Day 24 – 5/18/22 – Stock Island Marina Village, Stock Island, Key West, FL

Today we decided to take a drive up to our favorite place – Islamorada Brewery. It was a fabulous day for a drive. The sun was out and not very much traffic at all!

Henry Flagler was the co-founder of Standard Oil and the builder and visionary for the Florida East Coast Railway. He extended the railway from Miami to Key West. He was told by many engineers that is couldn’t be done. He completed it after 7 years and $50 million (1912 dollars)! It started being used in 1912 and ended in 1935 when a hurricane hit the Keys and ruined some of the tracks. It was called the 8th wonder of the world when it opened.

This is the old railroad bridge.

We decided to hit Faro Blanco and see if the marina looked as nice as we remembered. It was pretty nice but mainly a fishing spot.

Then we drove all they way up to Hawks Cay. It was a spot we’ve been to a few times and last time there was hurricane damage they hadn’t repaired yet. It seems things aren’t much better. They have a small area with retail, coffee shop and an ice cream shop and all were closed for good! We talked with a Captain of one of the for hire fishing boats and he wasn’t too happy with the disrepair. I hope this makes a comeback!

We rented one of these villas once. They are pretty nice – but not sure now.
The restaurant is pretty new and nice but empty today.

These were the tarpon and sharks right off the docks. They were waiting for some free food from the local fishermen.

Back on the road for more adventures!

We found a spot on Yelp for lunch. It had great ratings – Lazy Days Restaurant. The food was as good as it gets!!!! Everything so fresh and made there! The views were awesome too!

This was a painting inside the restaurant – it is of a lighthouse that was not far off the coast of the restaurant. We could see several boats around it. Must be a good fishing spot.

Heading back we made our stop at Islamorada Brewery (and now) Distillery!!!

We did a tasting of the rum and gin. They make a Hibiscus Gin that changes colors when you add tonic. We got two bottles!!! It was worth the stop!

Then we did the gift store next door!

Loved the octopus sink and other octopus dishes and items. So beautiful!

Next on the drive we saw Safeharbor Marina which is in the Waterway Guide books I use, so we checked it out and it’s not somewhere we’d probably go. Although we have heard good things from other boaters about the restaurant Square Grouper.

Back at the boat we cooked on the grill and just chilled watching the sunset.

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By olivemywhiskey

Teri is a retired CFO and Nick is a partner in a private equity firm. We are both very irrelevant in the business worlds. We jumped up to a 52 foot boat because we were in need of more adventure. We are on the Great Loop around the East Coast of North America. It's been a wild ride!

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