Thanks Elaine, my sister and I (the travel bookers) are trying to wrap our heads around what we would have time to do/see in about a 2 week period without running around like chickens. We're thinking of spending the first leg down on the keys and I think we've found a nice smallish place there. We'd like to experience the Everglades, and I'm seeing a Loop Road out of Ochopee which looks interesting -- any thoughts on that? Or a better/alternate option? We're not much into formal tours, we'd rather do a selfie and have rented an SUV. So, we may be looking at a couple days on the Gulf side and then return to the Fort Lauderdale area for the last couple days to catch our flight back. However it works out, this will be totally new to me -- I'm up at the complete opposite end of the US and have never ventured to the southeast.
And, yes, looking forward to being astounded by the flora.
Thanks all for your help - so fun to visit a totally new area!
