#Gates50States

Between getting Lincoln to tennis camp in Naples and picking him up, Jenn and I got to spend some bonus time in Florida, paddling around Manasota Key, hitting Key West (again) in a successful effort this time to visit Dry Tortuga National Park, and enjoying some good food along the way.

At the south end of Manasota Key sits Stump Pass Beach State Park with several miles of combined Gulf and channel coastline including sand and mangrove islands. The wind and current was stiff between our launch point and the park, but once we got into the channel, the scenery and wildlife were beautiful, between fish, dolphin, and birds.

The first day we went out was Memorial Day, and the boat traffic we encountered between miles 2 and 5 was not light. We really enjoyed, though, the collection of boats anchored in the shallow water at the point between miles 5 and 6… just a cool slice of America with music and flags, tats and smiles.

Catching up with our friend, Jen, from Fort Myers Beach for dinner was a nice treat, and while we missed Kevin this go-round, we’ll see the both of them the next time we’re down that way. The Bay House is one of those seafood places where every course of every meal just melts in your mouth, and the chef’s creativity is on display at each stage. It’s not like there is a shortage of good restaurants in Naples, and this is on the list of really good ones.

The next day brought much less traffic, and we made our adventure a little longer.

We grabbed some brunch before getting Lincoln at camp. Mimosas of Naples. This place gets a big YES from us.

Of the three ways to get to Dry Tortugas National Park, we chose the charter plan route. Chartering a boat would have been great, but time consuming. Taking the ferry would have been time consuming and not nearly as interesting. The charter plane, though not uncostly, was fantastic and we can’t say enough good things about Kris (@tailwinds11 on IG) and Key West Seaplane Adventures for top notch professionalism. Kris put Jenn’s mind at ease (she was a little nervous about the flight), and made sure to give us a great trip with wonderful views of shipwrecks and sea turtles, sharks and underwater dunes.

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Sharing Key West with Lincoln was certainly a neat experience. There are all sorts of things one sees in Key West that one does not see in northeast Ohio, and we got to se just about all of it. He’s become a pretty cool, go-with-the-flow customer when it comes to travel, too, which makes the whole ordeal pretty easy for Jenn and me.

For a second time, we stayed at Island City House Hotel. They’ve not reinvested in the place in quite sometime, and we saw that it’s become run down since our previous stay. The accommodations worked for us, and the pool is nice. The location is also good, and very walkable to key places on Duval Street. It’s just kind of losing its luster, and for what they charge for rooms, it might be time for a little improvement.

Right across the street is Eaton Street Seafood Market, and we ended up getting two dinners here, it was that good. For our third dinner, we visited Off The Hook Bar & Grill. We didn’t have anything less than a fully satisfying meal during our stay.

We chartered a boat for some fishing. Our guide wasn’t awesome, and the fishing was decent, not great. But we enjoyed a beautiful day on the water, and at this stage of our lives… this is something worth appreciating.

Manasota Key was certainly a date trip. Key West was great bonding time with one of our kids, and an opportunity to show him how we like to travel, and that this kind of stuff can be accessible to him. It all fit with our family travel philosophy. Travel is about relaxation, and it’s about learning new things, and about appreciating the world out there.