Michelle Gross

As a Southern Californian living in New York, I thought I would find my go-to beach destination in the Hamptons. My first summer, I packed my bags and headed out on the first post-work Jitney my friends and I could get on. I soon realized, though, that the Hamptons just wasn’t my (beach) bag. The schlep is brutal, the restaurants are crowded, and the reservations are hard to come by. Plus, it just didn’t have the laid-back California vibe I was used to.

After months of deliberation, my father and I finally settled on the Florida Keys for our long-overdue father-daughter trip. The decision was primarily made due to its neutral proximity for us flying in from opposite coasts. Plus, it was just a place both of us had always wanted to go. Our route would take us roughly 100 miles from Key Largo to Kew West via US 1, aka the Overseas Highway. This iconic two-lane road with 42 (!!!

I’ve been thinking a lot about water lately after a recent trip to Switzerland, where something like 80 percent of the water stems directly from natural springs and groundwater and lakes. Not only is it safe to drink from the tap, but it’s also actually considered healthier than the bottled water you’d buy in the store.