It’s true that for those of us living in South Florida, some of the appeal of this paradise has waned – “grass is greener” as the adage goes. We live in this heat, the sunny days are not anomalous and none would certainly be surprised that tourists probably visit the beach more in one week than most locals go all summer.

What I discovered on my last trip to Key West, however, is that this bitter Miamian perspective does not apply. In fact, the more south you drive on your way down to the famous Keys, no mater how long you’ve lived in Florida, the more you feel the stress of your daily Dade life disappear.

I found myself driving down to Key West for work reasons after six gentleman walked into our shop and decided they’d make the almost 170-mile trek from South Beach to Key West. They’d bike down and I would take the lazy way and drive to them and back, bikes in tow. And though it was a work trip, it was irrefutable to me that the diamonds of water splashing against the 7-mile bridge and the richness of the blue skies above seemed to relax me.

I don’t know that I would ever make the trek down there on bike, but I know that I would recommend the drive down to anyone – even if it’s just for a day.