The Keys

I'm still in the Keys, suprisingly. I figured that I would have spent a day here and drove away, but in fact I stayed a day, then camped last night, and stayed another day and I'm staying in a place that this guy I met is renting, and we'll see about tomorrow. I hear there is a hurricane coming, so If that's the case, then I might want to stick around to see that...
I've been doing a lot of diving here, and I am really impressed with it so far. The water is nice, though not quite as warm as I'd like, and its clear, and there are a ton of fish in the water.

(ok, I'm not in the keys anymore, I'm in West Palm Beach, but the internet cut out and I have to resume the post here...)

I went down to the keys on wednesday, expecting to only stay for a day, then drive out, but it seems like the road is downhill going in, and uphill going out, because I was inclined to stay a while. I spent two nights, one in a park, hiding from the authorities, and another in a house of a guy I met. Its terribly expensive down there, but I managed to get away without spending much at all. And I did some snorkeling, which is fabulous down there. I have a new task: Get a boat down in the keys (or the carribean) and sail around for a while, living on fish and lobster and coming ashore every once in a while. Its cheap to anchor, its great fishing and snorkeling, and I could absolutely stay for a while.
But its too much paradise, potentially. I've been addicted, and once you get something good, you want more. So the initial wonders of the undersea got me enthralled, but then the beach life reared its head. Everyone there is running, it seems, though many have forgotten exactly why. Most of the people have wonderful stories about how something great almost happened, but for some reason, it didn't. And for the most part, it seems that the short end of the stick is passed around to nearly everyone.
So, of course, there is a lot of drinking. I don't mind drinking too much, but I don't know what to do in a bar, so I tried to stay out of them, but they come to you. Alcohol is everywhere: in the boat, in the houses, around the barbecues, in the car, and in the water, or waiting for you back on the sand. And maybe drinking is a great way to relax and enjoy the area, but I say its already phenomenal. drinking (I think) makes it worse, because everyone ends up wasted and doing things they regret and holding a short stick's end.
So I ran. I ran north, until I got to Miami, and then hid in Biscayne National Park. I camped in a mosquito infested spot and then drove today to Miami Beach and to West Palm Beach. I decided to get a hotel for the night because I wanted to get a good nights sleep and take a shower.
Now, the keys are not a terrible place, I want that to be clear. They are a beautiful place, its just that unless you work really hard, paradise makes you miserable after a little while.