited about what we'd see the rest of the trip and we were more motivated to be on our way!

It was also the first time reality set in about what we were hoping to accomplish. The pavement began to be harder on our feet than we anticipated, the sun was directly shining on us most of the day and the FKOHT offers very little shade to find relief from it. We tried to stay positive, despite not making the miles as fast as we thought we would. My ankle (which gives me trouble frequently due to an old injury) was already swollen, angry that I was being so hard on it already and I had yet to discover that I left the medication I take for it, and the ibuprofen, at home.

Around lunchtime we passed by Key Largo Conch House, a cute little restaurant that we knew served amazing food because we had it at a wedding the year before. We weren't very hungry but we HAD to stop and they had shade! We enjoyed an order of conch fritters and rested for a bit before being back on our way.

Shortly after we rested and ate a snack at Key Largo Conch House we passed by Pinecrest Bakery, which was ALSO on the bucket list so we stopped...again. No wonder we weren't getting the miles done very quickly! The pastries we got were okay, the shaded porch was nice, but otherwise, it wasn't a stellar experience. The staff, nor other customers, were overly friendly. They were extremely busy when we were there and perhaps that is why. After a quick stop there, we continued on.

Just a mile later we passed the Key Largo Reef Education Center. They had a lovely nature garden with benches for those utilizing the FKOHT to rest. They even had bike racks for cyclists. I wish we had more time to visit and we'll definitely go back the next time we're down there. We enjoyed the shade and reading about the history of the area for just a few minutes before heading back out towards Islamorada.

We passed Shell World - Key Largo and I wanted to make a quick stop to buy a "Key Largo" decal for the souvenir water bottle I was making. Huge mistake! The staff was not friendly, the store was not "hiker" friendly and they wouldn't let me use my debit card for a purchase less than $5. I left the decal on the counter and left. There's plenty of places to shop in the keys, I'd avoid this one.

After a few miles we passed a DIRT trail to explore! It was a nice break on feet from pounding away the miles on pavement!

We continued on the rest of the afternoon. The sun started going down and we finished in the dark to pay for leaving the Hampton Inn so late and all the stops we made during the trek down. While I was checking us into the hotel, Joseph sat by the "creek" chatting to a couple visiting from Fort Lauderdale, FL, also on their way to Key West, but they were smart enough to do it via their car. While they were talking, a dolphin swam right by the dock!

After checking in we sat by the "creek" a bit longer before heading to our room. We were tired and hungry.

The onsite restaurant was closed already but Joseph walked a few blocks to pick up a pizza. I was initially disappointed at the thought of pizza in the keys, but it turned out to be DELICIOUS!! We ate all but two pieces! We packed those out for a snack the next day.

Our room was comfortable and roomy. After eating and showering, we went to bed. Our first day had been harder than we anticipated and the 25 miles we had planned for the next day made us a little nervous.