Dry Tortuga

We were awakened by the local animals, seen below who wander the streets like they own the town.

Roosters and chickens just kind of roam around.

We were able to see some of the other local sights before we boarded the boat this morning.

This is St. Mary Star of the Sea, a Catholic church that is #2 on the list of things to do in Key West. We were there before morning Mass so we got to look around for a few minutes and enjoy the beautiful building and gardens.

Then we boarded the Yankee Freedom III, the National Park Services's official ferry to Dry Tortugas.  The island is 70 miles west of Key West which takes about 2.5 hours to arrive.

Momma before we took off.

Sadly, Momma did get her typical motion sickness, but unexpectedly, I did as well. It was a horrific experience for both of us, resulting in having to sit outside at the back of the boat for 2 hours of the trip to try and stem the nausea.

But we did make it and quickly enjoyed a nap on the beach in a postcard.

 

Fort Jefferson

 The entrance to Fort Jefferson

We had to read this sign several times and we're still not sure what the message is.

Visitors are allowed to wander the Fort so we walked up on the top level and hod some amazing views.

This is Carlos the Crocodile. He washed up on Fort Jefferson in 2003 and has never left. He was polite enough to pose for us. Pictures of him are rare so we fell lucky.

A lovely day at a National Park.

:)