Day Two: Theater of the Sea

With this being our third time to Key Largo, I really wanted to do something we had never done before.  Each of our previous visits I had researched The Theater of the Sea in Islamorada but we never made it happen.  This time we did, and we were glad we did.

The Theater of the Sea is one of those places that you see advertised all over in the Keys and in all the literature racks in the hotels and restaurants.  They have a bird show, dolphin show, sea lion show, and a bottomless boat ride along with walking trails that feature animals of all types that are native to the Keys.  The park dates back to the 1940s when someone discovered a canal on the island was full of tropical fish.  The park opened in 1946 with a porpoise show and guided tours.

Today, the park also offers every kind of animal encounter you can imagine: swim with dolphins, sharks, stingrays, sea turtles, and sea lions.  These are all available for an additional fee, so we passed and stuck with the basic animal shows.  And now, enjoy these pictures!

Just one photo where they are both smiling and no one is being goofy. Is that too much to ask?

The kids loved getting up close and personal with the birds.

The dolphin lagoon.

Look! I actually am on this vacation.

They asked for volunteers and this brave boy jumped right up!

The sea lion was anxious to start the show.

His name was Wilbur and he was so smart and fun to watch.

My shy Anne was a little disappointed that she didn't volunteer at the dolphin show. So she made sure to raise her hand at the sea lion show and got to throw a ring for Wilbur to catch.

The bottomless boat ride was really cool but hard to photograph. We travelled down the length of the canal and the dolphins swam along with the boat and came in to jump through that hoop. Really neat.

After the Theater of the Sea, we were hungry but their snack bar didn't sound too appealing.  Since we were out and about, we decided to stop at Mrs. Mac's Kitchen, another of our favorite places to eat.  Rob's local grilled shrimp was perfect, but my lobster tacos were inedible.  They were described as being "fresh local lobster meat with cilantro lime salsa."  The lobster was inedible and the salsa was so spicy I couldn't eat it.  Luckily, their deserts were perfect, as usual.

I haven't tried them all, but this Key Lime pie is the best in my book.

All the kids meals at Mrs. Mac's come with a kid sized cone. And it actually was the perfect size for them.

They serve something called "Frozen Key Lime Pie," It's so good.

​Back at the hotel, we did more swimming and playing in the sand.

Obligatory photo of my feet while lounging.

Since we ate lunch out, we had planned to have a simple dinner at the hotel bistro, but it was closed despite signage saying it was open for dinner.  So we walked around the canal to Skipper's Dockside.  It was really good, with a great view, excellent food, and live music. As we were leaving, the kids tipped the musician and he played their favorite, a little Roger Miller, "King of the Road."  Perfect end to a fabulous day.