By Peggy DePersia, guest blogger 

From key lime flavored ‘everything’, including dog treats, to magical sunsets, the Florida Keys has it all; from the silly to the sublime.

Though I have offered my experience of the “Keys” via Design Destinations in the past, I wanted to revisit what keeps me interested in returning.

Could it be as simple or as complex, “whatever rocks your boat”, so to speak, as the need to relax, to de-stress, to lighten up?

The Florida Keys offers a unique mix of diverse elements that aim to “lighten your load”. Forgive me a bit for a little ever so trite commentary but there are times when it suggests “just what the doctor ordered”.

Let’s start with “funky”. Would you be looking for that ‘just right weird’package of cocktail napkins as a fun gift or the card that makes you laugh hysterically but could only (ever) be given to your best, most discreet friend?

Well, chances are you could likely find that special something at any one of the many souvenir shops laced through the streets and narrows of Key Largo, Plantation Key, Duck Key….all the way to Key West, the exclamation point of the Florida Keys, a point that some might regard as the point of no return yet certainly the point of magical sunsets…..who tires of that?

What is it that is so compelling? Is it, to borrow and turn a phrase, the warmth of another sun?

Yes!

Is it the diversity of ‘creature life’, deep sea creatures and unique bird life?

Yes! 

After all, I can’t go to a local dock, look down and predict I’ll see a manatee. Nor can I expect to view a pelican perched on a dock piling, an osprey nesting atop a tall pole embedded near the highway that snakes through the “Keys” across land and bridge alike, and certainly not an Ibis so beautifully near at hand. None of these is part of the scenery of my home. I also could not imagine greeting a rooster at my feet while dining ‘plein air’.

I never tire of these scenes. I associate them all with the luxury of a relaxed mode of being.

And, speaking of luxury, when do I give myself over to reading as many books as possible under the canopy of a tiki hut, near a sun splashed pool? It is a gift of the “Keys” and a relaxed solitude that the “Keys” atmosphere can inspire.

Another realm of diversity in the “Keys” is the vegetation. To view the softly moving fronds of palm trees near the the ocean or gulf at night is its own dreamy splendor. That is to say, it feels like another world and, in its way, it certainly is. Trees, flowers and plant life can be wild and random or highly cultivated or groomed for a particular site.

None-the-less, when visiting the various pieces of this place, I am always reminded of the unique grandeur of the natural world and, sometimes, that is all I need.

Susan’s note:

The Depersias enjoyed this lovely week in the Keys about a month prior to the advent of Covid-19.  The Keys have been closed to visitors since the end of March  to prevent the spread of the virus.

We scheduled this to run at the beginning of a traditional spring break week.  We hope Spring Breakers can return to the Florida Keys next year.

Peggy is a retired art instructor who loves to explore the connections between art and life, particularly with her camera toting sidekick, her husband.