We will be traveling from Ft. Lauderdale to Key West this summer and plan to arrive in the upper keys around lunch time.

Thought it would be nice to find a casual place to eat with a great view, or pick something up and head to a park etc. that's a great place to hang out for a few hours some sightseeing and so forth -- before heading south to Key West.

Any recommendations? Two adults and two teens here.

We did the same thing a few years back. Chose Lorelei (not sure how it was spelt). Great casual place. Sat outside. Milemarker 82 Bayside

It is a great side-trip to stop for lunch on South Beach before heading down the Keys... the coolness factor for your kids in seeing the SoBe strip, the great choice of outdoor dining, and the people watching are well worth the time... then its off to the keys... don't forget to stop in Islamorada at the World Wide Fisherman...that gives you a midpoint spot to stretch the legs and grab a coke before finishing the drive...

We just recently drove to Key West and took with us a picnic lunch to have at Bahia Honda State Park. It is a beautiful park where you can sit at a picnic table under a palm tree and if hot weather swim just a few feet away. We enjoyed walking the grounds and especially seeing and walking on Flaglers bridge. He started the link to Key West in 1905 by building a railway. It was completed in 1912 but later distroyed by a hurricane. The old railway is still there and at this Park you can walk out on part of it for a beautiful view. If you pull up the following you can see where the railway is broken and picture yourselves at the end that comes off the Park. We loved it. http://www.floridastateparks.org/bahiahonda/default.asp

It's the Islamorada Fish Co. behind the World Wide Fisherman. Nice deck dining. I stuck a photo in the Sombrero Beach album at http://community.webshots.com/user/bookhall .

Indeed, Sombrero Beach, In Marathon, is worth a stop anytime you're going through the Keys. So is Bahia Honda, further on down.

Now you know why we take 4 days driving down to Key West from Miami....