Friday - March 11, 2011

Lighthouse inside the Fort


One of the things I wanted to do while we were in the Keys was to visit the Dry Tortugas about 70 miles west of Key West. I originally thought of taking the boat out there but then thought better of it. Anyways we booked a trip on a large boat that goes out there every day. They provided breakfast and lunch and stayed out there for about 4 hours. The trip out was about 2 hours but a little longer this day because the cold front that passed through yesterday really kicked up the seas and the winds were still blowing pretty strong. The ship was a large catamaran so it took the seas pretty well even though there were some 10 foot waves we crossed that rocked the boat pretty good. There were a number of people that were seasick but
Brenda and myself weathered it pretty well.

Fort on Dry Tortugas

Once on the island I toured the fort and the island. The fort was built in the 1800's and was basically used as a prison fort during the civil war. Not much chance of any prisoners escaping since it is 70 miles to the nearest land. The doctor who treated John Wilkes Booth after he shot Lincoln was kept here. The fort was originally constructed to allow the US to claim these waters and prevent other countries from doing the same. While I toured the fort Brenda rested. The trip across did make her stomach a little queasy. Later on we walked around and looked at the birds on the island. There were a lot of different species and it was fun identifying them. We talked with a guy that had a huge lens and photographed the birds he saw so he could identify them later. I think a lens like that will be on my shopping list because it seems like a good idea.




The outside moat of the fort


The trip back was a lot calmer than the trip over and we got back in good time.