Monthly Archives: January 2015

Danger Charters – Key West, Florida

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John – 15
One of the things you have to do while in Key West is go snorkeling. The best trip to take for this is a Danger Charter. Danger Charters is a half-day or a full-day trip. During the trip you will be snorkeling, sailing, and kayaking. But, if you are looking for a romantic trip there is also a wine and sunset trip. During the half-day trip and full-day trip you and 20-25 other people will be on board a 65 foot traditional style schooner. After the sail boat heads out of the bay and into an open area the sail boat stops and allows you to start snorkeling for a while. Then you head back onto the boat and go to the mangroves and kayak out there. After that you head back into the bay and end the journey. The difference between the full day trip is that the full day trip you stop and eat lunch at a sandbar. One of the best things about the trips is that they give you snacks and drinks that are included in the price. For the sunset sail trip you head out on the boat and watch the sunset while drinking a variety of wines. The sunset trip is voted the number one thing to do while at Key West. The prices for the trips are 80 dollars for a half-day trip. The ages are 4 and up. For the full-day trip the cost is 110 dollars and for the wine and sunset sail is 80 dollars. The sunset and wine sail is from ages 4 and up so if you have kids you can bring them along as well. The times depend on the month that you go and the time of the year that you take the trip. If you head to Key West, this is one of the number one things you should do on the island. The Danger Charters boats are less packed as others we saw going in and out of the harbor. They like to give you a crew that is nice and makes sure you are OK during the whole trip.

Hadley – 12
When we were in Key West over Christmas, we went on a Danger Charter. The boat you are on is a sailboat. We did the half-day trip. On our boat there was about 21 people, so there is lots of room. They provided snacks and drinks. You can either go on a half-day or a full-day trips. The half-day cost $80 for the AM trip, and for the PM trip it is $85. For the full-day trips, then it is $110 per person. What you do on the trip is leave at 9:00 or 9:30 in the morning and come in at about 2 or 2:30. Then the afternoon leaves at around 2-3 depending on the months you are there. For the full-day trip you leave at 10AM and come back at 4-4:30 depending on the month. On the trip you get to go snorkeling and kayaking. They take you out pretty far and give you snorkeling gear and you jump on in. Since we were there in December, the water was pretty cold, but you got used to it. We got to see lots of things like, lobster, a morel eel, lots of fish, a barracuda, and much more. Then you get back on the boat, and they take you over to a little mangrove island. You get to go kayaking and learn about the mangroves, about the birds, and some history of the island. We even got to seen a shark. Around the island there are lots of fish the little sharks like. If you are ever in Key West and need something to do, Danger Charters are really fun and you get to learn a lot. I definitely recommend Danger Charters.

Crawfish town USA

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John-13
Crawfish Town USA is in the state of Louisiana. It is a good place to eat fish and other sea foods. But, it is best known for crawfish; it supposedly is one of the best crawfish restaurants in all of the United States of America. All I had was the fried crawfish; the reason why is that the season for crawfish is a limited time. People are allowed to hunt crawfish during season, and that season is only 2 weeks long. I thought that since the name is Crawfish Town USA, they should have crawfish sold year round – even if that means that they have to freeze the crawfish. The place is like an old barn. The inside of the place is nice, but the waiters and waitresses were not helpful to those who are not from around here. My family and I got hush puppies, and they were the best I have ever had. Another good appetizer to get is the crab legs. They are deep fried and served with the tarter sauce. I thought it was really good and had a good taste to it. I would not likely go there again unless it is crawfish season cause I would like to try crawfish, and that was the main reason why we went.

Hadley-11
Crawfish Town USA in Louisiana is a good place to eat, but the name of the restaurant is not correct. They don’t sell the 2lb. crawfish bakes year-round. They only sell it when it is crawfish season. When we got there we were disappointed that we couldn’t eat crawfish. The waitress wasn’t very helpful either. We asked what was good, and she couldn’t really answer. I got the crawfish erouffee and it was good, but wasn’t that good. It was really too spicy. You can still get dishes with crawfish, but not the crawfish bake or steamed crawfish. We also got hushpuppies and fried crab legs for an appetizer; they were both very good. The place looks like an old barn. It is red on the outside too. I would not go back unless it is crawfish season. It was a fun place to eat, but I recommend going during crawfish season.

Barnet-8
Crawfish Town USA is in Louisiana. It has the best crawfish in Louisiana, but I didn’t get to taste any. They have gumbo, crawfish, hushpuppies, and crab legs. The time we went to Crawfish Town USA, the crawfish was not in season. Crawfish Town USA looks like a barn kind of on the outside. They have a deli next to the restaurant. They must sell some of their things there, but we didn’t buy any because most were really good enough to want to buy and take home.

Acme Oyster Bar – New Orleans, Louisiana

Acme Oyster Bar – New Orleans, Louisiana

John – 13
The Acme Oyster Bar is in the city of New Orleans and is next to Bourbon Street. They have one of the best oysters on the half shell in the United States. They also served a lot of good food too. I got a Philli steak poboy, and it was one of the best poboys I had that week! The French Fries were good too. The oysters I had were fresh and some of the best I had ever tried in the whole United States. The French fries I got for an appetizer were covered in cheese and also had a lot of gravy on them too. Which they call poutine or boo fries. They were only $4.99 for an appetizer order of fries. If you wanted to eat good seafood at a good price I would recommend going there to eat. The oysters were $14.99 for a full dozen on the half shell. They were served with cocktail sauce, crackers, and lemon wedges. I thought that although it was on Bourbon Street, if you ate there early, you would be okay to bring your kids with you. I also thought that the inside of the Acme Oyster Bar was nice and family friendly.

Hadley-11
The Acme Oyster bar is located in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is on the street over next to Bourbon Street. The Acme Oyster Bar is kid-friendly and has really good food. The best thing to get there are the oysters. The oysters are clean and do not have a seafood taste. They also have a contest where you have to eat 12 dozen – the record is 42 dozen oysters.
We got six, and I ate 2; so did my brother and mom. For dinner I got the shrimp Po-Boy. The Po-boy was good, but it wasn’t the best in New Orleans. For an appetizer we got French fries that were covered in cheese and gravy. The fries were delicious and were very flavorful. Even as a meal – you can get them as a side.
Now back to the shrimp Po-Boy. I ate most of it, and it had a lot of shrimp in it. The shrimp was also tasty. My sister got the crab chowder, and it was a really good soup. The Acme Oyster Bar is a really good place to eat in New Orleans, and it is affordable. You will want to get there early because you will have to wait. By the time left, there was a line down the sidewalk. So if you are in town, eat at the Acme Oyster Bar.

The Turtle Hospital – Marathon, Florida

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John – 15
Going down to Key West, or any of the Keys, is a long and trying drive. But, on the way down is a great place to stop and take a break and stretch your legs. The amazing place to stop is a turtle hospital. The Turtle Hospital is located in Marathon Key. It is a great place for every age and enjoyable for all. The Turtle Hospital has a tour that happens every hour starting at 9am and running to 4 pm. The cost for children ages 4-12 is 9 dollars and for adults is 18 dollars. Throughout the tour you will get to not only see turtles but learn more about them and how to save them. At the beginning of the tour you will view a slideshow that shows how turtles end up in the hospital. After the slide show, you head into one of the bigger tank areas; they have two tanks that are filled up with water and these hold some of the turtles they have. Once you are done there, the tour heads out to the other areas to visit the more tanks. In this area there are around 23 individual tanks and the largest sea tank – which holds 100,000 gallons of water. The tank (which used to be a pool) is filled and circulated by the sea water that flows in and out of the pool. At the hospital you will get to see turtles ranging from 12 permanent to 60 injured turtles that are there for rehabilitation. All in all the Turtle Hospital is a great place to stop and view turtles and learn more about them.

Hadley – 12
The Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida was a place where we stopped on our way down to Key West. This was a really good stop; it was fun and you got to learn a lot. The Turtle Hospital is a not-for-profit organization. You can take tours from 9am, 10am, 11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, and 4pm. The tours cost adults $18.00 and children (4-12 years old) $9.00; children under 4 are free. When you go, you get to watch a slide show at the beginning telling you the types of turtles you will get to see. The instructor will also tell you about some of the diseases these turtles are facing. Then they will take you outside and you get to meet the turtles. During the whole tour you will get to see about 40-60 turtles depending on how many they have. Sometimes they won’t have as many because they have released them. We got to see a lot because this winter some of the turtles didn’t get to warm enough water quickly. They were stuck in New England and sent to the Turtle Hospital to save them. If you are ever near Marathon, Florida, it is definetly worth the money and time. And it is a great cause.

Barnett – 10
When our family was traveling, we stopped at the Turtle Hospital in Marathon, Florida. If you go on a tour – which I suggest – the admission for four years and under are free, then four to twelve years old is nine dollars, then the cost for over twelve or adults is eighteen dollars. First they take your tour group into this room to see a slide show about why the hospital and turtles are there and the types of turtles that there are. Then they will take you to see some turtles and tell you their names. Plus they will explain why the turtles are there. For example, Bubble-Butt has bubble-butt syndrome. The Grinch got hit by a boat. After that there is Frumpy, which is sad, because he got hit by a boat and half his shell broke off. Two other turltes, Mickey and Tink, also have bubble-butt syndrome. If I ever got to drive thru Marathon, Florida again I would go to The Turtle Hospital again.