We went on a Friday night at 5pm and there were hardly any people there. By the time we left, though, it was picking up. I'm surprised that people are complaining about the price, the food is meant for 2 people. It's a family style restaurant where you're suppose to share with the table. Yes the dishes are $20ish to $30ish but they are for 2 to 4 people. It even says that on the menu. My husband and I shared a dish with our toddler and we'll have leftovers for several more meals. Also if you live in the fox valley, they send out coupons in the Value Pack for $10 if you spend $40 which helps with the price. The presentation of the food is very nice as well (brochette arrived in an over sized martini class, my 2 year old say "WHOA!!!"). And a side note to parents who have little ones in diapers, the bathrooms are actually stalked with changing table cloths. It's a small thing but I like the attention to detail
We went on a Friday night at 5pm and there were hardly any people there. By the time we left, though, it was picking up. I'm surprised that people are complaining about the price, the food is meant for 2 people. It's a family style restaurant where you're suppose to share with the table. Yes the dishes are $20ish to $30ish but they are for 2 to 4 people. It even says that on the menu. My husband and I shared a dish with our toddler and we'll have leftovers for several more meals. Also if you live in the fox valley, they send out coupons in the Value Pack for $10 if you spend $40 which helps with the price. The presentation of the food is very nice as well (brochette arrived in an over sized martini class, my 2 year old say "WHOA!!!"). And a side note to parents who have little ones in diapers, the bathrooms are actually stalked with changing table cloths. It's a small thing but I like the attention to detail
I love history and this was just another fun way to learn about our nations history, the Spanish part of our history. There is a short video (about 7 minutes) that tells the history of the fort. It was built by the Spanish after a battle with the French. They wanted to protect the back door to St. Augustine. It's free but can be a little crowded. You need a ticket to get on the ferry and they only allow 35 people per hour. It's first come first serve and once they run out of tickets then you can't go that day. But even if you have to wait, there is a trail you can walk down with a trail map as well as very small beach you can walk along. Once we had crossed, the ranger had us all sit on the benches and gave us a short 10-15 minute history of the fort. We were then able to walk around and see it. It's not a very large fort and took about 15 minutes to see. I recommend going to the top first because the ladder can only have 1 person going up or down at a time (and some people get scared for some reason). If you don't go up early you might not get to go up at all before the ferry leaves. It was great, I loved it.
It looked like our room had recently been renovated (they were renovating some of the rooms) and it looked really nice in the "bedroom" but unfortunately it was not at all clean in the bathroom. There was hair all over the tub and there was grime and dust all over the bathtub & toilet. I can't help but think if they left it this visibly dirty, what else isn't clean that I can't see (like the sheets). But the staff was friendly, it's a good location to downtown (about 1 1/2 miles right down the street, we walked several times) and like I said the bedroom part was nice looking. The only other thing I didn't like was it was an outside facing hotel but there is no chain or large flip lock on the inside of the door, the the key card and dead blot. I prefer a chain or something especially with an outside facing door. I don't have any pets but it's also pet friendly and we didn't hear any of our neighbors through the walls (something I hate).
So beautiful! Very remote, about 70 miles from Key West in the middle of the gulf. There is a ferry you can take ($170 for an adult) or you can take a plane. We took the ferry and you get a breakfast on the way there. It was small (eggs, toast, grapes, etc.) but filling. The Fort was great. You can sign up to take a tour or you can just walk around. You're there about 4 hours. You can also swim & snorkel which is absolutely stunning (so bring your swimsuit!). They also serve lunch which is sandwiches, chips, cookies, pop, etc. If you fly your travel time is a lot shorter but note that there are no bathrooms at Ft. Jefferson. If you take the ferry, you can use the bathrooms and the showers on board to rinse off sand. Very expensive, very remote but worth it to me. For me it was a once in a lifetime adventure so I'm glad I went.
It is beautiful but at least when we went it wasn't too great for swimming. There were just a few people fishing and rest of the beach was open. The waves were very strong. My only complaint is we could not find the visitors center and I like to get stamps for my National Passport Book. Still beautiful and very few people.
I loved going to St. Augustine and Castillo De San Marcos. The day we went the entrance was under construction so it was free! But I still would have paid because it was worth it. You can see the outside of the Castillo De San Marcos from the street and is right int he middle of the city. It is a touristy city but that doesn't make it bad, it is what it is and it's great. If you love history, love national monuments or just want to see a pretty awesome building, then you should stop by if you're in the area.
I went in August 2014 but it was the first stop of the morning for us so it didn't get too hot until we had been there an hour. You can actually drink from the "Fountain of Youth" and it doesn't taste too bad. It's not fancy but it goes with the rest of the 1500's theme. There are lots of exhibits, canon demonstrations, musket firing, interactive exhibits, shows, a staff dressed in period outfits, replicas and a cute gift shop. It's kind of pricey but to a history buff like myself, it was worth it. You can find discounted tickets online or in the brochures around town so that can help with the price.
The park rangers are so kind and informative! I loved going here. They span the whole human history of the area. The museum is wonderful, there is a mound you can go in and see the reconstruction of what they think it looked like (based on evidence). You can also walk on top of a few of the mounds which the view is amazing!
Really cute. I love National Historic Sites. It wasn't very big but the museum was nice. They have a replica house of what Lincoln would have been born in and it's indoors (if the weather is bad, you can still see that). They have a movie they play which I heard from others is good and informative but I had an 18 month old with me and didn't think she would sit still for it.