The Florida Keys & Dry Tortugas

We are in the Florida Keys and loving it. When we got here I made a margarita to celebrate. Turned out pretty good; tequila, triple sec, grand marnier, lime juice and the juice of a tangerine. Yummo as Rachel would say.

I noticed in my recent blogs that I have overused the words wonderful, amazing, beautiful, etc. I guess you can tell we love Florida. We will only get this far SE once in a travels most likely so we are doing are best to see all the good stuff. I will try to be a little more reserved with my superlatives but..... after my post for the keys and Dry Tortuga. They are our favorites so far, especially Dry Tortuga National Park.

Our first day was driving the over water highway with all the spectacular views. It really is one of the most beautiful drives in the country. We got here mid afternoon and just had time to get set up and drive down to check out Bahia Honda State Park. It is exceptional. I tried for a year to get reservation to no avail and I can see why.

Day Two was our Key West day. So much fun. The tour on the trolley to see all the highlights plus stops at Kelly's Restaurant (owned by Kelly Gillis of Top Gun fame), the southern White House (that Harry Truman and other presidents favored) and a great tour of Hemingway House. We saw several of the 6 toed cats that are decended from the original cats that Hemingway kept. After walking the waterfront we were tired and decided to save the sunset fun for the next day.

The Dry Tortugas all day tour was the highlight of this trip so far. We have a beautiful 80 degree and sunny day, although quite a bit of wind. We decided the wind was a good thing as it kept it from getting too hot and also kept the bugs away. The ferry ride to the key was 2 1/2 hours which was very scenic. A nice breakfast on the boat. We had an hour tour of the old fort that was fascinating. It was built right around the civil war and is the largest brick structure in the western hemisphere. Beautiful arches and the views was to die for. After the tour we had lunch on the boat before exploring the island. Walked the moat wall and the top of the fort which is .6 miles all the way around. Saw lots of fish, jellyfish, sea fans, coral, and sea birds. Our favorite was the magnificent frigate with a 7 foot wingspan but only weights about 5 pounds. The ride back was bouncy and long but we had our books and enjoyed ourselves.

We got back to Key West in time for the sunset at the waterfront where local entertainers put on quite a show. Loved the guy with the house cats that did tricks like the lions in the circus including jumping through a ring of fire. Fantastic dinner at the Westin overlooking the water and the sunset. This was our wedding anniversary celebration and it couldn't have been a more perfect day. Wonderful..... and now I promise to be less flowery in my descriptions ;-))