Well, we’re finally to the last leg of our Florida Keys adventure. It was another 12 hour journey to reach home, so we split the travel into two days again. From the Tranquility Bay Beach Resort we traveled to the South Florida Science Center and Aquarium for a mid day educational break.

South Florida Science Center and Aquarium

We were practically the only ones there, which made it nice to be able to explore. They have a room designated to all things ocean, with multiple aquarium exhibits and a tank you could walk under!

The science center also has a planetarium that runs all day, sharing wildly interesting shows and they even have laser shows in the evenings! When we were there, they had a life-sized maze and lots of areas for children to play and explore. There are also a lot of hands on science things and an entire outdoor play area. It was a great place to stop for a few hours and learn a few things. Plus, it was Liam’s first planetarium show! So neat.

After visiting the science center, we drove another 2 hours to Melbourne Beach.

Melbourne Beach

We arrived just in time to see the sunset from the hotel parking lot (of course right after a visit to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream) and hit the hay. We stayed at the DoubleTree Suites for its convenience and proximity to the beach. I figured since it was the last night of our vacation that I NEEDED to see the sunrise from the beach. The hotel was a bit run down and I’m not sure we’d stay there for a significant amount of time, but it worked for one night.

Unfortunately, we had hotel neighbors from hell that night. They were up all night long yelling at each other and slamming the doors. I’m not even kidding. I think they finally went to sleep as the sun was coming up the next morning. Who does that?!

Note: Great toddler trick at the ice cream parlor is to give them a cone to eat while you and your spouse enjoy ice cream. It’s not as much sugar and not nearly as messy as feeding them ice cream.

The next morning after my husband and I watched the sunrise from our balcony, we headed downstairs for breakfast and a last playtime on the beach. The sand was very similar to Vero Beach‘s sand and water was perfectly turquoise. Ahh…

Overall, we had a lovely trip but it’ll be a LONG time before we drive for 36 hours in a 6 day time span with a 2 year old again. He was a trooper! I hope you’ve enjoyed our Florida Keys vacation recap!