I love the Keys, I have been going down there since we worked as bartender hoppers one spring back in 76', well at least 20 years ago I did. I hadn't been down through there for about 15 years and took a road trip from our place in Charlotte Harbor about 5 years and was very disappointed. Back in the early 90's as soon as you went below Key Largo it was like getting off the airplane on the islands. No chain restaurants, really not commercialized at all. It was actually hard to believe we were in North America. Since then McDonald's and everything that goes with it. Sad to see. I wish everyone that visits for the first time could have experienced the Conch Republic how it was meant to be enjoyed. The place Jimmy sang about doesn't resemble the place you are going to visit. Don't get me wrong it is still beautiful just different now. If you don't enjoy seafood save yourselves the trip. You must get off the beaten path. Key West is the tourist trap. Be prepared to pay for it as well. Look at prices online. A small room for $300.00 a night downtown is normal. We stay in Little Deer Key for an efficiency and one bed, pool, for $275.00 a night 5 years ago, it is actually a fishing camp, a 5 minute walk to a canal and one can catch fish all day or cast from the boat dock. But you must beware of gators and poisonous snakes, this is there home, we are visitors. As for fishing you don't just get in a boat and go fishing, this is serious water for serious boaters, there are seadoo and small boat rentals but I would recommend small boating on the Gulf side vs. The Atlantic unless on a small bay. Licenses are required for fishing and regulations are strictly enforced. You must know what is in season as well as the sizes you may keep or not. Equipment and bait is available on charters which is your best bet and can be had for half day outings. You don't just throw off your shoes and socks and wade into the water to fish like we do up north here. Stepping on a Stingray can have serious and sometimes fatal results. The best deep sea fishing is in Islamorada, it is the best in the entire world including Cabo in Mexico. Some of the best beaches are in KW. You must go to the KW aquarium where you can pick up a baby nurse shark, if you would enjoy that type of thing. I was going to recommend a oyster place that has been there for 80 years but I read no oysters. They have 2 things on the menu oysters and cold beer. This is the place that Hemingway would have spent more time in than the house they say was his. Everyone says their hotel is where he ate, slept, drank, wrote so they can charge you for it. On the way down don't be afraid to get off to the small keys. I have been to so many over the years that you can't see them all in one month, so I'll keep it to one can't miss place. Little Deer Key and Deer key. There is a restaurant hole in the wall kind of place we love. It was a stop over spot for fishing boats to load up on ice at the turn of the century. A favorite place of Dwight D. Eisenhower I believe. Ask for the place with the dollar bill wallpaper. The best burger I have had in the states. On Little Key there is a State Park that has walkways into the mangroves where you can observe big gators in the wild, keep a close eye on them if they are anywhere near an egret. And have your camera ready, the teens will think it's a blast. The best beach is Bahia Honda State park. As for Key West being a destination for gays, yes it is. That shouldn't deter any mature person. I love Provincetown as well, very educational when your 18 years old to say the least. As for going down to the Keys in the summer, you had better enjoy wet heat. Yes forget makeup and bring a hat. I have been to Cuba for work in July, and Finland in December. I wouldn't go to either place during those extreme climates unless paid to do so, and paid well I must add. My goodness I just wrote a travel blog, time to give it a rest. Enjoy, I just wish everyone could have enjoyed the way it was meant to be without the Walgreens and Wallmart, and in January. This post was edited by SouthernCanuck on Sat, May 4, 13 at 4:08

Mk, thank you! - it happened exactly as you described your DQ, lol! I was off close to a foot! and Too far to the left. Lol. Yes, right on again - pips are so tiny and barely up - 1 larger one and 2 smaller ones but an increase from 1 last year :). Glad you found your DQ and discovered an increase too! :D hostahosta, thank you, that is useful to know! Something else occurred to me about its late arrival. It is on the side of the fence where it is the coolest in the morning (and the wettest) and shaded in part by the house and the house next door so right now, the May sun sits lower in the sky yet and hits that half later. It is 12:30 and it is still shaded. Around 1:30 it should be sunny there....at least 2 hours slower/longer than in summer, understandably. "Better late than never"! :D ALSO found Diana Remembered! I was so determined she was hiding I started ripping out the sweet woodruff - yes, you guessed it! There it was - engulfed in ground cover! a huge pip up at least an inch....plus a couple wee ones still emerging! Yes!!! ALL ACCOUNTED FOR! Great beginning of the season - so very pleased with all my hostas! Poor Fire and Ice - pulled off more pips that were rotted at crown level. Poked around for more survivors - heading back out to perform some surgical cleaning. It would have been amazing this year - it's leap year. :(. It's not a total loss...I can always replace/add to it if it's puny. :)

They only live a few days so hopefully there will be one when you go. Look in one of the coupon books for $2 off. I got a great picture of a turtle in there and they also have a few flamingos. It was one of the highlights of my trip--hope you enjoy it!

That's good to hear. I'm also wondering/worrying about the Big Pine Key Deer a couple of islands over.