Moon Bay Condos – Key Largo, Florida

Trip: Florida Keys – Day 1
Attractions: Breakfast at The Hideout & Exploring the Amenities at the Condo
Date: February 14th, 2021

We had long talked about taking the kids to Florida for vacation, but back in September, we got serious and started looking around for places to stay and plane tickets. We found a great place in Key Largo with some nice amenities and originally planned to fly from Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, or Des Moines, but when we saw the price of tickets from Chicago were a quarter of the price compared to airports near us, we decided the drive was worth it. This was one cheap flight. Thank you Covid-19.

Our flight left on a snowy Saturday afternoon, and since we had a 4 hour drive, we left a bit early. We made it to O’Hare with plenty of time left, so I dropped the fam off at departures without their bulky coats and went to find a spot to park. I was in such a rush to get on the shuttle from the parking lot, I completely forgot to take a picture or even try to remember where I left the car. Our flight left on time (Phew!) and we picked our rental car up in Miami and ended up rolling into our Airbnb at Moon Bay Condominiums at around 8:00 pm. The place we were staying was very well decorated with beach and sea themes and the owners had chocolate and wine waiting for us among other nice perks. We roamed around the complex quick to check out the marina, beach, game room, pool, and tennis, shuffleboard, and basketball courts then headed in to put the kids to bed and create a grocery list over a nice relaxing drink.

Travel Tip: If you forget to document where you park, review your Google Maps history and it may give you some clues as to where you left your car.

The next morning, we decided we should grab some breakfast to avoid shopping hungry. We landed on The Hideout, a place that came highly recommend for breakfast in the materials that the host was kind enough to leave for us. It didn’t disappoint. There was a nice view of the water and we were able to get a seat outside on the patio. Jill ordered the Florentine Benedict that our waitress recommended, I ordered the Chorizo Omelet with the upgraded side of hash brown casserole, and both kids got chocolate chip pancakes with sausage. We all really liked our meal but Jill had a bit leftover, so we boxed it up and started towards the local grocery store, a Winn-Dixie that was about a mile east from our condo.

Before we made it to the store, we were lured into a cute little gift shop named Largo Cargo. Jill got a can koozie and a sticker for her water bottle, her and Charlie got matching wave rings and Charlie a t-shirt, and Mattix bought a shark tooth (the main item he wanted to buy in Florida). As we were checking out, Mattix found a machine that resembled a gumball machine and asked us for a quarter, that we didn’t have. The clerk was nice enough to pull one out of the cash register so he could get a few more shark teeth. This was a small sample of the large amount of kindness we experienced in Key Largo. Charlie was worried people may be rude since we were no longer in the mid-west, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth.

After groceries, we headed to the condo pool for some fun in the sun. There was an iguana that came to visit us while we were there and one of our friendly pool mates told us that he visits often and a girl that was there earlier had named him Slippy. When we were good and hungry we headed back to the condo for some sandwiches and fruit. We bought a starfruit to try and the kids thought it tasted like a kiwi mixed with a pineapple. After lunch, the girls wanted to go lay out by the pool again, but Mattix and I decided to check out the PS3 that came with the condo. We pretended to know how to play a game of FIFA Soccer that ended in a 0-0 draw, but we had fun doing it. We still didn’t want to go back to the pool, so we checked out the beach cruiser bikes that we had access to. They were a bit rusty and the tires needed air, but we made the best of it. I was surprised that Mattix did so well considering these were full-sized bikes and he’s only 8. I helped him with the takeoffs and he figured out how to bail gracefully when stopping, so we headed out for a short cruise.

When we returned, the girls were ready to join us at the sport courts. We played some shuffleboard and basketball for a bit before heading to the marina docks. The water was extremely clear and we could see an assortment of fish swimming beneath us. A few guys were fishing off the dock and a bird was nearby feasting on their bait every time they turned their backs. Mattix named him Steal, for obvious reasons. There was also a gal making jewelry out of sea glass that had been smoothed by sand and waves of the sea and I struck up a conversation with her about what to do and where to snorkel. She was very helpful and as I was leaving, she handed me a necklace that she just made and told me to give it to my daughter.

After showering back at the condo, we headed to the dock for the sunset. I tried to give the nice lady a ten dollar bill for the necklace but she refused it. After sunset, we made some spaghetti and garlic bread for diner. Between the large amount of sun, fresh air, and drinks that we had, we were beat. We turned in for an early night so we could recharge our batteries for our second day in Key Largo.