Once we left the mainland of Florida and were on the Keys the ocean became a beautiful aqua while the lush vegetation continued. The soil consists of pale crushed coral which created a rather sharp sand for the dogs feet and in our sandals.
The newer buildings are mostly open at the bottom to raise themselves above the storm surges. The larger homes are usually built with upper levels opening to large covered balconies. White and pastels are the colors of choice today although I understand that Hemingway's home is painted in the original colors so the pale colors probably are a more recent trend.
The Overseas Highway connects the islands with a lane in each direction over bridges and roads. The islands are not very wide with Key West being one of the largest at 2 by 4 miles. Many of the islands are just a few acres and you can see that many are not connected by roads and are only accessible by boats.
Our campsite in the Florida Keys was at Sunshine Key RV Resort and Marina. It is an island that primarily has a RV camp and marine. They have 450 campsites for RVs with full hook ups and they really pack them in tight. http://www.rvonthego.com/Sunshine-Key-RV-Resort.html
Each of the privately owned RV camps has had their own personality and this one is definitely UNIQUE!! It felt a bit like Disneyland especially at night when people have their sites glowing with colored lights. When the parks are privately owned and people can stay longer than the two week limit in state and national parks we found that some people set up their homes on the little plots. The photo of the Roadtreck with the space around it is deceptive since the place next to us was vacant. There were many people who appeared to live here full time including the people next to us with the aqua awing that you can barely glimpse behind our camper have set up a complete outdoor home and including up green lights on the plants next to us that bathed us in green light! They also had an outdoor refrigerator, freezer, patio, large storage shed and bikes.
I was sick the entire time in the Keys so I was limited in what I could do and didn't get to experience any on the water activities I had envisioned such a kayak trip in clear water. Hey, it's not always perfect even in Paradise but we are very happy. Tom said that he had the best day of his life EVER here!!
I was finally getting better as we left the Keys and my fever is gone so I can share once again in the driving! I got sick as we entered Florida and Tom has had to do all the driving since then.
Next stop..... the Everglades!