by: Daniel Hawkins

New Years in the Florida Keys

We arrived in the Florida Keys on New Year’s Eve and what a great experience. We visited some of the breathtaking state parks and did the Duval Crawl in one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in the country. The Keys have so much to offer for a new visitor, it can be somewhat overwhelming. Below are some things we did that may give you some ideas when you plan your trip to the Keys.

Marathon Florida

Our home base in the Keys was Marathon. It is in the center of the Florida Keys and the starting point of the famed seven mile bridge. Marathon is known as a fisherman’s paradise. It has a lot of things to do. You can snorkel over it’s offshore coral reef, kayak, jet ski, fish or just sit back and enjoy a nice cold beverage on it’s beautiful beaches.

Here are some of our highlights in Marathon.

Sombrero Beach located on the Atlantic side of the island:

This beach is beautifully maintained and offers handicap accessible amenities such as a new playground, showers, restrooms, and nicely shaded barbeque pavilions that you can have a picnic and enjoy the day. The parking at Sombrero Beach is free. One thing we enjoyed doing was looking at the coral that is on the edge of the beach. Look in the holes and you can see fossils of sea creatures from long ago. What a unique experience. You can also rent a kayak, or easily put in your own, and kayak and go through Boot Key. It provides many hours of exploring the wild habitat of Florida’s mangroves. (I recommend you get a tour if you can as you can get lost hours in the groves, although many of the trails are marked to help prevent this.)

Marathon also has a state of the art Turtle rescue center and a Dolphin Research Center where you can go and swim with the dolphins. It’s a very cool experience that you can enjoy with the kids.

My family and I enjoyed a great day barbequing and kayaking on the beach. While we were visiting, we saw not one, but three beautiful beach weddings with outstanding sunsets in the background. It really was something to see. Our daughter thought it was so romantic. It was a day we will all remember.

Our first morning in Marathon was a holiday so there were not too many businesses open. While driving around we found a breakfast place with a lot of customers, so we decided to stop in. It is called The Wooden Spoon. We had a few minute wait, but had a good homemade breakfast in a very cute, seventies style decorated diner.

After breakfast we loaded up the kayaks and went to Curry Hammock State Park to explore the hardwood hammocks and one of the largest populations of thatch palms in the United States. Watching the tropical birds and exploring the wetlands made for a great afternoon. We also brought our bikes and found a great paved bike trail across the street from the park. The bike trail is along the ocean and has a nice hiking trail where you can see some beautiful views.

Please visit http://www.FloridaVacationPlans.com for information and ideas when planning your next Florida vacation.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/destinations-articles/florida-keys-and-marathon-florida-vacation-ideas-part-1-5596494.html

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About the Author

Daniel Hawkins is a writer / blogger for www.FloridaVacationPlans.com. He writes articles relating to vacation ideas for Florida Destinations. His Florida Vacation Plans website provides information, reviews and tips on Florida beaches, theme parks, events and festivals, hotels and resorts, golfing, night life, boating, swimming, dining,fishing, shopping, state parks, casinos,sporting events and cruises.