Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 305-664-0604;
www.moradabay-restaurant.com
;
MM 81.6 bayside; mains $14-33;
11:30am-10pm)
Grab a table under a palm tree on the white-sand beach and sip a rum
drink with your fresh seafood for a lovely, easygoing Caribbean experience. Don't miss
the monthly full-moon party.
Grassy Key
To reach Grassy Key in the Middle Keys, you enjoy a vivid sensation of island-hopping,
ending with the biggest hop, the
Seven Mile Bridge
, one of the world's longest cause-
ways.
Sights
Dolphin Research Center
WILDLIFE RESERVE
( 305-289-1121;
www.dolphins.org
; MM 59 bayside; adult/child under 4yr/child 4-12yr/senior
$20/free/15/17.50, swim program $180-650; 9am-4pm)
By far the most popular activity on
Grassy Key is swimming with the descendants of Flipper. Of all the dolphin swimming
spots in the Keys, this one stands out; the dolphins are free to leave the grounds and a lot
of marine-biology research goes on behind the (still pretty commercial) tourist activities,
such as getting a dolphin to paint your T-shirt or playing 'trainer for a day' ($650).
Marathon
Halfway between Key Largo and Key West, Marathon is the most sizable town; it's a
good base and a hub for commercial fishing and lobster boats. Get local information at
the
visitor center
(
305-743-5417;
www.floridakeysmarathon.com
;
MM 53.5 bayside;
9am-5pm)
.
Sights & Activities
Crane Point Museum
MUSEUM
(
www.cranepoint.net
; MM 50.5 bayside; adult/child $12.50/8.50; 9am-5pm Mon-Sat, from noon
Sun; )
Escape all the development at this 63-acre reserve, where you'll find a vast sys-
tem of nature trails and mangroves, a raised boardwalk and a rare early-20th-century
Bahamian-style house. Kids will enjoy pirate and wreck exhibits, a walk-through coral
reef tunnel and the bird hospital.
