Bloodline Route 1 Road Trip- Islamorada

If you ever watched the Netflix series Bloodline, you’ll remember the Rayburn”s lived on a tiny chain of islands connected by a single road, Route 1.

The story is about a popular family in the Florida Keys whose dark secrets start to come out and make them do things they never thought possible. All the men in this family have criminally violent tempers. Even the women drink too much, have sex in inappropriate places and do illegal drugs.

You almost feel like a detective trying to piece together the haunting past of this big crazy family.

Probably one of the best Netflix series next to Ozark, the cast of characters and actors are sensational.

Instead of wandering around town in search of a glimpse of some of the most famous locations in the series you just might want to take this route.

Take pictures, eat and drink and be merry. Please don’t drink and drive. FYI, the cops in the Keys aren’t really as incompetent as they are in this show.

We’re not getting into a list of the characters, but if you’re a Bloodline fan you will recognize their names and about everywhere they filmed those three seasons on this Bar Restaurant Crawl.

So we’ll begin with Alabama Jacks, where Danny complains about the fish tacos.   He should have ordered the conch fritters. It’s got a great view of the mangroves here.

The Caribbean Club – Key Largo – Local hangout and dive bar built in 1938.   Many of the bar scenes with Danny and Ed O’Bannon were filmed here.    Kayakers and hardened Keys drinkers are here also.   Where John Houston drew his inspiration for Bogart’s “Key Largo”.  This is where they filmed the exteriors.   Lime pie rum punch is off the charts.

Mile Marker 88 – Where Danny’s Dad offers him a nice chunk of money to go away. Of course his Dad played by Sam Shepard is right, because Danny brought nothing but trouble. The view here is gorgeous with tables along the water.

Ocean View Inn and Sports Pub – Kevin and Meg were here along the mangrove path walking to the floating dock. Danny flips a table and gets into a fight at the bar after drinking too much with O’Bannon.

Adirondack chairs, fire pit, floating dock, and sunset. Enjoy the mini hamburgers called “Kicker Burgers”, they’re awesome.

Morada Bar and Cafe – Mile Marker 81.6 – This is where the big beach bar party was on the show. The blackened fish here is superb. Wander out to Pierre’s restaurant which was also featured on the show. Danny shares cocaine in the bathroom with a young woman and her boyfriend.

Green Turtle Inn – Mile Marker 81.2 – This is where Meg tells Marco about her affair. Jimmy Buffett drops by here for dinner and occasionally plays a few songs. A refined eatery by Keys standards, no tank tops for dinner.

Robbie’s – Lots of scenes where Danny and O’Banion are lounging around in the boat smoking weed.   This place is hopping!   Robbie’s is famous for feeding the tarpons. Entrance to the dock is a buck and it’s three bucks for a bucket of bait.   Watch out for the pelicans that will try to get your bait and the tarpons can scrape you up pretty good.

Indian Key State Park – Mile Marker 79 – On the edge of this island,  John was up to some really bad deeds when he sets fire to the boat and leaps into the water as it exploded.    Indian Key was a salvaging operation for ships that wrecked off the reefs in the 1830s.   Bring your “Deep Woods Off” unless you just want to try to outrun the mosquitoes.

Anne’s Beach – Mile Marker 73 – Scenes where Sam Shepard kayaks every morning.    Parking can be tight, but the kite-boarding is abundant on windy days.

The Moorings Village Spa – This is the Rayburn’s resort on the show.   It’s an expensive upscale resort with 18 cottages on 18 acres that run from $400 and up per night with a 3-day minimum. The Rayburn’s home is the Blue Charlotte House which runs $2,500 a night and is an over 6,000 sq ft vacation home.

Bad Boy Burritos – In the back is Kevin’s boatyard and office.    Nothing fancy, just a taco stand with the best tacos and burritos around this part of the Keys.  Closes on Sundays.

Holiday Isle Tiki Bar – The bars are featured in several different scenes.   Great frozen drinks and this is where the Rum Runner was invented.

Atlantic’s Edge Restaurant – Inside the Cheeca Lodge and Spa where Danny and Sally can be seen having dinner on the show.  Food is marvelous.

Jacob’s Aquatic Center – Mile Marker 99.6 – This Olympic size swimming pool served as a meeting site for Danny and Wayne Lowry the human trafficker and drug smuggler.

Sunrise Cuban Market – Mile Marker 91.8 – Meg meets with former Rayburn housekeeper Carlos at this popular restaurant.  Opens at sunrise at 5:00 a.m. and stays open till 9:00 in the evening.   Soak up some old Florida with some of the best Cuban food around these parts.

Whistle Stop Bar and Grill – Mile Marker 82.7 – The quintessential Keys dive bar made several appearances on the show.   Where a drunk and high Danny gets his ass beat after mocking a much larger man for ordering a “Foo-Foo” drink. Also, where Kevin, depressed about his split with Belle, removed his ring and declares “I’m free” repeatedly.

Mangrove Mike’s Café – Mile Marker 82.2 – Where Danny sends his eggs back complaining that they’re overcooked then abruptly leaves when Detective Potts arrives. Owned by Islamorada Mayor Mike Forster, the eggs are great here and the locals love this place.

Colusa Cove and Safari Village – Mile Marker 73.8 – It was at this marina the father one of the girls who burned alive on the smuggler’s boat fingers Raffi Quintano to Marco.  Colusa’s is best known for the Safari lounge with the wild animal heads on the wall. Locals call it DABS – Dead Animal Bar. Danny and John went drinking here.

Tackle Center of Islamorada – A real fishing tackle store. The crew just had to change the signs.

Bloodline premiered March 20th, 2015, for three seasons with 33 one hour episodes.

All this along Route 1.

For Jenn