T Stands for the Dry Tortugas

Happy T Day everyone. Tuesday has arrived once again and it is time to share our drink related posts over at  Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog.

A couple of weeks ago my husband and I went to Florida for  few days.

I thought I would share a few photos today as part of my T Day post.

Today I am taking you for a boat journey out into the Gulf of Mexico and to an island within the chain called the Dry Tortugas. The Dry Tortugas are small coral islands discovered in the 1500's by Ponce de Leon and named for the high number of turtles found there.  Later the English came along and realizing there was no available fresh water decided to name them the Dry Tortugas.

The islands are now a US National Park, and one thing I love doing is visiting National Parks. So we splurged and booked seats on the boat and took a day trip to visit the Dry Tortugas.

There is supposed to be good snorkeling but the ocean was a little rough the day we visited. I gave it a try, but I got sick of waves washing up over my snorkel.

The person on the right is my husband. The waves didn't bother him, so I sat and had a little beach time. Unfortunately it wasn't a very sandy beach but a coral beach.

A little tough on your feet but for my biologist person, fascinating.

But afterwards we walked around and you could see some of the reef life just by looking into the water.

There's also a 19th century fort on the island that was built by the US to protect the shipping lanes in the Gulf of Mexico and up to the Mississippi River. It became a US prison during the US Civil war in the 1860's and it's most famous prisoner was Dr. Mudd, who supposedly was a co-conspirator in the plot that ended up with the President at the time, Abraham Lincoln, being assassinated.

Another thing this island is well known for is the bird life. It is along a major migration fly route and also far enough south where lots of pelagic birds can be seen.

Here's just a few. I'll do another bird post another day.

A ruddy turnstone ( Arenaria interpres), I believe.

 Noddy Terns (Anous stolidus and A. tenuirostris)

A magnificent  frigate bird (Fregata magnificens)

And brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis)

But since it is T Day, I really want to share my drink with you.

The trip from Key West to the park takes 2 1/2 hours by boat. And then 2 1/2 hours back at the end of the day.

 Breakfast and lunch are included in the trip, as well as snorkel equipment. But on the way home the bar opens up since it is later in the day, and after spending some time in the hot tropical sun, my husband and I each had a refreshing cool drink on the way back.

Ah. A nice way to relax and enjoy the trip. We each had a refreshing strawberry daiquiri. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful T day. I look forward to seeing your drink related post.
 I won't be able to join you next week as I have to be out of town for a funeral. But I will be with you in spirit.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!