Biggie Summer Trip! Part the Fourth...The End. : (

We have come to the end of our trip.  The last couple of days were spent doing not much of anything.  The day we left, we went out in the boat to Indian key, just off the Robbie's bridge.  We had to let a bunch of hermit crabs go(We love to go there so that's as good an excuse as any to go!).

Below is what a hermit crab looks like out of his shell:

wierd, huh?

There are tamarind trees on the island.  It is a tropical type of spice/fruit common in island cooking and Indian foods.  There is nothing that tastes like a tamarind, so it's hard to describe it.  Here is a site that tells a bit about the use of tamarind in cooking, but the wikipedia site has more info on the whole shebang.  I can assure you they are yummy, and here is Zman harvesting some for me to take home.

This is what the fruit looks like:

I used some when I made a pork roast and it was good!

After the harvest, we got into the water because it's VERY hot there in the summer.  Not a whole lot lof breeze makes it into the center of the island!  In the shallows on the eastern side of the island we had a little nature time.  We found some sargasso weed, and in those clumps, one can find all sorts of tiny marine life!  Here is a brine shrimp: he was striped and had little white dots on the end of his antenna. I wish you could see him better.

This is an egg sac. I emailed a marine site to find out what it is, I'll let you know when I find out what kind of sac it is.

These are bleeding tooth snails.  They are common in the Carribean.

Evidently you can eat them, according to this site here is how you do it:

"Rinse snail thoroughly before boiling. Boil in fresh water for three minutes. When shell cools, using a tiny straightened fish hook, remove the operculum, then the snail. Discard shell and operculum. Serve snail with your favorite sauce or dip in garlic butter." 

                                               Here's why they are called "bleeding tooth":

See?  It looks like little teeth that are bleeding!  This one has a snail in it so we put it back.  The hermit crab that we brought back as an 'exchange student' is in one and when it wants to change shells I get to keep it in exchange for a new one!  Then, next year, we will take the crab(her name is Houdini) back to her family.  (The story of Houdini is a whole story in itself that I will tell at a later date...)

This is a chiton, you can eat these too.  I think they would be good in a stew.

This is one of the views from the observation tower.  It is of the cisterns that used to hold fresh water reserves for the island.  There was a bit of a breeze up here, but the sun was brutal!

Looking down one of the "streets", it is the one that the hotel used to be on.

Poisonwood tree. It is better to look at this tree only-no climbing! 

Sadly, Zman and I must get back to Naples.  The little kids are waiting for us and we have used up every moment we could.

A parting shot of Indian key:

When we got back to the dock, there was a baby floating in the water, so we scooped it up to observe it.

It's called an Upsidedown jellyfish, or Mangrove jellyfish. It is a unique jellyfish, in that it produces it's own food by photosynthesis. Also some marine crabs carry these on their backs for protection!  They only usually only cause itching in humans, however if you disturb a colony of them they can swarm you and present quite a dangerous situation! (Jodi, do you remember swimming over hordes of those off of your dock when we were younger? little did we know...)

We said good bye to Jodi and the kids and headed on down the road, saying goodbye to all the spots along the way.  It's always such a sad drive leaving the keys.  The trip back was uneventful, but beautiful.  Another rain shower along the way and Zman looking wistfully at the canal alongside US41 wanting to fish.   

The post office at Ochopee, Fl.  One of the iconic scenes on US41.   

I love, love, love spending time with my cousin and her kids!  We always have such a special time together!  I'm glad she lives where she does now so we get to see each other more often!  And as it turns out, my cousin's husband grew up with another really good friend of mine!  So now we three girls get to have many adventures together, and we share this common bond.  How funny, the world is so small!

Love you Cuz!

Biggie summer trip! Part the third

We had to get up early to get this picture!  It only took us 5 times going by this landmark in the past two days to get here when there wasn't 20-50 people standing in line to have their picture made here!  Luckily, there was a motorcycle group that was there when we got there and we took their picture so they would take ours.  I feel bad for them because it was rainy and they were leaving Key West.  Then on the way back to park the car for the day, we snapped this quickly(think:Chinese firedrill):

A couple obligatory photo ops out of the way... TODAY IS DRY TORTUGAS DAY! : )

Check in was at 7:30am, so these photos were snapped at 7am!  We were so excited, it was hard to sleep the night before, and from about 4am on to 6am, kept waking up because I was afraid the alarms(yes, that is plural!) wouldn't go off!  They did, and we made it to the docks in plenty of time!  We were set up to cruise out on the Sunny Days "Fast Cat" to the Dry Tortugas(here is their site).  While waiting to board the boat, we observed some of these, they are so funny, I just can't resist!

They roam all over Key West, the ultimate in free-range, citified chickens...

Our crew for the day sized our flippers for snorkeling as we boarded the boat.  That way once we got inside and sat down we could try them on and make sure they fit before we left the dock as they don't carry those on board(takes up too much space).  Zach tried his on and had to get a bigger size!  Flipper sizing out of the way, we had breakfast.  Sunny Days includes a continental breakfast(danish, bagel, doughnuts, fresh fruit, coffee, juice) and a make-your-own sandwich with all the fixin's lunch.  Unlimited drinks(water, soda, tea) are provided all throughout the day.  For the long ride out, there are playing cards, magazines and coloring books for kids. There is an XM radio playing island music and an outside deck at the back for those who wish to smoke or just get fresh air.  The crew was knowledgeable, helpful and nice.   Our ride out was bumpy because of the rough seas(3-6ft).  On a catamaran boat, you are more "sloshed" about than on a regular hulled boat, where you are more bumped up and down.  I guess sloshing is smoother than being bumped?  We were out on a boat, going to a place not many people get to go to, and we didn't have to drive, so it didn't really matter to us(we don't get sea-sick)!

The view coming into Garden Island, upon which sits Fort Jefferson:

At the front entrance to the fort is an anchor that my father had a part in getting to where it stands today:

My father has captained many boats in his lifetime, and part of his life on the water brought him out here.  This anchor was found on a near-by reef, covered with netting.  My dad helped to uncover and unnet the anchor, before it was brought up to it's current position.  He has been all over this fort, many years ago, and knows things about it that the current park rangers don't know.  I would really have liked for him to give us a guided tour, but he was at the other end of the state.  Maybe another time, as my mom hasn't been out there yet and would like to go.

Inside the fort at the front entrance:

Information plaques are all around the fort, giving you a self-guided kind of tour:

Fort Jefferson is the largest masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere, and is one of the least visited parks in our National Park System. Understandable, but sad, as it is a marvel to visit!
Up on the very top of the fort, a good bird's eye view of the island:

The Dry Tortugas is know as such because of the turtles("tortugas" if you come from Spain as Ponce deLeon did) that are abundant here, and dry because out of 365 days in a year, it only rains on about 30 of them, therefore there is an absence of fresh water. We were "lucky" enough to out there on one of those 30 days...

Looking down into the collection areas of one of the cisterns:

I seem to remember our guide saying there were 11 cisterns built for freshwater collection.  However, because of the great weight of the fort being built on top of them, on top of sand, 9 of them cracked and saltwater intrusion rendered them useless.  The remaining cisterns provide freshwater for the park rangers(2-4) stationed there. 

This is the "hot shot" furnace. Men would stoke fires in the bottom of the structure and put cannon balls in at the top(on the other side), they would then roll them down, gradually getting them hotter and hotter, till they came out the bottom.  The cannon balls would then be transferred to a waiting gun and be shot at the enemy.  No shots were ever fired in anger from this fort, but better safe than sorry!  The star-lookin' thingies on the sides of the furnace are handles, the men would "roll" the shot down as it heated up.

This is looking up from the bottom, where the "hot shot" would come out :

At one point the moat served as the "sewer" for the fort, with gates that would be opened when tide was coming in for freshening, and opened again when the tide was going out for disposal.  It didn't work, can you imagine the smell(at one time the fort housed over 1000 people!)?  EWWWWW!

This shows some of the damage the years of exposure have taken on the fort:

A beautiful place...so unlike all the other war functional areas of the fort.

The caption to this plaque read:  Not a Happy Place

This is the entrance to one of  Dr. Samuel Mudd's cells.  He was originally housed in the cell above the entrance bridge with the three windows.  He was moved here after he had escaped.  I think there were only 3 or 4 prisoners in all that had escaped from the fort. 

(It has been said this plaque was once above the entrance to the mess hall!) 

Dr Mudd was released from his imprisonment because of his good medical works during a Yellow Fever epidemic at the fort. 

Here is the picture from inside the dungeon, can you see my orbs?  Some say they are the spirits of people who are unhappy or "stuck" here somehow.  I don't know how to explain them, but I know they are NOT dust particles or condensation spots on my lens or in my camera, and I have taken photos of these same kinds of things all over St Augustine, mostly in historical places. 

It was about time for us to go snorkeling, and as we made our way to the docks to get our snorkel gear, we noticed the huge black clouds rolling in, and people streaming in from the snorkel areas.  Alas, because of said storm, we did not get to witness the parts of park under water.  That storm was just too ugly.  Zman was VERY dissapointed, and angry at me, as I was at myself, for not getting to snorkel there. It rained and poured till we left the docks and then it passed and I believe it followed us in to Key West!

Looking to the left of the docks at the storm rolling in at a very fast pace(picture does not reflect it well):

Here is a panoramic photo of the fort, taken from the third level.  I wish now I had taken it farther on either side, but considering I had never used that function on my camera before, I think it turned out pretty good:

This trip was a once in a lifetime kind of deal.  However, I hope to one day get back out here with my parents and hear my father's information and stories of when he was here in days when Florida was a much wilder place. 

Most of the Dry Tortugas Nation Park is underwater.  The reef system here is the world's third largest.  The land that is directly in front of the Fort is called Bush Key, and is home to the nesting grounds of about 100,000 Sooty terns, and about 10,000 Brown Noddies.  On near-by Loggerhead Key is a functioning lighthouse and was once the grounds for the Carnagie Institute of Washington, Marine Biology Laboratory (from 1903 to 1939) which "…quickly became the best-equipped marine biological station in the tropical world.”  It also has the highest (natural)elevation in the Dry Tortugas at 10 feet.

On the way back in to Key West, we played cards( I whipped Zman heartily at rummy!) and talked, we were both very tired and looking forward to bed that evening. 

Stay tuned for the last couple of days...

Biggie Summer Trip!-Part the second

So, off to Key West we go. 

There is but one road in and out of the Keys, which can be nice. Tourists don't loose their way that easily on the way home, but it can be rather hairy also for locals during hurricane season when they are trying to evacuate, or if there is a traffic jam and they need to be in Miami an hour ago.  For me it is wonderful, because I don't usually get past Marathon in my trips down there.  In the past 20 years, I have been to Key West 2 times and I have never stayed overnight there. 

On the trip down, I had planned on stopping and investigating anything that caught my or Zman's interest.  This caught my interest, NOT my co-pilot's:

He groaned: Oh please, don't stop at every little place again!  : ) I replied: Come on, get out, you may learn something...   We didn't learn anything.  They charged $20 to get in for a tour that took at least half a day, and I wasn't about to take a sulking teenager in at that price.  I think I will save this for when Sweetie Pie and The Rocket come down with me, I know they will enjoy it and probably learn alot!  It looked like a really neat place. 

When we got to Big Pine Key, I had wanted to stop at the Key Deer Museum.  Hunger was overtaking us at this point, so we ate instead.  After lunch, we mosied on down to Key West to catch up with the cousins, who had beaten us there. 

Robbie's Marina is a true boat yard.  There are lots of boats in various stages of repair and disrepair, up on blocks, with owners( and sometimes renters-don't ask) in occupancy.  It is very interesting, at least to me it is, as my parents had a boatyard that I grew up in.  We were to be staying at my cousin's houseboat, however there was some confusion with renovations and occupiers, so we had to stay in a hotel.  Now, that sounds like an easy fix, right?  NO! Remember, this is the first weekend of lobster season?  Key West was PACKED!  The hotel we tried first said the chamber of commerce was instructing hotels to send anyone else to Key Largo because there were NO HOTEL ROOMS AVAILABLE ANYWHERE on Key West!  That was not good news.  Jodi got busy on the phone and found us a kickin' room anyhow, on Key West, the last one available...  Here is the view walking in the front door:

Two master bedrooms with king size beds:

With a master bath in each room( the shower and toilet are in a separate room to the right of the jacuzzi tub):

Out on our balcony enjoying the sunset:

The view from our room:

After we took the kids to the pool( it was small and crowded, yuck!), we watched the beautiful sunset and then set out to eat.  We cruised downtown on foot a whopping two blocks to Duval street where they were having a concert and people were milling about.  LOTS of people!  I am super glad we didn't have a passel of kids to try to herd through that crowd, it was hard enough with one kid for each adult!  We only spent one block on Duval and then took off on a sidestreet over to Whitehead St., which was much quieter but still busy.  Jodi was on a mission to find a restaurant that was a favorite of my Aunt and Uncle's, God rest their souls. We walked many blocks, ended up passing it, going in the opposite direction on the wrong street, and then 'round the block, till we finally found it- and it was worth it!  Blue Heaven  The place reminds me of  New Orleans, it's partly outside, partly inside, a maze of buildings on a corner, with a large tree in the middle of it all(we'll come to that later...) Our party of 6 was seated in the building with the kitchen.  T, one of Jodi's kids, loves to cook(well, actually they both do!), and after supper our waitress offered to take him into the kitchen for a lesson with the chef.  They made us up some pasta and brought it to the table so we could sample it! YUM!  T can cook for me anytime! : )

This is how packed with people Key West was:  Just before they brought us our supper, the power went out on the whole island for about 30 minutes!  It made for an interesting evening, one that will not be forgotten any time soon!  It was dark out on the streets, but in the restaurant, we had atmosphere!  I think it took us about 2 1/2 hours total time there(we didn't rush, it was already late when we got there), and when we left they brought down the rope swing hanging from the large tree I mentioned earlier.  No, I didn't get on it, although I think this one was safe for adults...

The next morning Zman and I got up and went to breakfast.  Then we hit the streets to walk around a bit, and see it in the daytime(Zman hasn't ever been to Key West that he remembers).  We "happened" upon the Green Parrot(after I steered us there-hehehe).  Since we were both thirsty from our walk, we stopped.  After a cold beverage for each of us, and having some conversation with some locals, Zman wanted to play pool.  I obliged, and he promptly whipped me.  I stink at pool.  Now, the band started to warm up and the locals I was conversing with, were in the band.  Sunday morning Jazz, playing pool with my boy, drinking a cold beer, and having a wonderfully easy time! Now this is my kind of "church"!  I definitely was thanking the Lord for happy times- no joke!  Then Jodi joined us and whipped Zman at pool for me, big smile! 

He is a good sport, even though he wouldn't make a face with "Smirk"!

(if you have been, you know who that is)

After a while, the Lobster Nazi and kids came along and we moved on to lunch.  El Siboney, Cuban restaurant, another fav of my Aunt and Uncle's.  We sampled soups, cuban sandwiches, and beans. This is the Cuban sandwich: 

I think my favorite was the black beans-there were no garnishments to it, however, you could taste all the subtle flavors of the ham, onions, spices, the creaminess of the beans- it was heaven!

We went back to the hotel to get ready to go lobstering again.  Over at the marina, there is a cove where we could find some more of these succulent bugs.  After loading up in our cars and heading over there it was 6pm, about the time that the mosquitos and no-seeums come out to feast on anyone who is unprotected.  Zman and I decided we were not really interested in being eaten up, so we opted to go back to the hotel and get ready for supper.  (Zman was getting short driving lessons every time we went drove out to the marina, or we drove back and forth from my cousin's house to rent a boat, he was loving it!) We enjoyed sunset on Mallory Square with the performers, which is a must see, it's like a circus!  Zman's choice for supper was Guy Harvey's Island Grill, just off of Duval St.  On our way there, we snapped this:   

When we got to the restaurant, it was not busy and evidently there were not waitresses working that night, only the bartender.  We ordered a plate of fish and split it because the cousins were on their way to meet us. They were unsuccessful at finding any lobsters, but they had a good time anyhow.  They had a beer with us and then we started off towards Azur, a local restaurant serving fine foods.  Such nice people running that restaurant, and OH! the food.  Here are some pics of the things we had to eat:

Hummus plate as an appetizer, very flavorful hummus, not bland like normal hummus.

These are T's scallops he had for supper, he's a foodie, that kid...

This is the homemade gnocchi Zach and I shared, here is the description from the menu:

toasted in brown butter with pine nuts, arugula and grated parmesan, garnished with truffle shavings...

all I have to say is WOW, it was good!

This was the special of the evening, tripletail, with key west pink shrimp, over green beans and beets with a lemon butter sherry(?) sauce over it.  And it was quite possibly the best fish dish I have EVER had!

All of this was washed down with bottles of champagne(and water), the kids had a great time and the chef was pleased that we were pleased!  We were the last patrons to leave the restaurant on a Sunday night, but our host&hostess were so very gracious!

We had to get back to the hotel so we could get some rest, tomorrow is Dry Tortugas day!