Four D’Amicos, six Learys, one house on the water in Marathon, and a week of salt, sun, and questionable sunburn management.
Base camp: a waterfront house in Marathon — pool, dock, and enough bedrooms that nobody has to sleep on the couch. Probably.
Jupiter to Marathon, four-ish hours and one very long bridge at a time. Grocery run, unpack, first sunset from the dock.
Sombrero Beach morning, then the famous Turtle Hospital tour while the afternoon storm does its thing.
8am to noon on one of the best reefs in the Keys — all ten of us in the water. Early boat means glassy water and the good visibility.
Afternoon plans: naps. Everyone's.
A cookout with friends at the Keys' postcard park — swim off Calusa Beach, eat too much, wander the old bridge. Then everyone scrubs the sand off for family pictures at 7 — golden hour doesn't wait.
Hemingway's six-toed cats, the lighthouse climb for the brave, butterflies for the smart (it's air-conditioned), a beach at Fort Zach, Cuban food, key lime pie on a stick, and the sunset circus at Mallory Square.
Sparky's Landing: wood-fired pizza, water views, and hometown heroes Abstract Radio playing into the night. We'll be the table of ten that got there early.
Maybe a boat and a sandbar, maybe one more perfect beach — the crew votes, the weather gets a say, and either way there's a sunset walk on the Old Seven Mile Bridge with dinner to follow.
Checkout and hugs — then the four of us head up to Key Largo. A 1:00 reef snorkel straight off the dock of our hotel, then a bayfront night at the Reefhouse. The boat leaves from the marina we're sleeping at — planning doesn't get smarter than that.
A lazy resort morning on the water, then up the highway to Miami to watch the Phils handle the Marlins. Home to Jupiter by midnight, sandy and satisfied.
A protected spur-and-groove reef with 150+ species of fish. The grandparents are going in. This is not a drill.
Roughly sixty six-toed cats with full run of a literary landmark. The real owners of Key West.
Marathon's own — twin brothers raised a few mile markers from our rental, playing rock & funk under the tiki lights.
The road trip finale. Four of us, one ballpark, and the drive home to Jupiter after the last out.