Happy Place

I think I've found my happy place (at least one of them); a place otherwise known as the Florida Keys. The Keys are a chain of low lying islands stretching south and west from the southeastern tip of Florida which straddle the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. Bob wanted to come down to the Keys before we started heading north so he could snorkel, scuba, and soak in some sun & heat. It sounded like a pretty good idea, and so we booked ourselves into two different RV parks, prepared to explore somewhere new. I would not have guessed I would fall in love with the relaxed, tropical vibe of the lower & middle keys, but I have. I imagine it would be stiflingly hot and humid here in the summertime, however right now it's just perfect. I have to remind myself I am not on vacation, and that there is plenty of schoolwork Morgan & Lily need to do. It’s so tempting, though…

There’s something about the blend of land and water and plants & animals that just fills me with contentment. The rest of my little fishy family is enjoying it just fine, too.

This is a place that best speaks from it's scenery, and so rather than a whole lot of words, I shall share pictures of some of what we've been up to. 

Bahia Honda State Park (looking at it from the Atlantic Ocean)

The water is quite shallow, with reef not that far under the surface

Bob and Lily went snorkeling at the beach

I took the kids out (one at a time) on a double kayak. This would have been awesome, except for the fact that I managed to get seasick trying to peer into the water looking for coral and fish. Yeesh!

Bob went on a snorkel tour to Looe Key while the kids and I worked on our sunburns (we did an awesome job!)

Key West chickens! These guys were just hanging out in a variety of places. (Key West is the southernmost point in the contiguous US, and is actually closer to Cuba than to Miami. Of course, you can't drive to Cuba!)

Watching the boats come in with the last of the sunset

Looking across the Gulf of Mexico at Sunshine Key RV Resort

  

Fish hang out in the marina at Sunshine Key (I could have spent hours there just watching). There was something different to see every day. There were parrotfish, angel fish, mutton snapper, comb jellyfish, barracuda, even a shark (and lots more)! 

comb jelly or Sea Walnut

Morgan spent several sessions at the marina providing the fish school with their daily lessons. They had math, and phonics, and I think a bit of health sciences and bicycle safety too. They would have had spelling if he could have figured out how to get a chalkboard down to them. Eventually he gave up on them though, stating that they just swam around and wouldn't learn. 

Iguana outside my window. Very cool! 

Pelicans float in the sky. It's especially neat to see them floating motionless as you drive past them on one of the many bridges.  

Most of the Keys are so small that the Overseas highway is never far away.