Weekend in Miami and Key Largo

Arriving in Miami at 5:30 pm on a Friday evening and the weekend of NBA Playoffs was not as crazy as expected! Most of the car rental companies were sold out or had extremely high rates for the weekend so I was glad to have made a reservation well in advance at a rate of about $21 per day, plus fees and taxes through Enterprise.

Enterprise Car Rental was quick to process our reservation and even offered us a complimentary bottle of water on arrival. The car rental 'hub' is located a short shuttle ride from the airport terminal and has all of the car rental companies in one location.

The Best Western Premier is located about 2 miles from the Miami International Airport and is a great place to stay when visiting Miami! Although the signage out of the airport was a bit confusing (or maybe it was just the driver), the Best Western Premier was easy to find. The road out of the airport (42^nd) is a busy road with many stoplights and few left turn signals, but fortunately, there is a left turn signal for the Best Western Premier Miami International Airport located on Flagler Street and 42^nd. The Best Western Premier Miami International Airport looked new or newly remodeled with a European, art deco feel. Reception was helpful in providing directions and recommendations on a weekend that was extremely busy due to the NBA Playoffs. The Best Western Premier Miami International Airport offers free parking with a pass provided at check in, free wireless Internet and continental breakfast. The rooms at Best Western Premier Miami International Airport are spacious, clean and very comfortable. The beds and pillows are plush and cozy, there is a large flat panel television, hair dryer, iron and mini fridge. The Best Western Premier Miami International Airport has a small fitness center and outdoor pool that was a decent size and looked clean. There is also a bar near the lobby and is also where continental breakfast is served. The breakfast was mediocre at best with cereal, breads, coffee and juice. They will ask for your room number at breakfast and they don't allow food to be taken back to the rooms. All in all, the Best Western Premier Miami International Airport is a nice, comfortable place to stay if wanting to stay near the airport and at an Internet rate of $122 for 2 people, it was worth the price.

For dinner, we were a bit hesitant to head to Miami Beach due to the playoffs, but took our chances since we were only in Miami for one night. It was difficult to find a place to park, the public parking lots were not well marked and were difficult to find, making street parking the best option. Fortunately, the parking meters in Miami Beach accept cash (bills) or credit cards, which is much more convenient than having to carry a bunch of quarters!

The Miami Beach restaurants were busy and as in many trendy beach towns, the menus all looked very similar and the hostesses were out 'hawking' their restaurant. This was very similar to Cairns and Sydney Australia. We finally selected a restaurant with an outdoor table so we could people watch. The food was nothing special - we had spinach and artichoke dip that was lacking zip, a tropical salad that was noting special and bruschetta that was average. The service was nothing special and as we were finishing dinner, it started raining hard and the leaks in the canopy had most patrons soaking wet. The servers tried to quickly move tables inside and causing a bit of chaos. We decided not to stick around for dessert and the rain to stop.

On Saturday, we took Highway 1 south towards the Keys after making a quick detour through Coconut. The Google map directions to Coconut Grove took us into the residential area and we got a bit misplaced, but found our way back to Highway 1 to make our way to Key Largo. The drive took a little over an hour and we arrived in Key Largo just before 11:00 am. After a stop at the visitor's center, we headed straight for Keys Diver and were able to book the 12:15 pm snorkel trip.

Keys Diver does a 3 site trip at 12:15 pm for $35 per person with gear. The Keys Diver boat is behind the Holiday Inn, next to Coconuts and just across the street from the Bayside Inn where we were staying. The boat ride out to the first site takes about 30 minutes, during which time, the instruction is provided and gear distributed. It is a bit of a cattle boat with about 30+ snorkelers and as a scuba diver, more than I'm used to. It was a beautiful, calm day which made the trip enjoyable. At each snorkel site you are allowed about 30 minutes in the water and it only takes about 10 minutes to move to the next site. It was a fun day, with calm, clear, fairly warm waters.

Next stop was happy hour at Sharky's, overlooking the canal, just down from Coconuts and the Keys Diver boat. Sharky's menu was nothing special and it was not very crowded, so after some fries and a drink we headed back to the Bayside Inn to freshen up before dinner.

The Bayside Inn offered an Internet rate of $160 per night, plus taxes on Hotels.com, several months in advance (around $190 per night as it got closer to the date). We checked in early (before our snorkel trip) and the front desk staff found an available room, allowing us to check in at 11:00 am. The rooms at the Bayside Inn are dark and small, but comfortable and clean. The beach and pool at the Bayside Inn are clean and private, but there is really not a beach you can walk along. If you're lucky, the Bayside Inn also has a great view of the sunset, should the clouds stay away.

The Bayside Inn offers free wireless Internet, which was slow, a desktop computer and printer in the lobby, which were even slower and a continental breakfast that was very simple (cereal, juice, coffee and rolls).

The staff at the Bayside Inn was helpful in providing directions, recommendations and discount coupons. It is worth a night or 2 and is close to Keys Snorkel, Dolphins Plus, Bayside Grille, Pilot House and Mrs. Mac's Kitchen.

The Bayside Grille is a short walk (2 doors down) from the Bayside Inn and offers happy hour, a sunset view and live music. The food and drinks in the bar are good and reasonably priced. Try the fish tacos or a burger and one of their specialty drinks! The Bayside Grille is not open on Sunday's.

A little further south on Highway 1 is Mrs. Mac's Kitchen. Also not open on Sunday we had to stop in for some of the famous key lime pie. There are outdoor tables, indoor tables and counter dining. We were in and out in 10 minutes after sharing a piece of key lime pie that was pretty darn good! There are also key lime shakes, which we didn't have the opportunity to try - we'll just have to go back!

On Sunday morning (Palm Sunday) we went to Dolphins Plus to do the structured swim and natural swim with the dolphins. The staff was friendly and organized. After receiving an introduction to the program, we were assigned to our trainer and dolphins (Squirt and her baby, Lotus). There were 3 groups of 4 people, we were with another couple but got to go in the water 2 at a time. Families of 4 may go in together, it all depends on the total number of people doing the program.

We had our dolphin swim first and did several activities with guidance from the trainer...we shook hands with the dolphins, kissed them, had them sing for us, held a bar so they could jump over it, then they pushed us on our backs by putting their noses on our feet and on our stomachs like superwoman and then they pulled us with their dorsal fin! The more you cheer, laugh and clap, the more fun the dolphins have! What a blast! We did hire a photographer for $70 and were glad we did because unless there is someone with you to take pictures (from the far dock), there is little opportunity to take pictures during the structured swim. We probably spent about 30 minutes in the water with the dolphins.

Once we had our time with Squirt and Lotus, another trainer gathered the people who were doing the natural swim to give some additional instruction and allow the others to enjoy their time with the dolphins. For the natural swim, there were 5 swimmers (they can have up to 12 swimmers with the 6-10 dolphins). Snorkel gear is provided and during the swim there is no touching the dolphins and you are asked to do your best to swim next to the dolphin not towards them. This swim is much more up to the dolphins if they want to interact, but the trainers provide some games and guidance to make it a great experience. You do have the opportunity to bring an underwater camera in with you but the water is a bit murky and the dolphins are so close and move so fast, it is difficult to get good pictures. Again, this swim is about 30-45 minutes.

Overall, Dolphins Plus does a good job with education and providing a wonderful, interactive experience. The environment is not as natural as in the Bahamas or Palau, it is in the canal with cement walls, but apparently manatee do come in the canal and cause some interest for the dolphins. The dolphins at Dolphins Plus are primarily those who were born in captivity or were injured or orphaned and cannot be returned to the wild.

Several restaurants are closed on Sunday's but Coconuts was open and offered happy hour and live music. Coconuts is within walking distance of the Bayside Inn. After a refreshment and watching the scuba boats return for the day, we walked to the Pilot House, which is near Dolphins Plus and is on a small marina. The Pilot House offers happy hour, live music, fish food and pets are allowed!!! The cream of crab soup and mussels were good, as were the chicken tacos. The music that night was wonderful, Samantha Clark, who is so new she doesn't have a CD and we haven't been able to find her on-line, but we'll keep watching! The Pilot House is fun, reasonably priced and overall has a great environment.

On Monday morning, we drove back up Highway 1 to Coconut Grove where we did a little shopping and had lunch. The shops in Coconut Grove are mostly designer boutiques and out of our price range, but it was fun to look.

The Jaguar Restaurant has a Latin menu and is known for their ceviche. With sidewalk dining and lunch specials at $12, it was a nice way to end our weekend in Miami! Both the service and the food at Jaguar was good!

After lunch, we returned our car and went to the airport to wait for our flight home, which all went as planned! Overall, a great way to spend a weekend in Miami!