Travel is. . .

...Expanding, electronic, eclectic

I just read a press release that the southern leg of the Florida Turnpike will, in February, offer the use of Sun Pass to electronically pay for the tolls on the last leg down the peninsula of Florida to what so many travelers over the years have dubbed our own Paradise. (Another option will be to be billed by your license plate.)

Electronic technology seems a bit in congruous to those of us who have lived here a long time. The Keys have traditionally been this laidback bit of the Caribbean "don't worry, be happy" philosophy in our own backyard. The ride down from the populous areas of Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade Counties has always been one where you relax immediately and watch mileposts whiz by. Technology? Not here.

Shorts, sandals and T-shirts are the order of the day and the biggest decision is whether to stick to iced-tea or a cool beer as you relax by the pool, fish or take advantage of sunset on the square, a nightly ritual in the Keys.

The Keys appeal to all pocketbooks and tastes.

I know of two dedicated, savvy and sophisticated New Yorkers, who when they retired to Florida, bypassed Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale and Miami and made their home in Key West - just because it was the antithesis of the hectic life they led in Gotham!

Make no mistake, there are many glam resorts dotting the Keys. Many good restaurants, and a variety of tourist attractions, but take away the twice-daily turn-down service, great wine list and the like, and you still have the wonderful natural beauty where the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico meet up on a tiny stretch of the Sunshine State.

And soon you won't have to use cash at the toll booths. Isn't progress wonderful?