A gasp a gulp and a grimace

The older I get the more I realize what a wuss I am about certain things.
I'm not a great flier so for decades I just avoided doing it. 
But now I realize that I love a good get-away and I hop on a plane when the situation calls for it. (A good stiff drink before take-off  helps.)

And I still hate the water. That has never changed.

Last week we spent the week in the Florida Keys. (More about that in a separate post soon.) Apparently I slept during the Florida part of geography at Cherry High School because I envisioned Key West being in the neighborhood of Miami. (You know, actually connected to the rest of the United States.) SO not true.
The rest of you might know this but it turns out those are seriously surrounded by water. This gave me something to mull over for months before the trip once I was enlightened as to their true location.
 
Then two of my deepest fears were seriously combined when my husband, who sat next to the window of the airplane (I....just....couldn't)  kept commenting on the ocean we were flying over for miles and miles and miles and miles.

While we were in the Keys the opportunity arose for us to take a drive during the sunrise to Key Largo. (Whaaaaat?!?!?! Key Largo?? Shut the front door! )

But then I remembered how proud those locals are about there being only one road from Miami to Key West and we were renting a property somewhere in the middle of it. And I had already heard about the one, huge, unthinkable obstacle that stood between me and Key Largo.
After thinking over all of the pros and cons, including mapping out the one-and-only route to get there, I knew I could never forgive myself if everyone else drove to Key Largo and I stayed at the rental.

So we set our alarms for 5:30 in the morning, and I went.
Gulp!   OVER THIS!

  

For seven miles.

Twice.
Once there and once back.

Remember how you held your breath when you were little to get through tunnels?
Turns out that works if you do it off and on for bridges that extend over miles of deep water too.
And I can still barely look at this picture.
But I have been to Key Largo.

What are some of your fears?  Have you faced any lately? What worked to get you through it? (Snakes, even harmless ones, is another of mine and I have no plans to face that one. )