Here’s Our Best & Worst Things From Florida

To kick off the final year of our 7 year, 50 state road trip, Shae, Truffles and I headed down to Florida.

We’d spent a little time there in the past both before the road trip and during it, but we were counting this as our official Florida visit for the road trip. That’s because the first visit on the road trip was in the summer of 2020 when COVID was in full force and so we didn’t do much while there.

We spent a month in the sunshine state and enjoyed it more than I was expecting. Here’s all our favorite and not-so-favorite things in Florida for this latest edition of our Best & Worst Of.

Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At

Stephen – The Vacasa property we stayed at in the Miami area. We’d booked it using Wyndham Rewards points and it was fantastic value – a spacious one bedroom condo with a full kitchen, a balcony overlooking the ocean and more.

Honorable mention goes to the Hyatt Place St Augustine/Vilano Beach – great value when using points as well, a superb location near the beach and a nice, new property.

Shae – Oohhh… this is a tough choice. I loved the brand new (at the time of staying there) Hyatt Place in St. Augustine, but I have to agree that being on the 16th floor overlooking the palm trees and the ocean gave me life in Miami.

Favorite Meal

Stephen – This will have to be awarded to The Hampton Social. The food was all delicious and it was a fun experience overall.

Shae – I hope we don’t just match on everything but yes, I’d agree The Hampton Social was the best meal we had in FL. But an honorable mention to the whole experience at the Armature Works in Tampa.

Most Disappointing Meal

Stephen – The entire meal wasn’t awful, but both our entrées at Yardbird Table & Bar were disappointing.

Shae – Sigh, yes, this is also true. I was particularly sad since I’d pushed us to go based on the delicious experience I’d had with mom twice at the one in DC. But the Miami area one let us down big time.

Favorite Free Activity

Stephen – The free tastings at a couple of distilleries and a winery in St Augustine, all of which were pet-friendly too.

Shae – I mean, it was kind of free? We were given free tickets to Universal Studios by a friend so we could spend the day there. We spent money that day, but the tickets were free so I’m going to count it! LOL!

Favorite Paid Activity

Stephen – That would have to be swimming with manatees in Crystal River – it’s a magical experience. Another honorable mention, this time for the kayaking experience in Islamorada where we got to kayak through mangrove tunnels, saw a saltwater crocodile and more.

Shae – Oh yes, I concur with both of Stephen’s picks here. Favorite overall activity in Florida was definitely our day with the manatees.

Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity

Stephen – Not one but a dozen – everything we did in St Augustine.

Shae – Kayaking with Truffles in Islamorada. I love being on the water with our whole little family.

Least Favorite Activity

Stephen – The snorkeling trip we went on in Key West – the rough waves and bleached coral reef meant it wasn’t worth the money.

Shae – Ugh, yes, the snorkeling trip was such a disappointment.

Favorite Hike

Stephen – We didn’t really go hiking in Florida, but walking through part of Everglades National Park was fun as we got to see several gators by the side of the path.

Shae – Just walking on the beach or near the beach anywhere in the state. It was just so nice to be near the water.

Favorite Quirky Thing We Did

Stephen – This isn’t something we “did”, but the quirkiest thing was seeing all the wild chickens wandering around Key West.

Shae – I went on a giant school bus that was converted into a monster truck through an orange grove while visiting camels and zebras. If that’s not the most quirky and FLORIDA thing to do, I don’t know what is.

Favorite Memory

Stephen – Swimming with manatees.

Shae – Definitely when a manatee was hugging my pool noodle. But an honorable mention to a beautiful day on Key West when we went to the Southernmost spot and bar in the contiguous US.

Funniest Moment

Stephen – Also from when we were swimming with manatees. I’d forgotten how big they were, so with the first one we saw I said “Holy #!@%” in surprise. Shae looked around startled, thinking something bad had happened to me.

Shae – Oh man, that was very funny. For me, it was almost stepping on an alligator at the Everglades and my slightly dramatic overreaction to it. Although a true reaction, it was still very comical.

Thing We Most Regretted

Stephen – Going on the snorkeling trip in Key West.

Shae – I regretted going snorkeling that day, but also not going to Disney World. I was too young to remember the one time my parents took me there so I’d really like to go back. But we had free Universal tickets, not free Disney tickets.

Something We Missed And Want To See

Stephen – There’s a lot we didn’t get to. Dry Tortugas National Park would’ve been fun to visit, but it’s not cheap. I’d also forgotten that there were some new Thomas Dambo troll sculptures in Florida which we missed.

Shae – I really wanted to go to Kennedy Space Center but the price and time commitment just wasn’t there this time. I also didn’t get to the capital to get my state capital stamp, I’d have liked to go to Dry Tortugas and do more snorkeling around the Keys in general.

Our Biggest Surprise

Stephen – How much I enjoyed our month in Florida

Shae – How much I enjoyed the Keys. When we arrived I wasn’t too sure, but I really ended up falling in love with the various islands on the Florida Keys.

My Florida Drinking Game Would Be…

Stephen – Take a drink every time you see a chicken in Key West. Which, considering how much we drank while there, pretty much came to fruition.

Shae – Take a drink whenever you hear about or see manatees. Love the manatee in FL.

Summary Of Florida In 10 Words Or Less

Stephen – There’s more to like than I thought.

Shae – I could happily live in the warmth there.

Florida Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite

Stephen – St Augustine, Key West, Miami, Homosassa, Orlando

Shae – Key West, St. Augustine, Homosassa, Miami and Orlando.