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

Thanks, Joseph. I did find a list of nurseries that are supposed to have it, but the one local to me doesn't have any right now: http://www.floridanativenurseries.org/plants/detail/jacquemontia-pentanthos And this is the only place for Man in the Ground, at least as far as I could find: http://www.allnative.biz/ipomoea-microdactyla-man-in-the-ground.html

Second the suggestion to go out to see Dry Tortugas/Ft Jefferson. It's an incredible structure way out in the Gulf and the snorkeling and sea life is abundant and beautiful. You can go by catamaran ferry or if you've got the bucks I'd recommend going by seaplane because you will be flying over some amazing shoals. That's Mel Fisher treasure hunting territory :). If you don't mind a bit of honky-tonk you can go see some of what he found in town at the Mel Fisher maritime museum. Also check out a tour of Hemingway's house which is fascinating, and if you are a history buff you might want to see the Truman Little White House; it's not a National Park Service site but interesting. Speaking of history, you can also tour Fort Zachary Taylor then enjoy the beach at the state park there. Tons of restaurants, some of which are superb and some of which are just colorful and touristy--but if you're a tourist in high season in Key West why not?!

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