One of the things we love about traveling is how every place has a story—some bold and unmistakable, others subtle but rich with history. Islamorada, tucked in the heart of the Florida Keys, is the kind of place that stays with you long after you’ve left.
There’s something magical about the way the scenery shifts as you head south into the keys — That stretch of bridges over turquoise water feels like it could carry you off the edge of the world. The water is so blue it feels as if the colors were invented just for this place. The sunrises and sunsets envelope you.
Long before it became a haven for sun-seekers and sport fishing, Islamorada was a wild place of untamed beauty. Pirates once hid in its mangroves. Shipwrecks still rest in its reef-strewn shallows. Later, dreamers and wanderers—like Hemingway—came seeking solitude and the easy rhythm of a life lived barefoot.
Islamorada was just a brief stop on our way to Mile 0 (Key West). We stopped for a few hours to kayak through the mangroves. There wasn't a soul in sight and we quieted ourselves to absorb the sounds and the lapping of the water beneath our oars. Though we have no photographic proof, because we failed to bring a battery for the go pro, the impact of our time there still lingers, even after all these years. The colors of the water, the mangrove trees, the life just under the surface.
Then to seal the deal on our love for the keys...we wandered down to the shore at the little campground we stayed at in Key Largo, and saw a woman standing quietly, sketching. Croix and I were captivated. She seemed completely absorbed in the moment—at ease, at peace, as if she were part of the landscape itself, effortlessly translating what she saw onto the page.
That simple moment sparked something in all of us. A day or two later, we bought sketchbooks and began drawing the places we visited, starting with Key West. Since Florida was one of our first stops on a six-month journey, we ended up with a collection of sketches that captured the heart of our travels—snapshots not just of scenery, but of how we felt moving through it all.
The Islamorada earrings I created were born from this short visit. They carry the spirit of the Keys—their quiet magic, their storied past, and that kind of beauty you don’t have to chase. It finds you. Just like the woman with the sketchbook. That moment found us, and it’s never really let go.
Ironically, we weren’t able to photograph these earrings until we were in the desert, but such is the life we lead ;).
Our son carried his new sketchbook all over the keys, sketching (doodling) mostly happy faces but studying the scenes very intently.
bucket list check - visit ernest hemingway's home
smather's beach, key west
waiting to for mom to stop shopping so we can brunch where the rooster's roam
where we camped in key largo
