“USA 🇺🇸 Florida ~Homestead and Biscayne National Park, Boca Chita Key and More”

• November 24, 2023
• By Pen
• 0 Comment

We came to Florida in the RV, to specifically visit three National Parks: The Everglades, Biscayne and Dry Tortuga National Parks. We will get to these amazing places via Boat, Air Boat and Float Plane. You can imagine how excited we are!

I’ve been to Florida many times, but alway flew in, by commercial plane. My first trip was to visit the Epcot Center, the very first week it was open. Yes, that was a long time ago!  I’ve also taken cruises out of several Florida ports. My most fun visit was to Jacksonville, when my daughter was in the Marine Corps and was a drill instructor at that time. It was a very exciting experience, as a Marine mom, to watch my daughter in action. Several drill instructors were selected out of Parris Island in South Carolina to travel to Florida for a weekend long training exercise with young teens, who wanted to become Marines. It was an opportunity for the teens to see if they could really handle the pressure. I’ll tell you what.

My “normally” sweet, funny, goofy, beautiful daughter was REALLY SCARY as a Drill Instructor! 🤣 All spectators (mostly family members) watched from a distance, as the weekend exercises rolled on. It was so humid, kids actually passed out! It was crazy.  During breaks and evening time, I got to spend some time with my kid. I was so honored and proud to be the mom of my Marine. I got the most amazing compliments about her, when all the other Marines (male and female DI’s, officers, and various other ranks, worked together on this weekend program for the same mix of teens. on site), found out I was Chelsies Mom. Chelsie was/is so loved and highly respected by her Marine Corps family.

Back to current day, because yes, I digress ⬇️

Here is a map of Florida and marking where all three National Parks are located (look very south) ⬇️

On this day, we hit up Biscayne National Park, and what a beautiful day we had!

Biscayne National Park ⬇️

We booked the tour with the Biscayne National Park Institute. (Non Profit) who operate inside the Park boundary.

The Heritage Boat Tour

The Captain (Anthony) and the Tour Guide (Janna) were awesome. We heard a live narrative on all the history of the Park and Hear the stories of Biscayne, as we cruised across the Bay and along the islands of the northern most Florida Keys. Includes a stop at Boca Chita Key, for one hour, and going by either Elliott Key, Adams Key; “Key Hole.” We could not have had a better day! ($172 for two)

We began at 9:30AM and were on a four-hour tour. We were staying only 18 minutes from this Parks Visitor’s Center, so it was a short drive, to where we met the boat.

The weather was sunny 😎 and slightly humid, unless on the water with the sea breeze, which we always love!

Photo Dump: From Biscayne National Park 

Arriving at the Park

There are a lot of different things that make Biscayne a unique experience. Aside from the fact that 95% of the park is underwater, it is the largest marine sanctuary in the national park system

Mark C. Honeywell, a wealthy industrialist and his wife purchased the Boca Chita Key in 1937. They built many structures on the island between 1937-1940 including a chapel, a lighthouse, a pavilion for holding picnics, a generator room and a garage. The Honeywells and their guests would come from Miami in their luxury yachts to enjoy picnics and parties held on the island. The canon located near the lighthouse would be fired to welcome their guests. Honeywell’s wife died, before a house could be built on the island and he sold the island in 1945. It became part of Biscayne National Park in 1990,

The Boca Chita Lighthouse is used as the symbol for Biscayne National park. It is 65-feet tall, and was built in the 1930s.

Honeywell built it with the objective of using it as a navigation guide for his business operations on the island. However, a few hours after the lighthouse was lighted and commissioned, it was decommissioned, just as fast, as he had failed to inform and obtain permission from the U.S. Coast Guard about the purpose of his project. The U.S. Coast Guard considered it a navigation hazard, as it was not charted.

When opened to the public, the top deck of the lighthouse provides scenic views of the bay, ocean, Miami, Key Biscayne, and the skyline of Miami Beach. (It was locked)

The old canyon that was placed as the welcoming cannon from the 1930’s

Covering close to 173,000 acres, four distinct ecosystems melt into one another, creating rich edge communities or “ecotones.” These edges support an incredible array of wildlife, including hundreds of species of colorful fish, plants found nowhere else in the United States and visitor favorites like pelicans, manatees and sea turtles.

The park is home to an incredible diversity of animals and plants including over 600 native fish, neo-tropical water birds and migratory habitat, as well as 20 threatened and endangered species including the Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly and Florida semaphore cactus, as well as the previously mentioned sea turtles and manatees.

It also contains the northern portion of the world’s third-largest coral reef system, and the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States; the Florida Reef. Thanks in part to this reef, Biscayne National Park is the final resting place for a string of shipwrecks along its Maritime Heritage Trail.

Winds, currents, storms and the park’s close proximity to one of the nation’s largest urban areas means that the entire park is in a constant state of flux — ever-changing in the face of new challenges posed by the constant cycle of building and destruction, groups are continually finding solutions to those challenges. One example is was protecting the grasses that feed marine life and provide healthy nesting habitat. The Corps of Engine made the power plant create a water cooling system for their water output. The water was originally too hot, upon release and was killing plant grasses and the habitat for the Crocodiles. Now, the Crocs are in healthy record numbers. (Yes, there are both crocodiles and alligators here) 

Dry Camping is allowed on the island in tents. Also visiting and overnighting on a private or rented boat. We saw several people doing this. There is no power or water provided that we saw, nor grocery or restaurant, but there is a bathroom facility on the island. Be sure to get proper permissions through the Park.

The little Chapel on the island 

This is Key Hole. Sometimes, Wild Manatees are found here, but we did not get to see them on this day. We have another place we will be checking out, while in the area, still looking for Manatee. There were some dolphins in the open water, in the distance. 

Havana Spice Restaurant 

We had a fun morning and afternoon, touring Biscayne. We asked the boat crew for a recommendation to a great Cuban restaurant. Our Captain, of Cuban heritage, recommended Havana Spice. We loved it, and will be returning on Thanksgiving  Day, next week.

Earlier in the Week……

We stayed at the Boardwalk RV Resort in Homestead and it was nice. As an older park, it has well established trees and tropical plants, but unless you are an expert backer of your big rig, it can be tight to get in. All RV’s must back in. Once in, though, they are roomy sites. These are lots of birds, butterflies and lizards all about the place.

There are around 1,000 lots in this park, with many full timers in both RV’s and mobile home units; mostly mobile homes. We are in a gated community here, with a code, so it’s all good. There is also no WiFi provided to guests, so bring your own. Also bring lots of money, as Florida, especially this time of the year is expensive to RV in. (here, it is was just over $700 for 10 days; with full hookup and 50amp).

Daryl’s picture

This area is loaded with Cuban influence, including restaurants, since we are just below Miami. There are so many great restaurants around; lots of choices.  It’s a good thing, because we will be spending Thanksgiving, here, and we will be going out to eat. Last year, at this time, we had just toured Graceland and ate Thanksgiving Dinner at a Cracker Barrel in Memphis, Tennessee.

We’ve been asked, over the years if it’s hard to be away from family during the holidays. The answer is yes. But, that being said, Thanksgiving is an American tradition, so we did not feel that holiday as much. Christmas time pulled at my heartstrings a little more, because of the grankiddos, but, it is also a beautiful time of the year to spend anyplace in the world, as most countries do celebrate this holiday. What we did forfeit in family time, we made up for, by experiencing so many amazing Christmases and traditions in other countries. These experiences created some amazing memories and photos we treasure.

From St. Augustine to Homestead 

Our drive from St. Augustine to Homestead was another long one, but worth it, as always.   It took a few hours to drive out of the storm that had been hanging over us in St. Augustine for a week, so it was nice to see blue sky again, and to dry out a bit. It was an 8-hour drive day with a fuel stop that usually takes 20 minutes, and a rest stop for 10 minutes. I promised the big guy this was the last push day we have, till we get back up to the Carolinas. The rest of the drive days will be shorter. He is happy about that. 

I read RV forums before we left Alabama, about what Interstate 95 is like in Florida. I was surprised at how many people expressed they never drive their RV on it and will go 1.5 hours out of the way to avoid it. Coming from the East, on I-10, or south to North, into Georgia, it was also advised to avoid the Jacksonville, Florida area. Daryl wasn’t impressed with all the naysayers and since he’s the driver, we went ahead and drove The Whale right through Jacksonville, to St, Augustine and Homestead. The good news is, the Interstates are decent roads on this coast, but I think what might freak people out, is the heavier traffic and multiple lanes, around Jacksonville and Miami.

Daryl moved from Texas to Southern California when he was 15. He learned to drive in California with even more lanes there, with heavier traffic. By more lanes, I can tell you, not far from our home, there is a 21-lane Freeway. So for Daryl, it was just another route to drive, to get from point A to B. He has done a great job! When traffic is heavy, we just slow it down and be patient; especially in rainy conditions!

BTW, Interstate I-95 looks like it’s closer on a map, to the coastline, than it is. There are no ocean views, just lots of trees and swamps to view, till you make it down to the Miami area. Then, there are less trees and way more marsh (Hence; the Everglades).

We had heard about the flooding in Ft Lauderdale/Miami area, prior to our drive, down, and we saw plenty of evidence of the disaster; later. The water still hadn’t receded all the way, so it was still a bit of a mess and I’m glad we at least missed THAT amount of rain in Florida. 

Photo Dump From  St. Augustine to Homestead 

Heading out at 7AM, from St Augustine. We had a long day ahead of us, and it was pouring, rain.  I did not take another picture for two hours, at least. I was holding out for some blue sky!

⬆️ While Interstate~95, through to Miami was no different than Interstate-10: trees and bogs, what did get to see were thousands of water waging birds; many species. With the recent t flooding, they were along the interstate in the pools of water.

Our first night in Homestead, we went out for Mexican food and it was the best we’ve had in a long while. I was excited to eat at a Cuban Restaurant, but wanted to have more time to ask around for the very best one.

We enjoyed a lovely, sunny; rest of the day, and were looking forward to our stay, here.

It’s a very noisy city in Homestead. The culture is lively. People are yelling and honking their cars, but not necessarily in a bad way…..I thought we were far enough from Miami that wouldn’t be the case, but it is pretty quiet in our RV Park, till the weekend.

Crazy Story: My mop broke awhile back and I’ve been on the struggle bus to get another one, ever since. I love Amazon delivery, but have been on the road, more than stopped, anywhere, for quite some time. I took my chances and ordered ahead for our Homestead stop, and added in some Chocolate Covered Macadamia Nuts for the grandkids, to throw in their stockings, next month.

Well, the package got delivered on the day we arrived, but the RV office did not have it. The next day, I got a photo from the “delivery human” for proof, the package got delivered “by the front door,” only it was not the front door of the office.
There are 1,000 lots in this park, even if it got delivered in the right park, and the office personnel do not recognize the mobile home porch in the picture, so no clue which one got my mop and are enjoying the spendy Macadamian Nuts.

There was no site number on the address and there was no need, since it was a business delivery, not a residence. Go figure. 

Amazon is making it right, so I’m not out any money, but I really need to mop The Whales, floors! Ha!

Our next National Park visit; Everglades National Park, will  require more driving to get around in it, while Biscayne National Park was only 15 minutes from the RV Park.

Florida National Parks are both water and land locations.

Planning ahead to our third National Park visit, in Florida, in The Keys, for our final stay down there, was a surprise. The ferry (there is only one) out to Dry Tortuga, was fully booked; all the way through January! Darn! With the kind of yucky weather we’ve been enduring, while traveling, in predominantly sunny states, for so many months, now, I didn’t book months in advance, because 1. it would be nice to pick a sunny day, when spending gobs of money on excursions, and 2. Excursions charge you the entire cost up front. Three big excursions add up to a lot of coin, all at once, months in advance, while paying fur fuel and campgrounds along the way, to get there. So, for the plane, which is the only other way to the Park, we threw the dice, and picked the next available date for a float plane visit, to Dry Tortuga. BTW, the float plane option is fully booked all around Christmas time. Who knew? Not us! So, we are feeling pretty lucky to get to go the Dry Tortuga National Park at all, after the time and expense to get all the way down, there.