Florida Keys

OMG - we went there for Christmas 2yrs ago and loved it!!! We have a small RV. We drove from MI staight to Savannah GA and then followed the coast HWY1 all the way to the Keys. It is so beautiful there! Like tropical with blue water. We stayed at the KOA campground on Sugarloaf key. We drove down to Key West for one day. I took the kids on a catamoran boat ride out to see the reefs and we saw dolphins too! The kids were 4 and 6 at the time. The boat had outdoor decks and a large indoor are with glass bottom portholes in the bottom - super cool! Real laid back atmosphere. They have shows, like outside variety shows every night at sunset in Key West. You have to see it! Street performers and vendors. Take some $1 bills for tips for the performers. Even at Christmas time in was warm enough to swim, so given the choice, I would go in Sept and enjoy your nice WI summer in July. Are you driving or flying? And OMG don't miss Bahia Honda (sp?) beach. It is an award winning and oh so beautiful beach! It's on one of the kinda closer keys to the mainland......

I've spent a little time on a couple of the Keys. There isn't much to see on Key Largo or the first two or three Keys you drive through, though you could stay on Key Largo and visit Miami, or John Pennekamp State Park where everyone goes to snorkel. Bahia Honda beach may be fantastic, but if you're considering camping, do your research before staying at Bahia Honda State Park. We stayed there when I was a teenager and the raccoon population was OUT OF CONTROL. And they were aggressive little beasties, too! That was a lot of years ago so things may have changed, but look into it for sure. Key West is nice, though it's a tourist trap and everything's overpriced. I've never taken kids there but it seems like the island was geared more toward adults. Also, beware there is a large openly gay population there, so if you don't want your son to see something like that, keep that in mind. Look up the Dry Tortugas if you haven't already; that's one place I always wanted to go to but never made it.

I haven't been to the Keys in 15 years. From what I can remember, its not a place to take a 3 year old as everything is geared towards older teens and adults. There's Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo, which has nice nature trails through the mangrove trees, and great snorkling. In Key West every night is a celebration at sunset with lots of street performers and vendors.

I would avoid September due to hurricane season.

Weather-wise you're probably a lot more likely to have rain or a hurricane in September, although July is getting iffy too. More hurricanes do roll through in September though than July.