DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK

through

70 miles west of Key West, FL
5 feet above sea level
High 85°F / Low 76°F

DRY TORTUGAS
NATIONAL PARK


Summary: 4 days / 3 nights
of
tent camping - snorkeling - fort history tour


Dry Tortugas National Park
Fort Jefferson northern exterior wall and moat
Interior corridor on the ground level
Steam room for desalinating sea water
Lighthouse under repair - May 2018
Hurricane Irma ripped off the top cap of moat wall
This 45 foot section of the moat collapsed during Hurricane Irma
Deceptively close Loggerhead Key lighthouse
There is nearly three miles of open ocean to Loggerhead Key
One one nearly 200 of the 10" cannons originally deployed around the fort
Nearby Bush Key is a bird sanctuary
Ever present on the dock waiting for fishermen's handouts
Hermit crabs roam every inch of this island
They come in all shapes and sizes
Our third and final sunset on the island
Under the old coal refueling docks you'll find the best snorkeling
Saying goodbye to the Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson
It's a long 70 mile boat ride back to Key West

This is the first of many National Parks we will visit as fulltime RVers. While we have camped here four times before we always stayed just two nights over a holiday weekend, in order to be back home for work on Tuesday morning. This time is different, we stayed the maximum three nights allowed by the Yankee Freedom III ferry boat operators. We stayed during the week and just after a holiday weekend, hoping to avoid the crowds of people that holiday weekends bring and for the most part it worked.

The maximum visit as imposed by the park is 14 days, but you have to arrive by private boat to take advantage of that. In my opinion three nights is the perfect length of time to see and do everything on this small island. One day to fully explore the fort and take the history tour that the ferry boat operators provide. That leaves two days for snorkeling either before the boat arrives in the morning around 10:30 AM or after it departs around 2:45 PM. No need to share the ocean with the 150-175 people who come out here everyday on board the ferry to also enjoy the snorkeling. If you think two days of snorkeling is to much, it's not, there is plenty to see and it's always changing. It also gives you a backup day in case the weather takes one day away from you, which happens a lot out here.

You may wonder what we do on the cloudy, windy or rainy days when snorkeling and camping is not so much a pleasurable activity. We like to grab our chairs and something to read, head into the fort and find one of the many windows to sit in, then try to embrace the less than perfect weather. Or if it's just cloudy out, try walking around the moat wall and peer into the water on both sides, there is much to be seen even from this vantage point. You used to be able to walk all the way around the fort on the moat wall, but no longer as seen in the pictures above, thanks to Hurricane Irma in September 2017.

After arriving back in Key West we loaded our gear into ROVER (our truck) and set out to find a good hot meal near the marina. Turtle Kraals was just the place to enjoy a delicious serving of conch fritters, fresh blackened fish sandwich and fish tacos. Now it's time for the hour long drive back up the Keys to where THE POD (our trailer) is parked and a nice long hot shower to end the day.



for more info visit this
DRY TORTUGAS NATIONAL PARK
website link


Until next time
TWO PEAS


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HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY (2018)

Our Location:
Curry Hammock State Park
Marathon, FL 33050


Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country's armed forces, which is currently observed every year on the last Monday of May. The holiday was held on May 30 from 1868 to 1970. It marks the unofficial start of the summer vacation season, while Labor Day marks its end.

Many people visit cemeteries and memorials, particularly to honor those who have died in military service. Every year volunteers place an American flag on each grave in all national cemeteries.

Excerpted from Wikipedia





Our 2018 Memorial Day campsite

The view from our Memorial Day campsite


Until next time
TWO PEAS


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A TRIO OF FIRSTS

Arriving at: Curry Hammock State Park, FL
5 feet above sea level


TRAVEL DAY - 19.9 miles

BAHIA HONDA STATE PARK
to
CURRY HAMMOCK STATE PARK

Today we moved THE POD a whopping 20 miles north, straight up US1.


We will be staying at Curry Hammock State Park for the Memorial Day Weekend and then on Tuesday drive back down to Key West to board a ferry boat at 7:00 AM for a visit to our very first National Park since becoming fulltime RVers.

Also a first, we will have guests spending the night in THE POD. Two of our closest friends will be spending the weekend with us and then follow us down to Key West. Guess they will be finding out just how comfortable (or uncomfortable) our converted dinette is when it is in bed mode.

And another first, we will be spending three nights away from THE POD and once again be sleeping in a tent, something we've done a lot of over the past eight years.



Until next time
TWO PEAS


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BAHIA HONDA STATE PARK (FL)

Buttonwood Campground
GPS: 24.66278, -81.26389
36850 Overseas Highway
Big Pine Key, FL 33043
(305) 872-2353

through

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13 nights on campsite #15
at $38.50 per night + tax

SCORECATEGORYCOMMENTS
1-2-3-4-5
6-7-8-9-10
scenery Campsites #13-25 are right on a bay of the Atlantic Ocean
1-2-3-4-5
6-7-8-9-10
privacy Hurricane Irma took out most of the vegetation between sites in September of 2017
1-2-3-4-5
6-7-8-9-10
cell signal 3 bars of AT&T LTE - just off of US1
1-2-3-4-5 free wifi None available at the campsites
1-2-3-4-5 campsite size Most but not all with accommodate 40 foot plus rigs
1-2-3-4-5 electric Solid 50/30/20 service on all sites
1-2-3-4-5 water On every site, but some need 50+ feet of hose to reach
1-2-3-4-5 sewer Convenient free dump station in the center of campground
1-2-3-4-5 table/fire ring All sites have wooden tables and upright grills. No ground fires are permitted.
1-2-3-4-5 showers Centrally located portable (due to hurricane) hot showers
1-2-3-4-5 toilets Centrally located portable (due to hurricane) flush toilets
1-2-3-4-5 laundry Very clean facilities 6.5 miles south on Big Pine Key
1-2-3-4-5 security Park closes at sunset and the campground itself is gated
1-2-3-4-5 quiet nights Sounds of the waves on shore and light traffic noise on the nearby bridge
1-2-3-4-5 wildlife Birds and dolphin in the bay. We may have even seen a manatee.
1-2-3-4-5 park staff Friendly and ready to answer your every question.
1-2-3-4-5 activities Beach, fishing, bicycling, kayak rentals and snorkeling tours.


Bonus Points:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 - We are giving this six extra bonus points for what Hurricane Irma took away. Originating from South Florida we have camped here several times over the last 10 years and remember what it was once like and what it will return to be in the future.


Additional comments:
In our opinion the best campsites in this park are #14-#15-#16 because they are waterfront and offer the best views of the Old Bahia Honda Bridge and the bay between the bridges.
If you wish to get a guaranteed reservation (14 day max) in this campground you will need to be on the Reserve America website at exactly 8:00AM Eastern, 11 months to the day of your desired arrival date, because this park is booked solid every day all year long. Your only other option is to take a chance on getting one of the few first come first serve sites or a cancellation by someone else.

NOTE: At the time of this visit the Sandspur Campground and beach are still closed due to Hurricane Irma damage in 2017, with no expected date to reopen. Sandspur Beach was always voted one of the top five beaches to visit in the Florida Keys.


Until next time
TWO PEAS


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DAY TRIP TO KEY WEST - Part 2

Basecamp Location:
Bahia Honda State Park
Big Pine Key, FL


I meet up with Tricia outside the conservatory, then we walk back to the truck to put away my recent purchases from the gift shop. It's just after noon and I'm getting hungry. One thing we decided on this trip was to only eat at "new to us" restaurants. Not a problem, this island is loaded with restaurants and bars. It's Tricia's turn to pick the restaurant and she chooses Santiago's Bodega, it's about 3/4 mile from where we're standing, so we decide to walk.

Once inside the wonderfully air conditioned restaurant I'm feeling a little under dressed, this is not a shorts and T-shirt kind of place. Cloth napkins and wine lists on the table were my first clues, but hey, the place is nearly empty and they let us in, so let's have lunch. We ordered a monster sized Greek Salad to share and a pair of skewered tapas, one beef tenderloin and one chicken. The food was slow getting to the table, but tasted excellent and was not terribly expensive.

About halfway through our meal, men in suits and women in long dresses start filling the restaurant. Come to find out at lunch time they seem to cater to the professionals that work at the nearby Courthouse and City Hall. I glean this information from the discussions I overhear from nearby tables and the fact that the waitress seems to know everyone's name and food order before they even sit down. But then again, maybe they just called in ahead of time with their orders.

We exit the restaurant and check the time. It's nearly 1:30PM, how long were we in there? We have fifteen minutes left on the meter back at the truck and it's 3/4 mile away. The parking meter patrols here on the island are notorious for handing out tickets for expired meters. With a little hustle we get back to the truck with two minutes to spare and sure enough there is a patrol on the next block down Duvall and working their way towards our truck. Let's get out of here and head over to the beach.


There are several beaches here on Key West to choose from, but in my opinion the beach inside of Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park is the best choice. I say this for several reasons, 1) It is the only one located anywhere near the downtown end of Duval Street. You can pay the modest entrance fee for the park and leave your car here all day until sunset and walk or bicycle the 1/2 mile back to Duval Street, but bring your receipt to get back into the park. 2) It is the only one with any real opportunity to go snorkeling right off the beach. There are several man made large piles of coral rock about ten yards offshore which the tropical fish just love to swim around. There are chair and umbrella rentals, a cafe with food and drinks, rinse showers and bathrooms. 3) It has this historic brick fort you can explore for free. What else could you want or need?

They do have one thing here that I wanted, one of our southeastern United States bucket list items, Frozen Chocolate Dipped Key Lime Pie on a Stick. But better than that, these were homemade and even more delicious than the commercially produced ones you can buy all over town.

On this visit the wind and the waves were just a little too much for us, so no snorkeling today. This has always been a stop for us on previous visits to Key West so we didn't feel too disappointed, after all we were just here last month. After several hours of wading in the ocean, people watching and reading, it was time to head back to the Airstream, some 37 miles back up US1. On the drive home we started discussing what was going to be for dinner. I know, let's stop somewhere and buy some fresh fish to cook on our new, never been used, Cuisinart grill. This is where Google comes to the rescue and locates Fanci Seafood just 14 miles south of the campground on Cudjoe Key.

Yummy

Well, this brings us to the end of our day trip to Key West. It's time to eat!



Until next time
TWO PEAS


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DAY TRIP TO KEY WEST - Part 1

Basecamp Location:
Bahia Honda State Park
Big Pine Key, FL


We were awake, showered and ready to leave for Key West by 8:00AM. Once on the road our first order of business was breakfast. We decided that a quick breakfast from a locals restaurant was in order and from a little online research the night before we picked a place that sounded perfect. Just about six miles south of the park and hidden a quarter mile off US1 we found Coco’s Kitchen. Tricia ordered a delicious breakfast burrito and I had two scrambled eggs, a side of potatoes, and my favorite, biscuits and gravy. All this set us back just $10.00 and before 9:00 AM we were back on the road heading for Key West.


ROVER in front of the Southernmost Point of the Continental United States

Once in Key West it was time to check an item off of our southeastern United States bucket list. I wanted to park ROVER (our truck) in front of the Southernmost Point Buoy and take a picture to commemorate the day we visited the Southernmost Point of the Continental United States. We plan on traveling to all four corners of the nation over the next 5 or so years and this is literally the first corner.



After photographing the truck Tricia wanted to go explore The Key West Butterfly & Nature Conservatory right around the corner from the Southernmost Point. She has been looking for a good place to practice using all the features of her new Nikon Coolpix P900 camera. She just loves butterflies, having spent the last 18 years living just around the corner from Butterfly World in Coconut Creek, the self proclaimed Butterfly Capital of the World.


While she was photographing butterflies, flamingos, turtles and such in the conservatory, I was locating a place to park the truck for the next several hours. Parking can be a problem on this tiny island of Key West, but being there early in the day helps. After locating a parking spot at the very end of Duval Street, paying the parking stand in the middle of the block and then returning to the truck to display the receipt on the dashboard, it was time for a drink. A drink of iced tea of course, after all it’s only 9:45 in the morning. I paid $3.00 an hour for 4 hours at the meter, so that meant we had until 1:45PM to return to the truck. Now where to find that drink?

I walked across the street to the Southernmost Beach Cafe, but it was more of a restaurant/bar type of place, I just wanted an iced tea. So back out onto the street I ventured and saw The Southernmost Trolly Stop just off Duval Street. There was a refrigerator on the back wall of the gift shop so in I went, thinking I might find a bottle of tea in there.

Before I made it around the cashier stand just inside the front door I caught a glimpse of a license plate over in the corner. It looked almost exactly like what I was hoping to find to put in the empty license plate holder on the front of ROVER. I say almost exactly because what most people don't know is that right across the street from the often photographed END US1 sign is the more appropriate for us, BEGIN US1 sign. I can fix that using my 40 years of experience in the printing industry, or maybe just some whiteout and a black Sharpie pen. Yes, this would do, $7.00 wasn’t much to pay for a near perfect license plate. But right above the plates were souvenir pins of the Southernmost Point Buoy, got to have one of those for a future project that will decorate our refrigerator back in the trailer. Only another $3.00 for the pin, that makes for a $10 sale at the register. Once again outside, standing in the hot sun on the sidewalk, I remembered why I went in there in the first place, an iced tea.

On my very first visit to Key West in 1994 I spent an entire Memorial Day Weekend at The Southernmost Hotel, which is now part of a hugh beach resort occupying both sides of South Street. Having never been to Key West before, I relied on friends who told me of an affordable hotel, right on Duval Street. Sounded good so I booked it, but later found out it’s at the wrong end of Duval Street. All of the hot spots like Sloppy Joe’s Bar and the Mallory Square Sunset Celebrations are just over a mile away on the other end of Duval Street. That is a pretty easy hike during the daytime, but it’s a long walk home at the end of a long night out on the town, if you know what I mean. Well let’s go see what the place is like today, nearly 24 years later.

First impressions from the street are good. They’ve cleaned the place up a lot, new paint and landscaping, a nice tall wall around two sides of the property to repel some of the traffic noise and separate the parking lot from the people walking down the sidewalks. Just as I spot an open gate into the parking lot I hear a car screech to a stop and a commotion of activity ensues right behind me. A mother hen and four tiny chicks get caught in the middle of the busy Duval Street and in a panic come to a complete stop. Once the coast is clear they continue crossing the road and walk up onto the sidewalk right next to me.

The mother takes one look at the wall and flies right up to the top and looks back at her chicks. Then one by one the chicks take their turn at trying to fly up on to the wall. The first one makes it with no problem but the rest aren’t so lucky. After another try a second one makes it safely on top of the wall.

The last two chicks try again and again but no such luck, they are the tiniest of the four. All the while this is happening right in front of me, people continue to walk past and just ignore all the drama. Every once in a while, in answer to all the cries for help coming from the chicks, the mother hen would fly back up onto the wall from the other side and startle everyone walking nearby on the sidewalk. No one seemed to care, with the exception of three younger girls, who were obviously heading for the beach on the next block and obviously not locals, due to their heavy southern accents. I came up with the idea that maybe the four of us could surround them and usher them 25 feet down the sidewalk to where an open gate to the parking lot was. We tried several times but without success, mostly due to everyone refusing to give us the sidewalk space we needed to have any chance of success. Finally even the girls went about their day to spend time on the beach.

It was now just me and the two tiny chicks, with all the other people just going on about their business. After about five minutes I saw an opportunity approaching, no one coming down the sidewalk for the whole block. I started ushering the chicks down the sidewalk towards the gate, then around the corner and the first two cars in the parking lot, before they caught a glimpse of mother and siblings. Mother hen had been busy scratching at the mulch in this beautifully manicured bed of flowers, I mean just tearing it up. The chicks were pecking away at the freshly uncovered ground at what I assumed was an early lunch. When the two left behind chicks saw mom they took off like a bullet. At that moment I looked up and no one was watching me, there was no applause, but I didn’t care. I just spent 15 minutes of my valuable time in paradise helping reunite a family of chickens and I was happy to do it. I guess the benefits of being recently retired is finally setting in, that no rush to be somewhere by a predetermined time feeling or the pressures of someone depending on you to something for them. It's similar to being on a long vacation, but not really. On any vacation there comes a time when you know you will have to eventually go back to your regular life.

To be fair I need to explain something about the people of Key West. There is a large population of gypsy chickens on the island that create all kinds of problems. Over the years I have heard stories, whether true or not I can’t confirm, but that at one time the City of Key West had a telephone hotline you could call and they would send someone out to capture your nuisance bird and take it away. The city would pay this man a modest amount of money for every call he answered and successfully captured the trouble maker. The thing is they never asked him what he did with the captured chickens. I know what you are thinking, but you would be wrong! Each night he would take his prisoners to a secluded location on the island and release them back onto the streets. Now that’s job security!

With the chicken family all safe, I find myself inside the gate of the resort parking lot. Remembering the layout of the hotel from years before I am quickly able to find the main pool bar, down a breezeway and inside of another gated courtyard. I take a seat at the bar, finally order an iced tea and slowly cool back down to a reasonable temperature under the ceiling fans above me. After a while I've finished my tea and the bartender asks me if I would like a free refill, sure I reply, while watching everyone else enjoying the pool and lounge chairs. More time passes and Tricia calls to let me know she is done with her photography and is waiting outside the conservatory. I pull a $20 bill out of my pocket and placed it on the bar, soon the bartender comes over. She says, "Would you prefer to just charge your drink to your room?" to which I quickly reply, "No, I prefer to just pay cash". As I leave the pool deck I'm scanning the area for a restroom and remember seeing them in the middle of the breezeway I passed through earlier. I walk up to the men's room door and soon realize you need a room key to get in. What's with that? I walk back through the parking lot and come to a now closed gate on the sidewalk and there is a huge sign that reads "PRIVATE PROPERTY - REGISTERED GUESTS ONLY". I never saw it on the way in, I was too busy keeping those baby chicks corralled and moving in the right direction. Well if anyone had ever asked, I was a registered guest once, nearly 24 years ago.



Until next time
TWO PEAS


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LOSING WEIGHT IS EASY!

Bahia Honda State Park
Big Pine Key, FL
7 feet above sea level


In our previous post we mentioned how we weighed the truck and found out it was 300 lbs. overweight, well part of that problem got solved this morning. First thing this morning we got up and went out for breakfast, did a supply run to Ace Hardware down on Big Pine Key and then planned on grocery shopping.

Breakfast at the Florida Keys Cafe was just what I needed to start the day, a little hole in the wall diner with home cooked food, in a quaint Florida Keys atmosphere. We sat in the restaurant and the conversations all revolved around the weather outside, it was getting darker and windier by the minute. By the time we were done eating it seemed to have cleared up a bit and the winds weren't as bad as they were just minutes before. So off we go to Ace Hardware, just around the corner from here, to pick up some screws for the project going on in our wardrobe closet. The plan was to then go north, past the campground, to Publix in Marathon to purchase groceries for the next two weeks.

While coming over the bridge at Bahia Honda we gazed over to where the Airstream was parked at the edge of the water. Something didn't look quite right, something was missing. When we first arrived at this campsite three days ago one of the first things we did was set up one of our two 10x10 EZup canopies next to the trailer for some much needed shade and rain protection. We staked it down on all four corners into the coral rock and felt it was definitely secure, that proved to be wrong.

When not in use or leaving the campsite we always lower it as far down as it will go. But the night before we sat outside under the canopy watching the storm clouds and lightning off in the distance, it was quite a show. To get a better view from under the canopy we raised one side about two feet to get a wider view of the sky. It started to rain heavily and eventually the fabric that makes up the roof gets saturated and begins to drip on us, so we quickly dashed into the Airstream for the night and never returned the canopy to it's fully down and level position.

The next morning we got up and saw the storm clouds building once again, so quickly we left the campsite to get breakfast and errands out of the way. The night before the winds were coming out of the east and pushing down on the tilted roof of the canopy, allowing it to remain stable. But the next morning the winds shifted and began blowing in from the southwest. By leaving that side of the canopy higher than the others it allowed the wind to get under the fabric and essentially turn it into a parachute. So while we were having breakfast and getting screws, our canopy took flight. It made such a loud noise that our neighboring campsite, also an Airstreamer, came over and tied the floundering canopy to the rear bumper and tire of our trailer. This prevented any damage to the Airstream, but it was too late for the canopy.

Like I said, losing weight is easy, 35 lbs. into the dumpster today and now we're only 265 lbs. overweight!



Until next time
TWO PEAS


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WE ARE FINALLY OFF ON OUR FULLTIME RV JOURNEY!

Leaving from: Markham Park, Sunrise, FL
33 feet above sea level


"The Sunshine State"
is our 1st visited state

Today, May 12, 2018 marks the beginning of our full-time RV journey. For the first time in 55 years, I personally will no longer be a Broward County, FL resident. For Tricia it will be a much shorter time, having grown up in Cape Cod, MA. We will be leaving our four week temporary home here in Markham Park and traveling the 146 miles south to Bahia Honda State Park for a 13 day visit.

Yesterday in preparation to make the move, we took the truck to the CAT Scale Station out on Griffin Road and US27 to have it weighed. For $11.50 we found out what we already knew, fully loaded and with a full tank of gasoline (36 gallons/225 lbs.) we are nearly 300 lbs. over the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR). With that in mind, several of what we considered necessary items were added to the truck when we first got it. The Leer Topper and the CargoGlide weigh nearly 500 lbs. all by themselves, which immediately took away from the total carrying capacity of the truck. Some serious consideration and conversation of what we NEED to carry on this trip will have to occur in the very near future.

Additionally, on our way out of town today, we returned to the CAT Scale Station to weigh the truck and the trailer together. As suspected, more bad news, but we’ll talk about that later.


TRAVEL DAY - 146 miles

MARKHAM PARK
to
BAHIA HONDA STATE PARK


We left Markham Park today at 11:00 AM and turned right onto State Road 84 West, which led us to US27 South. We followed US 27 South for 15 miles until we got to the Krome Avenue South (State Road 997) turnoff and followed it 35 miles to where it meets US1. From here it’s all US1 South until we reach our destination, Bahia Honda State Park.

In the Florida Keys, everything that is located on US1 is addressed by it’s Mile Marker number. For instance, Bahia Honda State Park’s official address is 36850 Overseas Highway, Big Pine Key, FL 33043. The first three digits tell you the mile marker number, 36.8, and the last two tell you which side of the road it’s on, even numbers on the Atlantic Ocean side and odd numbers on the Gulf of Mexico/Florida Bay side.

You may have notice that the official address for the park is Overseas Highway and not US1. The 110 mile section of US1 from Key West to just north of Key Largo is known as The Overseas Highway. In 2001 this section was designated a Florida Scenic Highway by the state, and later in 2009 it was awarded the national status of All-American Road (one of only 30 in the nation at the time), which is the highest recognition possible under the National Scenic Byways program.


Doo, doo, doo, lookin' out my back door... - Creedence Clearwater Revival - 1970

Arriving at the park 30 minutes before check in time proved not to be a problem because the previous nights occupant had checked out early and the campground host was able to clear our site for occupancy. But backing into our campsite was a little tricky because we are on a small cul-de-sac at the end of the road, which also has a couple of trees in the middle of it. Once backed in and unhooked, then taking the time to look at our surroundings, I believe we have the best view of any campsite in this park.

Our first day fulltiming comes to an end!



Until next time
TWO PEAS


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