Shimmering Image: Cruising the Keys, Fort Lauderdale to Big Pine Key

For the past few years my parents have driven their RV from Massachusetts to Florida and spent a few weeks "Cruising the Keys". This year they invited Mike and I down to join them. While our jobs kept us from the cross country RV trip, we flew down to Fort Lauderdale, rented a car and met up with them for a week. We camped in three different places on the Keys. Since I took so many pictures and we had such a great time I decided to make a little mini-series about our trip. First up was Big Pine Key.

The drive from Fort Lauderdale to the Keys was beautiful. Tons and tons of bridges with turquoise water on both sides. There was so much to look at. It had been so cold at home, driving with the windows down was pure heaven.

The first stop on our trip was Sunshine Key RV Resort (which is technically part of Big Pine Key).

The campground is basically its own island and we had a beach-side site. Mike and I love camping but have only camped in New England. It was really awesome to have a Palm Tree in our camp site!

One of the things on our Big Pine Key to-do list was to get a glimpse of the Key Deer! Key Deer are an endangered small species of deer that only live on the Keys. We drove around for a while and were lucky enough to spot this little guy! You can't really tell from the picture but they are probably about half the size of a normal deer. Adorable, mission accomplished.

Next up was a visit to Bahia Honda State Park. Home to an incredible beach and the famous Old Bahia Honda Bridge.

The Keys aren't particularly known for their beaches, but this one is worth the trip! In fact, it was voted #1 Beach in the US in 1992! Woot! They are very proud of that. But really, I can see why. White sand, warm turquoise water, snorkeling, kayaking. Paradise.

We spent the day at the beach and then took a walk to the bridge. The famous Henry Flagler railroad bridge once ran through the park. A portion of it was preserved and opened to the public.