Somewhere.........before that age when a boy becomes a man.: Christmas Day on Dry Tortugas (Kid Stuff)

In 1513, the famous explorer Juan Ponce de León stumbled upon 11 small keys 68 miles west of Key West, Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico. Intrigued by the abundance of sea turtles, he named the small islands Las Tortugas. However, the name later evolved to Dry Tortugas as a caution to seafarers that there was no fresh water to be found on the islands. Warnings be what they may, there are believed to be some 250 to 300 shipwrecks scattered across the islands and surrounding reefs. The exact number is difficult to pinpoint as hurricanes periodically churn the sands, thereby obscuring any remains. Indeed, the seas have reclaimed four keys themselves, leaving the seven keys as we know them today.

In 1821, Dry Tortugas was ceded by Spain to the United States as part of the Adams-Onís Treaty. This treaty ended the Florida Purchase negotiations and formalized the border between the United States and Spanish Florida. Not long thereafter, a lighthouse was built on Loggerhead Key and Fort Jefferson was constructed on Garden Key. The fort's construction consisted of some 16 million bricks and the fortress initially fulfilled the duty of an advanced post in defense of the Gulf Coast. Later, the outpost served as a Union prisoner-of-war camp during the Civil War followed by a period of disrepair as the result of neglect, vandalism, and repeated storms. President Franklin D. Franklin designated the area a National Monument in 1935 and on October 26, 1992, Dry Tortugas became a National Park.

For some time now, Dry Tortugas has been somewhere on my ever changing bucket list. So, I decided to give myself a Christmas gift - with Jamie's blessing of course. Yes, it came to be that on Christmas Day, 2023, Jamie and I boarded the the Yankee Freedom III, the daily passenger ferry from Key West to Dry Tortugas. The catamaran accommodates 250 passengers and is licensed by the National Park Service. Out we headed for the 2.5 hour crossing, 4 hours at the park itself, and the 2.5 hour ride back despite Doug's TRAVEL RULE #1 - never go on a tour which requires more travel time than actual boots-on-the-ground sightseeing time.

Now, Dry Tortugas was anything but "dry" on this day. Indeed, we stepped off the boat into a blowing mist which within the hour turned into a continual, drenching downpour. Did I say blowing? That would be a politician-like understatement. The boat ride in both directions proved to be anything but smooth. Let's just say that vomit bags and spaces on the gunnels were hot commodities among my fellow passengers. Thankfully, Jamie and I had taken a meclizine pill prior to boarding - one of mankind's greatest inventions along with sun screen. The motion sickness medicine surely helped but my real defense proved to be a simple mental distraction. I tried to focus on the horizon and repeatedly sang in my mind the lyrics from an old sitcom comedy:

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Two fifty souls set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The Freedom would be lost, the Freedom would be lost.

The Ballad of Gilligan's Island

George Wyle and Sherwood Swartz

Regardless all that, Dry Tortugas was fascinating and I'm glad we did it. However, our pictures were disappointing. They failed to capture any of the vivid turquoise blues and greens that I had hoped to see. Also, the exploration of nooks and crannies was cut short. Nor were we able to get in the water as the surf had kicked up so much sand that a swim would be anything but enjoyable. As such, the first picture posted is a copy off the internet which I assume portrays the place as it is on probably 360 days out of the year.