About this item
Winner Best Travel Book - American Book Fest Finalist Best Interior Graphic Design The peculiar tropical paradise at the end of the road draws millions of visitors, but many miss out on its true spirit and hidden places. Now, you won t endure such a fate. This 288-page, full-color guide enlightens and entertains, whether you're escaping here for a weekend, a lifetime, or are simply planning an armchair journey from afar. Inside, find hundreds of local picks for lodging, food, bars, and attractions, all while taking an honest, unpredictable literary voyage through obscure hideouts, tall tales and drinking customs. A guide by locals, set to the spirit of the Keys. hundreds of color photos, a dozen maps trip planning, tips for lodging deals local carnivorous cuisine, vegetarian plates beaches, nightlife, drinking customs, water sports late breakfasts, late-night food, 24-hour stores literary guide, theatre, art, music, bad jokes, good jokes marinas, boating, RV & tent camping local products, shopping kid-friendly stuff, freebies dog-friendly lodging the drive from Miami fishing guide Conch translator history, culture, drugs, treasure nature, wildlife, tiny deer, big fish eco businesses life wisdoms, achieving world peace The book was conceived, written, and designed by us two locals: avid travelers and professional freelance writers.
About the Author
We just found out we won Best Travel Book for the 2017 Best Book Awards for our Key West & the Lower Keys Travel Guide. Woohoo!
Karuna grew up at 8,000 feet in the Colorado mountains. She put her background as a snowboard bum and degree in Journalism from the University of Montana to use in several careers, from freelance outdoor and travel writing, to producing films in Hollywood, to living and working on a marine treasure hunting boat.
Then she met her future co-author, Steve. Now they write together, and life is even more interesting.
A little about us:
We are a couple of goofy kids cleverly disguised as 40-something adults. We're also hopeless romantics. Good eaters. Seasoned sea captains, as long as it's our 15-foot skiff. Intrepid explorers, unless there are big spiders involved. Expert laughers.... and total failures at taking ourselves seriously.
But life wasn't always so.
Back when we lived in the real world, Steve ran a large awning company, working 80 hours a week in south Jersey. Karuna, the daughter of Buddhist hippies, spent her life bouncing around Colorado and the West, scraping by with freelance writing, TV and filmmaking gigs. Eventually for both, the days began to seem hectic, superficial and unfulfilling. Disillusioned, we each made our way to the "end of the road" in the Florida Keys, hoping to find a greater meaning.
The Keys have a knack for proving that everything happens for a reason. After some years of solo soul searching and lessons learned the hard way, the islands finally brought us together. A life with a true companion, in a peaceful place. We are thankful every day. Our unofficial motto is "be nice." Imagine a world where everyone tried that - to one another, to all creatures, to the water, the land and the earth. It's a long shot, but a worthy goal. Please feel free to share it.
An abbreviated and less-entertaining list of Karuna's writing and/or editing credits: include National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Colorado and Utah state vacation guides, Denver Post, lots of other newspapers and magazines, and most recently a slew of Keys publications.
