We hope this message finds you and your family safe and warm. We have heard about the unusually cold weather people are getting all over the States. Even Whidbey Island in Washington’s Puget Sound got snow in early December. We are staying pretty warm and dry so far, but people are worried about another cold winter here in the Keys .In late November, Sandy’s brother, Jay drove all the way from Illinois for a visit. On his first day here and within the hour of his arrival, Dan took Jay out kayaking around the campground. Jay promptly had himself baptized by tipping the kayak over while trying to look at an Iguana sitting in the tree above him. At least, it was a warm and calm day to go swimming in the marina. Later, we took him to an area of the marina where he could get pictures of the iguanas without getting wet.
Some of our plans had to be changed because of a cold front coming through, but we managed to do quite a bit during Jay’s short visit. We took him to Mallory Square for the Sunset Ritual and walked around Key West afterwards. Of course, we had to take him to the Southern Most Point and Mile 0 for photos. We spent one day taking a 70 mile one way boat trip to a very isolated outpost - Fort Jefferson (1860) at the Dry Tortugas NP. The seas were not too rough, but the Captain had to zig-zag around Lobster traps to avoid taking out the floats.
Once we landed at Dry Tortugas, we had the option to go on a tour or to do our own thing. While Jay did the tour and took pictures, we decided to wander around on our own. After lunch, Dan went snorkeling along the Moat walk while Sandy did some more exploring.
We learned that this was the home of Dr. Samuel Mudd and three other conspirators after they were found guilty of conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln. Three years later, Dr. Mudd was released from his life-long sentence after treating yellow-fever victims during his imprisonment.
We have linked the National Park’s website so you can read about the fort's history. Dry Tortugas Album
We spent a couple of hours at the Key West Garden Club (KWGC) at the West Martello Towers (1863-1873). The KWGC rescued the unfinished fort from being leveled on the south side or Atlantic side of Key West. Now the West Martello is listed as a National Historical Site and has a rare collection of native and exotic plants. We had to remind ourselves as we wandered along plant filled pathways and into garden rooms that this was supposed to be the fort’s old brick walls. Banyan Trees and Bromeliads were growing on many of the walls. The Club has done an amazing job and they only ask for a donation. Key West Garden Album
Well, Jay did not get a chance to parasail or to snorkel any of the reefs. He did find lots of good subjects for his 3-D photography. If you are interested in seeing Jay’s photos, here is a link to his album. From the pictures he took, it looks like he had a good time.
We have also added a few more photos to some of our older albums. The links below will start where the new photos start:
Have a safe and Happy Holiday!
