Florida Keys

Oct 15

Hailey Like many special needs people gets very fixated on specific activities. Many times she can’t see the forest for the trees. We have found having a basic plan helps her to be patient for the things to come. Sometimes we hold back plans so she can enjoy everything leading up to a specific adventure.

The activates in the keys Hailey has shown interest in are seeing the haunted Robert doll at the Fort East Martello Museum. a Shark viewing trip she picked out, snorkeling and bike riding. She has also decided she wants to do the Haunted Pub Crawl. This one took a little persuasion from mom and dad. A little different than the Haunted Tours she normally picks, this one should be as much fun for the group we are with as for us. She does lots of research for restaurants and spends weeks prior trying to pick the perfect ones. We like to let her do her research and build around her interests.

Tip***Trikes are not good in Key West and there is a lot of street riding with lots of cars. Not the greatest biking destination for disabilities.***

There is a raised path around Key west that is a nice ride. there are a couple of streets to cross but all have crosswalks and lights. getting into the tourist area you again will need to travel streets. we were able to get to the southern most point without any major traffic.

Willie T's was our first stop for a drink and snack. Hailey stapled a dollar bill to the wall along with just about everyone that visits. Every 5 years they remove the money from the walls and donate it to the wounded warriors. Last time they raised about $400,000.

We made our way to Margaritaville Jeff and Shelly are big parrot heads and don't miss one when they travel. This is the original and nothing like i was expecting. We have been to several that were quite large. this one was small and quaint. It was early and no ships were in port so Margaritaville was rather slow with only a few customers. It will be hopping when the sun goes down. With the Fort East Martello Museum closing soon we had a Margarita and quickly said goodbye to make the trip to one of Haileys must do stops. The Fort East Martello Museum is where Robert the Doll is kept under glass. He is a haunted doll that there is a movie about. If you take his picture you must ask his permission. If you don't ask he will follow you home and cause trouble for you. There were actually people while we were there that came back because they didn't ask and bad luck had followed them. There were a lot of letters asking for forgiveness with apologies after bad things happened. If you like the paranormal you will want to check it out. Robert is at the Fort East Martello Museum.

Robbie's of Islamorada. A definite tourist trap, but a good one!. They have all the signs, jewelry and other nick knacks one might expect but they also havea unique one. Tarpon feeding! Basically you hold a fish over the water and a man sized Tarpon from a huge school blasts out of the ocean to grab it from your hand. It was awesome! You had to watch the pelicans because they are thieves. If you are around Islamorada stop by. They also have a restaurant and bar we didn't visit as well a shark fishing and anything else you can think of. In the Short video Hailey is a bit apprehensive. Afterwards she was all smiles.

Update on biking in Key West. We found a 10 mile loop (kinda) that rides the shoreline on a wide paved path. A much better experience for Hailey. We did ride a few streets to complete the loop but definitely doable with the trike. We did reach the southern most point. on our way home drinks and appetizers at the Sunset Grill. A little pricey but hard views to pass on. This is one of Haileys must do places every time we are in the Keys. What’s not to love a Tiki bar and restaurant on the ocean.

Haileys bucket list experience... Key West Extreme Adventures is an eco tour that specializes in sharks. We had 20-25 sharks all around the boat. First the water wash chummed to attract the sharks then a fish was held by a rope and lowered. The sharks just about came out of the water for a snack. The captain and crew were great. Hailey was the only one on the boat that got to feed the sharks!

Our final afternoon we went back to Key West for a Fury Water Adventures tour. We chose the Rum, Rege, snorkel and Sunset cruise. After a boat ride through the Turtle sanctuary, we tied off for about an hour of snorkeling. The reef was shallow with a lot of fish. Hailey and I had a lemon shark swim right around us. He could have cared less and cruised right on by. We had our own gear but they provided everything you needed. Hailey has a full face mask with snorkel built in that makes snorkeling super easy for her. No water in the snorkel, it works great. Once on board the bar opened for a party until sunset. Fury had a great crew that kept the fun going. In the future they are on our short list. After wandering the streets doing the tourist thing we returned to Sloppy Joes to watch a band and get some food. A great bar/restaurant to hang out and people watch. You are sure to find a bar you like in Key West from mellow to wild.