We just returned from the ferry trip out to Dry Tortugas National Park. What a day. We got up at 06:00 to make sure we were there by the appointed check in time, so no time this morning for writing. Yesterday, we toured Key West quite a bit. We spent some time in the pool in the morning, and then wandered around Duvall St. etc for the balance of the day. We had lunch at the famous Hog’s Breath Saloon, and appeared on their web cam during lunch. We had drinks and dinner at the Roof Top Café on Front St. watching the sun go down and then joined the Sunset Celebration. At the Roof Top Cafe, we sampled 2 of their specialties. They have Blue Crab Bisque that is better than anything I’ve had in a long time, and they are famous for one of the best Key Lime Pies in town. Both were incredibly good. We wandered around town as the evening wore on taking in the redundant junk stores, and the increasingly interesting street life. This place reminds me of New Orleans before it was devastated. It sort of comes alive at night. Only difference is they don’t close Duvall like they did Bourbon St. As I said before, we had an early morning today catching the Fast Cat to Dry Tortugas. We boarded the boat and enjoyed a good continental breakfast as we left the harbor. The Fast Cat is a catamaran that can hold about 100 people. We had about 60 or so folks on today for the trip. We hadn’t quite expected how rough the trip might be. The further we got out into the Gulf, the rougher it got. Vickie and I both managed to not blow chunks, by sitting quietly, concentrating, and looking out at the horizon full time. The trip takes about 2 hr and 20 minutes. I would have loved to read my book, but was not possible. We finally arrived at the park (Ft. Jefferson) and got onto dry land. They offered a tour of the fort, but Vickie and I sort of went off on our own, and saw most everything. The history of the fort is amazing. They had to haul all the supplies to build it there by ship, along with all the supplies for the builders. There must be 10 billion bricks in the thing, and it’s 70 miles from Key West in the middle of the Gulf. They had a horrible time just keeping the garrison in food and water. The fort was constructed with 1,500,000 gallons of cistern storage for rainwater. Even today, the park rangers that man the place use stored rainwater for sanitation, and reverse osmosis for potable water. It said the rangers do 3-year tours of duty on this remote island. Must take a special breed to want to do it. Just beside the Fort Island was a bird island that is host to millions of nesting Sooty Terns. It was nesting season, and the racket from the swarming birds was incredible. After touring the Fort, we had a great lunch on the boat, and then set out to snorkel. We met some folks from Michigan that had been camping on the island for 3 nights. When I say camping, this place has no water, no ice, no showers, and no food. It is totally primitive camping. You ride t he ferry out, and bring everything you need with you. They said they’d been three days without a fresh water shower, but after all the tourists left and they were there with only a few campers, it was worth it. Like being on a desert island. We were afraid the water would bee too cold for snorkeling, but as it turned out, it was cool but not unbearable. We had a great afternoon sharing the water with coral and fish. We saw a great big Parrot Fish, a bunch of Groupers, Yellow Tails, and I saw about a 3-foot Barracuda. I’d have loved to have a wet suit and about 2 days to spend there (hence the camping). We also learned from the boat crew, that Dry Tortugas is very often the landing place for Cuban refugees. The way it works is, if they make it "feet dry" to the island, they get to go to the US. If they get intercepted prior to that, they are sent back to Cuba. Someone told Vickie that to get on a "fast boat" with some guarantee of success costs about $6,000. By the time we got on th e boat and headed back, I must have had my "sea legs" because I picked up my book and read it most of the trip back. The book and I were swaying in unison, and other than continuously having to refocus my eyes, no ill effects. We got back to the harbor, took advantage of our 10% discount at the Fast Cat’s T-shirt store, and can literally say "been there, done that, bought the T-shirt". We cruised back to the Simonton and enjoyed the early evening with a good drink, good shower, and time just sitting on our porch overlooking the bustle on Simonton Street as twilight engulfs the buildings sort of like a blue and pink fog. Will have to search out some food and drink for the evening, but then as they say, "the evening is young" Tomorrow its back on the road to the Everglades. More later. Well didn’t get this sent last night, so now it’s Saturday morning. Last night we got to experience Key West on a Friday night with a full moon. Place was wide open. Unless you were DUI or peeing in th e street, whatever you were doing was probably OK. We found out today that Kenny Chesney made an unannounced visit and 3-hr concert at the Hog’s Breath Saloon. Oops, we were out snorkeling and surviving the boat trip. Folks we talked to said it was quite a crowd however became extremely rowdy.
Wes and Vickie
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