Here is an artist’s rendition of what the rebuilt Whale Harbor Seafood Buffet in Islamorada will look like. The original was gutted by a fire two years ago, it is expected to be back in business November 2016, said owner Howard Brody. The buffet building, on which ground was broken during Thanksgiving week, will also … Read more
Have you been kiteboarding? This looks like a beautiful use of Anne’s Beach.
The Parmelee Estate invites celebrities, real estate developers and privacy-seekers who want to feel like they are on a private peninsula have the rare opportunity to own 40 acres in the upper Florida Keys just aching to become one mega-estate or 10 smaller parcels. AOL has learned exclusively that the Parmelee estate in Islamorada, Fla., … Read more
Founder’s Park Beach by Brad Bertelli The small crescent-shaped beach is dotted with coconut palms. The warm shallows of Florida Bay lap at its edges. The beach is a local favorite and an excellent place to escape the sub-tropical heat. Because the water is largely devoid of current, waves, or undertow, the roped-off swimming area is … Read more
Tucked behind a royal Poinciana tree and the historic Helen Wadley Branch of the Islamorada Library is Library Beach. “Beach” might be stretching the idea. The beach is a little strip of sand with grass that overlooks a mangrove-lined creek. The water is warm and clear and an ideal place to find relief on a … Read more
Resorts in the Florida Keys are opening and renovating faster than you can say “Ernest Hemingway.” What does Hemingway have to do with it? The iconic American author lived in Key West during the 1930s, when he penned The Snows of Kilimanjaro and To Have and Have Not, and immortalized the free-spirited isle in literary … Read more
By Julia Ford-Carther Just a short drive from Miami, trips to the Florida Keys—stretching from Key Largo to Key West—offer a different way to experience paradise. Surfboards and Adirondack chairs beckon outside The Beach Café at Morada Bay. While Miamians live where everyone else vacations, residents like to sneak away occasionally for a change … Read more
A 37-year-old Hialeah man accused of poaching snappers Friday, Nov. 27, while fishing from a bridge was arrested by a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer. The man was charged with possession of undersized yellowtail snapper, possession of undersized mangrove snapper and possession of undersized schoolmaster snapper, all of which put him over the … Read more
The history of Lignumvitae Key dates back in time when the islands of the Florida Keys were a living coral reef. Sea level has fluctuated over time and has been as much as 300 feet lower than today and as much as 60 to 100 feet higher than today, drastically changing the footprint of the … Read more
Road trips don’t come more spectacular than the Overseas Highway. Sailing through tropical savanna over the Florida Straits, it links Miami on the mainland with the 180-kilometer-long Florida Keys island chain. Most visitors head straight to Key West, the southernmost city in the continental United States, but if they stopped along the way they’d find secluded … Read more
Islamorada’s Bob Rich is known as one of the wealthiest men in the country through his family’s wholesale food company Rich Products Inc., for which he is chairman, but increasingly he’s getting better known for his angling. Now, after producing four books — “Fish Fights,” “The Fishing Club,” “The Right Angle” and “Brothers and Sisters … Read more
“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed!” So announced American Astronaut Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, when he and fellow Astronaut Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to land on the moon. Six hours later, Armstrong stepped off the ladder of the lunar module saying his historically famous words, “That’s one small step … Read more
Want to brush up on your snorkeling skills or enjoy the beautiful Florida Keys’ waters without paying for a boat trip? You won’t see massive coral formations as shown on television, but you can find a wonderful and intriguing underwater world in the nearshore waters. At three area Florida State Parks, a quick swim will … Read more
“Is this off the record? OK, well, that’s where they found the body of [redacted] in the show,” reveals firefighter Mike Powell, who’s sitting next to the gleaming ladder-truck inside Station 20, the middle of the three fire stations on Islamorada. “Hey!” comes a booming voice from off to the side. “How about a spoiler … Read more
Anglers from across the country will hunt for some of the most elusive gamefish in the world at the fourth-annual Cheeca Lodge All American Backcountry Tournament, Nov. 12-14. The event raises funds for the locally-based Guides Trust Foundation, and will host two veteran service members to compete as a team in honor of Veteran’s Day. … Read more
Visiting the Florida Keys usually means a trip to the coral reef, a habitat that is truly a wonder to behold. However, the lesser-known, but equally important seagrass habitat is worth mentioning. Seagrass beds provide food and shelter for numerous animals including fish, queen conch, lobster, shrimp, crab and smaller colonies of coral. Seagrass trap … Read more
Gerry and Wendy Droney have been operating their landscaping and nursery business on Plantation Key since 1986. But now entering their retirement years, the couple sold their operation to the locally-run Forest Tek Lumber late last month. The buyer, which also has a hardware supply company on Big Pine Key, is run by Islamorada residents … Read more
Last month I took a busman’s holiday – a holiday or vacation during which one does something similar to what one does at work. I went fishing in the Florida Keys, and as usual, I fished with captains Rick Rodriquez and John Gargan in Islamorada, Fla. “The Sport Fishing Capital of the World” lived up … Read more
A team from Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary finalized a project to restore living coral colonies on a damaged patch reef near Cheeca Rocks that was injured when a rogue buoy dragged across it. Boat groundings, anchors, chains and other items that drag along the seafloor can damage or destroy a reef’s complex formations — … Read more
SOUTH REGION B – MONROE COUNTY Lieutenant Payne along with Officers Piekenbrock and Martino were on routine water patrol in Waltz Key Basin north of Key West. Shortly after sunset the officers noticed a small skiff returning from offshore with no running lights. The officers followed undetected until they were in close proximity of the skiff. … Read more