After two months of collecting and processing data for new NOAA nautical charts off Panama City Beach, we are finally traveling again. I flew out to Florida but Mike had some time and made the long drive from Seattle. He drove down to San Diego to drop off our Alaska gear (skis, down coats, etc) and picked up our kayak, and camping and snorkel gear before heading east. Our little minivan camper now has over 175,000 (2024 update: 300,000) miles on it.
We were surprised by how cold it had been in PCB and could not wait to head further south. Neither one of us had ever been to a southern Plantation so we made a quick stop at the Kingsley Plantation.
We took our time and drove down Highway A1A, right along the ocean. By the time we arrived on the Space Coast, the temperatures were finally becoming more tropical. We got lucky and there just happened to be a rocket launch at Cape Canaveral the night we were there!
In Vero Beach, we had our first (well-deserved) Painkillers. Here is the “secret” recipe. 
And after nearly 7 years we finally put our toes into the Atlantic again! 
We took a quick look around Miami but just couldn’t wait to drive the Overseas Highway through the Keys. 
Camping in the Keys is very expensive as most campgrounds are private. State campgrounds are booked years in advance but we were always able to find either a last-minute reservation or walk-up spot. Since those types of spots are usually just for one night we had to move around a lot.
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Since we only had our kayak, we had to go on one of those crowded snorkel tours to see Pennekamp Coral Reef but it was well worth it. 
When the road ended we explored Key West but weren’t prepared for how touristy it was – maybe spring break is not the right time to see Florida. Too bad we can’t drive to Cuba… Update: Four years later, we went back to Florida and worked out of Key West for six months. It ended up being one of our favorite jobs to date.
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