Posting this a week after the fact…
Our drive back to Fort Lauderdale went well, with no major traffic tie-ups so we had time to stop briefly in Coconut Grove, where I showed Noah our lovely Airbnb and picked up the hat Francine left there. We stopped at Midway Cafe in Islamorada for coffee, a better option than Mangrove Mike’s (our outbound stop) with more coffee and baked good options. Cheerful inside and in back garden.
We were a bit soggy when we arrived because we got caught in a sudden rain squall while we were going to an outdoor walk linking the highway near Duck Key. Ended up having a nice chat with a snowbird from Ohio who was also taking shelter under a little overhang and he filled us in on what life is like in the keys during hurricanes and floods. No wonder houses are built up on stilts.