Garden Key, Florida-Dry Tortugas National Park

Ahh, the Dry Tortugas... We have been waiting for this journey for quite some time. Imagine kayaking through crystal blue waters from one island to the next, snorkeling with goliath groupers, camping out under the stars all while Fort Jefferson stands mightily in the background. Sounds awesome, right?

Well that is how we imagined it and while it was awesome, our experience was MUCH different.

The Dry Tortugas are part of the Keys and the only way to get to Garden Key, which is home to Fort Jefferson, is by boat or sea plane. We packed up our tent and camping gear and drove in the wee hours of the morning from Bahia Honda to Key West to hop aboard the Yankee Freedom. The weather forecast looked nice and we were super excited.

Well as the morning progressed, it became clear that the weather forecast for the Dry Tortugas would not be the same as that of Key West. Our 70 mile journey through large swells was not as relaxing as I had hoped. The crew was awesome and apparently very experienced with this sort of thing. 

Jordan woke up from her nap with a strange look on her face, which sent us stumbling across the floor and falling on other passengers to get out into the fresh air. She kept it all down, but we were surrounded by people who were fighting to do so and some were losing. Inside the cabin, where Greg was, a chain reaction of sickness began to take place. I think we were all feeling a little sea sick but my efforts to take care of Jordan cleared mine right up. Funny how it works that way.

We were so excited to see the fort in the distance which meant we were almost there. Since we were camping overnight (there are only 11 campsites on the island), we had to attend a briefing and then we headed out to set up camp.

The wind was fierce and unfortunately it persisted for the rest of the day. That meant, no kayaking or snorkeling, gray, blah skies and trying to stay warm.

But we still had a great time. We toured the fort with a tour guide provided by the boat we were on. He did a fantastic job and really kept everyone interested (including the kids).

Fort Jefferson is the largest masonry structure in America.  Construction began in 1846 and ended in 1875 while still incomplete.  Built to protect the only harbor in that region, it was never fully armed and never involved in any battle.  It did serve as a prison during the Civil War.

These are some stalagmites forming in one of the casemates, attesting to the age of the fort.

Around our campsite, the kids had a blast collecting hermit crabs and making a play area for them. That was probably their most favorite part.

That night, we slept on the ground in our tents (no pads because we can't store all of that in our RV) while the wind whipped away. I kept waking to what sounded like a cow munching grass right outside, but it was just the wind :)

The next morning was just as windy and blah. We visited with some neighbors for a little while then took a walk along the moat wall all the way around the fort. I thought this was so cool. 

We could see lots of fish, jellyfish, sea cucumbers and conchs. The water was so clear!

And then a wonderful thing happened! The sun came out and the wind began to die down. So we grabbed snorkel gear and headed for the beach! The water was cold, but doable. The kids had a hard time though. While they had worn snorkel masks before, they had not done so with fins and wet suits while being slapped by waves. So snorkeling was not going to happen for us. Greg went out a little by himself but wasn't able to explore all the areas he would have liked.

And the kayak that we rented and paid to have brought to the island went unused. So much for planning, right? All-in-all we still had a very good time. The kids earned their Jr. Ranger badge,

they can't wait to go tent camping again and they thought the place was pretty cool and hated to leave. And Greg and I can't wait to come back. Probably when the kids are a little older and during a month that is a little warmer. It still makes our top things to see list!

And before I go, here's a couple more pictures of this beautiful place:

Key West, FL

We did not stay at a campground in Key West but spent some time seeing the sights there.  

We took our bikes for an easy way to get around.  It definitely beat trying to park the truck everywhere and I would do it again, but the bicycles were a little challenging with the kids and all of the other cars, pedestrians and bikes .  It was a very busy place! 

We visited Florida Eco-Discovery Center, which was free.  They had some interesting exhibits on the ecology of the Keys' habitats and a coral reef and tropical fish aquarium.

Next door to that was Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. There is a gorgeous beach there, where we had lunch and enjoyed the scenery.

After lunch, we all climbed across a long, rocky outcropping to get a better view of the beach and water.

Then, we visited the fort. It was a little interesting, but I really need a tour guide to tell me what I should know. :)

Later, on our bike ride, we came across this octopus/squid.  Such a cute idea for a tree stump! That idea might come in handy if the drought continues in Austin!

And we found mile marker 0 on Highway 1.  We hope to find the other end later this year when we are in Maine.

At evening time, we watched the sunset on Smathers Beach (along with several weddings).

Key West was a fun place and had some beautiful beaches.  We would definitely like to come back to see the other things we missed by not having stayed and spent more time in the area.

Bahia Honda, Florida-Bahia Honda State Park

We had really hoped to be able to stay at Bahia Honda State Park. All of the internet reviews and many of the people we had spoken to said it was THE place to go. A year ago, we tried to make reservations here but they were snatched up as soon as they became available. But, thanks to Greg's great skill and a bit of luck, a spot opened up a couple of weeks before we got there, for the exact week we needed!  Yay! And I have to add, it was one of the best spots in the campground. We backed right up to the water with gorgeous blue water views of the seven mile bridge!

The park was constantly full of people with a line of RVs out the gate hoping to get a spot. The beach was the most beautiful blue you could imagine and there was plenty to do.

There was; however, one big negative for me: BUGS! They were tiny biting gnat type bugs and they were present ALL day long. I really hate sticky, nasty bug spray even more so when it only slightly improves the situation.

But if you can put the bugs aside, it was great fun. We swam at the beach a little (unfortunately you had to drive or bike there), enjoyed some ice cream at the marina,

fished from behind our campsite, 

walked along a bridge to watch the sunset,

 rode our bikes all around the park and walked along the beaches that stretched forever!

The most fun we had at the park was kayak fishing. Greg and the kids (one at a time) fished from one kayak and I paddled another kayak around with the kid who wasn't fishing. 

Not long after we went out a little ways, Greg caught a bonnet head shark and then not long after that another! Jacob caught a fish as well but I am unsure of the type. I must say, it was a little scary watching sharks swim around your kayak!!

And later while fishing behind the RV, Jacob spotted a nurse shark which Greg immediately caught!  Now who's ready to jump in the water?!

While we are always surrounded by wildlife, it seemed quite abundant here. We saw Great White Herons and other birds, man of wars, a starfish, urchins, a shrimp, a snake, an alligator, a turtle, and the aforementioned nurse shark and bonnet head sharks. And none of those were in a tank, they were all in their natural habitat.

 (Jordan was leading the hike when she came upon this one!)

 (This guy was a little scary.  He was across the pond and when he spotted us he immediately made his way over to us.  Fortunately we were out of reach.)

Key deer, which are a subspecies of white-tailed deer are found only in the Florida Keys. They are the smallest deer and stand on average of 24 to 32 inches at the shoulder.  Just across the seven-mile bridge from Bahia Honda is Big Pine Key and the National Key Deer Refuge.  We took some time exploring some of the trails and while we saw lots of wildlife, we sadly missed out on the Key Deer (except for this one at the visitor's center).

It was truly a beautiful place!

Crawl Key, Florida-Curry Hammock State Park

We spent four weeks in the Keys and moved around the area a bit so instead of posting chronologically, I  will just post by location so that it is easier to understand the area we explored.

The first location is Curry Hammock State Park in Crawl Key (which is the middle keys). We stayed there for a week and a half and it was so nice. 

Our campsite was as close to the beach as you can get without actually driving onto the sand. There was a dune right behind us but I could still see the beach from a standing position and the path to the beach was right beside our RV. AND we were right across from the showers.

Overall, the park is small but that was nice. The day use area and playground were a short walk away but we spent most of our time on the beach playing in the sand. The wind and water were still a little cold so the kids did not swim much. I just loved that I could take the kids to the beach without having to lug everything far away or drive.

The water was so beautiful and clear but since we couldn't get in without freezing we decided to explore the waters by kayak. We paddled against the strong winds and made it into the mangroves and then back out to the beach. 

It was a lot of work but little Jordan did a wonderful job trying to help paddle.

We also met some friends at the playground,

had fun watching the kite surfers,

and checked out the really low tide that happened on two days.

Outside the park, we took a tour at the Sea Turtle Hospital. 

In a classroom type setting, we learned quite a bit about the different species of sea turtles and the impact that humans are having on them. Then we headed out to the tanks to see the “patients”

Many of them will be rehabbed and released but some of them, like Bubblebutt (pictured below) and Montel (who has had way too much drama in his life) will remain there permanently.

It was a great almost two weeks, with an awesome campsite. And there was one other important event: a couple days after arriving, our little girl turned 6 years old! The years go by so fast and I am so glad that we have this opportunity to spend so much time together. She is learning so much (both of them really) and I love being there when she discovers something new and when she makes a connection with something she has learned before.