Delray Beach to Key West was the second part of my Florida road trip with my mom. We started in Tampa, where I had Jin Shin Jyutsu for Animals training for almost a week. After that, we stayed at St Pete’s, where we really began our road trip. And thankfully I learned how to turn off the auto start-stop on the rental car.

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Delray Beach

With its motto “Village by the Sea”, Delray Beach felt like the perfect first stop on our road trip. Located on Florida’s Atlantic coast, between Boynton Beach and Boca Raton, this beach town looked so pretty when I googled it. The Delray Municipal Beach is 1.5 miles long. White sandy beaches. I warmed to the idea of stepping into the ocean, even with January temperatures.

With many hotels to choose from, we decided on The Seagate, which has its own private beach and beach club. Nice amenities, even though it was really too cold (for me) to dip into their outdoor pool, which did not look very welcoming anyway. So, I spent the afternoon at the beach, lounging in the chairs and taking a walk. Happily digging my feet into the soft sand. I was sporting some new non-toxic nail polish. In blue.

Downtown Delray Beach and Pineapple Grove

The next morning, my mom and I drove in for a bite to eat and to look around. Downtown Delray Beach is so vibrant with its bright colours and palm trees. It’s easy and enjoyable to walk around in this pedestrian-friendly little town. It’s not built up and it felt quaint and relaxed.

We also walked through the Pineapple Grove Arts District. Previously, pineapple farms were located here, with Delray’s roots as a farming community going back to the 1800s. The earliest known people living in today’s Delray area are the Jaega people.

Pineapple Grove is the four blocks north of Atlantic Avenue and is a great area to walk around in, with its murals and colourful storefronts. In my photos below you can see the Dancing Pineapples mural by local artist, Anita Lovitt.

Installed in 2008, this mural at East Atlantic Avenue was removed in 2022 when the building had to be repaired. Now a new mural, Pineapple Paradise by graffiti artist Marcus “Grabster” Borges greets visitors.

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Miami

Our next stop was Miami.

It was my first time in this city, a cosmopolitan I had only known from shows like Law & Order, Miami Animal Police, and of course, Miami Vice. The original series.

My friend who lived near Delray came for an afternoon meetup at The Seagate. We sat outside for an afternoon drink. She then arranged for my mom and me to stay at The Palms Hotel & Spa in Miami Beach. I definitely appreciated this suggestion and her help. As you can imagine, Miami has so very many options. I was getting overwhelmed deciding where to stay.

So Miami Beach it was…

Miami Beach has an interesting history, becoming a city in 1917 and a resort town in the 1920s. The Art Deco era in the 1930s saw the sprouting of many hotels, including those on Ocean Drive, with much of South Beach becoming a historic preservation zone in the late 1970s.

Our stay in Miami wasn’t very long. We began our stay at the Pérez Art Museum Miami. That night, we had a dinner of ceviche and then took a walking tour of Miami’s Art Deco District.

The rhythms of Miami are a unique blend of many beats.

Gloria Estefan

Pérez Art Museum Miami

We drove into Miami early afternoon. With light traffic, it was about an hour’s drive from Delray Beach. Since it was before hotel check-in time, we headed to Pérez Art Museum Miami for a couple of hours. This is a beautiful museum with different kinds of spaces. Located right by the water, it also offered views of the city and the bay. → more on our visit to Pérez Art Museum Miami

While I walked through the galleries, pondered the architecture, and stared out at the views, my mom quickly headed to the museum café to enjoy her time. We met in the gift shop, where we browsed for some time before heading to the hotel.

The Palms Hotel & Spa

The Palms Hotel & Spa is located on Collins Avenue and faced the Atlantic Ocean. It has access to the beach, which was what I wanted. Early the next morning, I went for a walk on the beach, empty except for a few people. The seagulls were out at the shoreline hunting for breakfast. The sun was still rising and the world was quiet, aside from the birds. I stayed to watch them, hovering in the wind.

The Palms Hotel & Spa was originally the Sea Isle Hotel, which opened in 1940. The Sea Isle Hotel, a beautiful example of Art Deco, was designed by architect Roy F France (1888-1972). He is credited with shaping the South Beach cityline as he was the architect for many prominent Art Deco hotels in Miami.

Relaunched in 2010 as the Palms Hotel & Spa, the new vision was a green eco hotel and a wellness resort. (The current owners purchased the hotel in 1989 and after renovations, it opened in 1992 as Miami Beach Ocean Resort.)

Ceviche

Our visit to Miami was also my first time trying ceviche. The friend who arranged the Palms Hotel also recommended a few restaurants, including a place for “the best ceviche”.

So that night, we had dinner at the Peruvian restaurant, Cvi.Che 105. Unclear what to order, we went with the waiter’s recommendations and watched the chefs at the counter and the fish installation overhead as we waited. Reservations recommended.

We shared a couple of dishes, colourful and delicious. And dessert.

Miami Art Deco Tour

After our ceviche dinner, we joined a tour with the Miami Design Preservation League. I brought my DSLR for this and mostly lagged behind taking photos. The tour took us through the streets, looking at the exterior Art Deco architecture and lighting, and inside hotels. Seeing Miami at night, listening to stories, was a fun way to end the night.

Read about the Miami Art Deco Tour

Driving to Key West, passing through the keys, Little Crawl Key and Curry Hammock State Park, where we made stops.

Key West

We drove down to Key West. You can also take a ferry. The Key West Express catamaran sails from Fort Myers directly to Key West. It’s a 3.5 to 4 hours ferry ride. From December to April, you can also sail out of Marco Island. We didn’t have to get to Tucson for the famous gem show until end of the month, so we had plenty of time – about a week – for Florida.

The Marker

In Key West, mom and I stayed at The Marker, a quiet boutique hotel right at the harbour. From there, it was easy to get to the usual attractions. Some of the places we visited included Ernest Hemmingway Home and Museum (note the Hemmingway novel they had in our hotel room), America’s Southernmost Point, Duval Street, and Pepe’s Cafe, which is the oldest eatery in the Keys (and second oldest in Florida).

On Pepe’s Cafe menu is a Centennial Celebration graphic, marking 100 years in 2009. Aside from thanking all their customers, it also said “the first hundred years was good practice and we learned a thing or two, but the next years will be even better because of the great collection of people who work at Pepe’s.”

The restaurant name comes from its original owner who opened it at 202 Duval Street, its home through the depression and the two world wars. That spot is now where Rick’s Bar is. Before moving to a former ice cream shop on Caroline Street, Pepe’s Cafe was on Catherine Street for a few years.

Since Pepe retired and sold the cafe in 1941, it’s switched hands a few times while remaining a gathering place for locals and tourists, every day of the year. One of its most famous customers was Harry Truman, who left his Secret Service behind to grab coffee here.

It was an overcast day, a bit wet, and we sat outside, under the clear corrugated fibreglass/plastic (?) roof, watching the roosters strut by.

Hemmingway House

I believe I’ve read one entire Hemmingway novel. Hemmingway wasn’t really in our Canadian school curriculum. I think I did more research on Hemmingway when I was looking at getting a vintage typewriter. His, a 1926 Underwood Standard Portable.

Hemmingway lived in his Key West home for about a decade and it is where he wrote “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “A Farewell to Arms”. As was his practice, he wrote every day early morning for five or six hours.

Partly mom and I wanted to see the house itself. We both love looking at houses – the architecture and the decor. And then there are all the cats who live there. Some of these cats are the descendants of Snow White, the six-toed cat a ship captain gave Hemmingway. Sure enough, cats were everywhere at the house, sitting on the table, napping on the furniture.

Located on Whitehead Street in Old Town, the Hemmingway House had the first pool and indoor plumbing in Key West. We joined the crowded tour and listened to the stories.

Key Lime Pie

I had this idea to try every Key Lime Pie. It sounded good. After the third one, I was done. All of them were delicious. Some of places we stopped off for Key Lime Pies – the Kermit’s Key Lime Pie Shop, The Fish House (also had a delicious Lobster Reuben with my mom), and Lazy Days in Islamorada, where we sat on the upstairs porch. The water that day, with the colour gradations, looked like a painting.

From the Keys, we headed to Fort Lauderdale Airport. Off to New Orleans.

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