Sea Monsters in the Keys

When you think of the Keys, you typically think of Key West, the very last island in the chain. We didn’t make it that far this trip, but I’m still totally in love. Such a beautiful, fun place. While mingling with the Gheenoe guys one night, they mentioned feeding huge tarpons. Now I know tarpons are pretty big, but they’re still just a fish, right? So I talked Chase into driving to Robbie’s in Islamorada to check it out.

They have an impressive set up. Walking in from the parking lot is an assortment of little tiki hut shops with all the random beachy touristy trinkets. From metal art to painted hermit crabs, these shops have it all. Then you move on to the official Robbie’s souvenir store, complete with branded shirts and clothing. Full disclosure, we bought a super tacky, 3 feet tall wooden wind chime, topped by a tropical fish.

If you navigate through all the way to the water, you’ll reach the tarpon feeding. Chase decided to record me feeding these tarpon since he thought it would be more amusing than throwing fish to, well, other fish. I was handed a bucket with four fish the length of my hand. At that point, I began to wonder just how large these tarpon could be.

Big. They’re Big. Would calling them sea monster size be an exaggeration? Maybe, but when you’re on the dock leaning over to toss out a fish, they seem able to swallow you whole. The first fish I threw was quickly devoured by the greedy pelicans that fight with the school of nearly 100 tarpon. Yep, that’s how many of these babies show up every day looking for a handout.

Determined to succeed, I recklessly crouched down and extended my arm and body over the water, trying to avoid the snappy pelicans. Suddenly, a mammoth tarpon jumps OUT of the water and snatches the fish right out of my hand! Its rough scales actually cut my finger- that’s how close I came to being eaten alive! 

Unfortunately, no one else seemed to grasp my fear. Everyone on the dock and nearby restaurant were laughing. 

I’d had enough of fish for the day. We moved on to the Hungry Tarpon restaurant, which was absolutely delicious. I don’t like Bloody Mary’s, but the amount of items they put on that drink was impressive. 

Our waitress was a very nice lady who commuted daily from Miami because her home was destroyed in Hurricane Irma. Imagine the money she must make to drive two hours each way for a serving job. Then again, the view alone is almost worth it. Plus, she gets to see silly tourists scream in terror over feeding a fish.

Made from scratch biscuits with my own custom omelet. Heavenly

With Love,

Susanne