Arrived at 4:55pm to find it already closed. Disappointed as I would have like to have more travel…read moreinformation for my last minute visit.

A great stop when you first arrive - easy to find with plenty of parking…read more As soon as we walked in we were greeted by friendly staff who gave us several maps and handouts so we could get our bearings and gave us the inside scoop of when and where to park in Key West and the main streets and sights to try to see while there. There are a few items for sale inside but it's mostly just to get your bearings.

Free room and board, free educational services, etc, what more do you want! removing one star due…read moreto getting shanked on the first day, otherwise great vacation spot while in Miami... feel free to say hi to some of our former politicians while you are here... oh wait, no, they get to skip this place... oh well, us schmucks get all the fun for ourselves!

Came here specifically for their yearly seafood festival…read more Purchase early bird tickets online and park at one of the 2 free shuttle locations. Bring a chair and sunblock. Be taken away by the vibrant junkanoo band dancing along the park and the bands on stage performing. There's a whole section for alcohol and on the other different Caribbean, fried foods, fresh juices, and desserts. Be prepared to wait in lines as everyone came for all of it. My suggestion is make a plan and have friends wait in different lines and than post up a spot to indulge in it all

I finally paid a visit to the Deering State. It's a perfect activity to get disconnected from the…read morebusy city. Tickets are priced at $15 for adults but thanks to the Miami Dade Library Museum Pass, I was able to visit it for free. I enjoyed walking through the gardens, the Atlantic Ocean views and the architecture of the main building. All in all, a great activity for the whole family.

Since this National Park is 95% water, you have to book some water activities to fully appreciate…read morethe uniqueness of this park! We did a snorkel tour our first day, which took us out in the bay where we got to snorkel in the mangroves and near a limestone shoreline that was filled with lobsters and unique marine life. Sometimes you will get to go snorkel the coral reef, however it was too windy the day we were there, which was disappointing but safety is first priority. Our second day, we kayaked the mangroves. This was my first time kayaking and it took a little while to get the hang of it but it was a cool experience. Going down the mangrove inlets was very peaceful and you could see some cute crabs hanging out at the root of the tree. Be sure to bring bug spray and sunscreen. You will need it! This park is free to enter, but excursions do cost. They are pretty affordable though. If you don't go on any, at least walk the trail around the visitor center and watch the 20 minute video about the park.

Biscayne National Park was a nice surprise on our Florida Keys trip. We didn't go in expecting…read moremuch, but it was actually quite beautiful and they had some fun activities on site. There were nice paved and groomed walking trails around the peninsula and bay, as well as a ranger-led fishing experience on the bridge, which didn't cost anything. One of the kids caught a neat looking fish. There was also a nice little visitor center with all sorts of information about the wildlife in the area, as well as different maps and rangers there to talk about what there was to do. Of course there were also junior ranger badges to get, which we made sure to do to add to our collection. Overall this is definitely worth a stop on any trip. Five stars!

This library in Homestead is really nice. It's clean, well-kept, and my children genuinely enjoyed…read morespending time here. The staff are polite, helpful, and welcoming, which I really appreciated. That said, because it's a public library in the Florida City area, you do need to stay aware of your surroundings. There can be a mix of people coming in and out, including some individuals who may make you feel a bit uncomfortable at times. What concerned me most, though, was my experience with security. I went into the restroom to change and breastfeed my 6-month-old daughter, and the security guard repeatedly knocked on the door in a way that felt excessive and made me extremely uncomfortable. As a mother trying to care for my baby, that situation felt inappropriate and unsettling. Overall, the facility and staff are great, but I hope management addresses situations like this so families can feel fully safe and comfortable while visiting.

I visited the Cyberarium expecting a modern library experience. While it does offer tech perks like…read morelaptop access, I was really let down by the book selection--none of the six titles I was looking for were available. It feels more like a tech hub than a true library. Also, parking is a hassle. There's a paid garage, but the entrance to the Cyberarium is on the opposite end of the building, and there's no direct access from the garage to the library itself. Not very user-friendly, especially if you're carrying things or dealing with bad weather

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until…read moreJuly 1, 1967 when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. AIr Line does not refer to air travel but instead is a common term for the shortest distance between two points. The railroad operated 4,000 miles of track running from Richmond, Virginia down through Jacksonville and ending in West Palm Beach. Solomon Davies Warfield, chairman of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad at the time, extended the railroad further into South Florida to Miami in 1925 and to Homestead in 1927 where it ended. Solomon Davies Warfield was the uncle of Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson, the woman whose love affair with King Edward forced him to abdicate the throne. The Homestead station is southernmost Seaboard station and the southernmost railroad station in the United States still standing at its original location. Built in 1927, it was both a passenger station and a freight depot. The Homestead station is identical to the original construction of the Delray Beach station which was destroyed by arson in 2020. The only other Seaboard Air Line Station torn down is the one that was in Boynton Beach. The Delray Beach had plain stucco arches, while the Homestead station has the Corinthian arches used in the Naples and Hialeah station. The stations were designed by Gustav Adam Maass Jr. from the Harvey & Clarke architectural firm. They were designed in the ornate Mediterranean Revival style that was popular during Florida's land boom years. Today the station is abandoned. It likely closed sometime around 1967, when the Seaboard Air Line Railroad merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coastline Railroad. The adjacent tracks next to the station are sometimes used CSX Transportation. The condition of the building is very sad. It is boarded up with a for sale sign. When you see how magnificently the Naples station has been restored, your heart really bleeds for the state of this historic building.

This is a memorial marker to Special Agents Jerry Dove and Special agent Benjamin P. Grogan. On…read moreApril 11, 1986, Special Agents Jerry Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed in southwest Miami, Florida, during a gun battle with robbery suspects William Russell Matix and Michael Platt. Agents were conducting surveillance in connection with a series of violent bank and armored car robberies. They observed a suspect vehicle and attempted to stop it which resulted in a high-speed chase. Matix and Platt engaged in a gun battle with agents during which 145 rounds were exchanged in less than 5 minutes. Dove (30) and Grogan (53) were killed and five other agents were injured. Special Agent Edmundo Mireles, Jr. was shot in his left arm but he was able to use his right arm draw his service revolver, and kill Matix and Platt. This incident is regarded as one of the most violent episodes in the history of the FBI. It has been studied in law enforcement training. As a result the FBI and many police forces switched from revolvers to more powerful semi-automatic weapons. The 1988 film In The Line Of Duty: The FBI Murders is based on this event. In 2001, the Village of Pinecrest, Florida, which incorporated in 1996, honored the two fallen agents by co-designating a portion of Southwest 82nd Avenue as Agent Benjamin Grogan Avenue and Agent Jerry Dove Avenue. Street signs and a historical marker commemorate the naming of the roadway in honor of the two agents.

The Silver Palms Schoolhouse is located in the Redlands, a historic rural agricultural community in…read moreMiami. It took its name from the pockets of red clay that cover a layer of oolitic limestone. The Redlands produce tropical fruits, many of which do not grow elsewhere in the US. I love a trip to the Redlands which is filled with farm stands and roadside tables selling fresh grown produce. Other highlights of the Redlands include Schnebly Redland's Winery and their fruit wines, Knaus Berry Farms and their cinnamon rolls, and Robert is Here and their fresh fruit milkshakes. I especially love all of the historic buildings from the early 1900's like this school house that you can find in this area. In the early 1900's, the town of Silver Palm developed near the intersection of Silver Palm Drive and Newton Road. The area was known for it's pinelands and good hunting. The name came from the small silver backed palm fronds that grew in the surrounding pinelands. In 1900, Charles Gossman, Charles Hill, and William Anderson who built the first general store in the area filed the first homestead claims in Silver Palms. The Silver Palms Schoolhouse is located at Silver Palm Drive and Newton Road. It was built across from Anderson's General Store giving rise to calling the area Anderson's Corner. In 1902 the community contacted the Dade County School Board and were promised a teacher, if they could provide a building. The men got together and put up a log schoolhouse. The first teacher Charles R. Ross was hired at $40 a month. Ross took a roll call the first day and only had nine students but they needed 10 in order to open the school so one of the kids went out and brought back Gossman's four year old daughter Mildred. A typical day at school started at 8 AM and ended at 3 or 4 PM. Subjects taught included arithmetic, penmanship, spelling, grammar, and history. Lunch was one hour and the occasional bobcat might run through the area. Two years later there were more children in the area so the two story Frame Vernacular building was built in 1904 and became the first rural school built in the area making it the oldest school in south Dade. In 1916 the school closed when it was consolidated into the Redland Farm School. On July 2, 1987, the school was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Silver Palm has now been absorbed in the Redlands. The only two buildings left are the school house and general store. The school is now a private home. I was out exploring the historic structures in the area when I found the school. I started chatting with the owner who was working in his yard and he invited me in to see the living room. According to him after the school closed the building was purchased by a doctor who used it for his practice and residence. I would love to live in a building with so much history. It was such a treat getting to see the inside of the house.

A nice historical building…read more The Silver Palm Schoolhouse is an historic school in the Silver Palm Historic District. It is located in the unincorporated community of Redland, Florida, United States. It is located at Silver Palm Drive and Newton Road. On July 2, 1987, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places