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We took the smaller of the two ferries out to Dry Tortugas Island to tour the fort. We had to be at the ticket booth by 7:30 for a departure at 8:00. We came to Key West from Key Largo the day before so that we'd be sure to be there on time. The ferry was fast, but small. It was operated by a group of young folks. I remember that there were two guys and three young women. They were fun to be with.
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After boarding, I went into the cabin with the others, but decided that I would do better outside where I could breath the fresh air and keep a steady view of the horizon. I sat on an equipment locker on the port side. The woman in the blue cap also had a sea-sickness problem. This view is back in the direction from which we had come. I don't recognize the buildings, but we must have seen them as we toured that end of the island.
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These two tour boats came in during the night and tied up near the area where we had watched the sunset and associated festivities the evening before. It is about 70 miles from Key West to Fort Jefferson and the ferry ride was about two hours.
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When we got out into the Gulf, the boat picked up speed and spray started blowing in on the port side where I was setting so I had to face starboard to keep on eye on the horizon. In the open Gulf, the water was so rough in some places that the boat had to slow down. The boat bucked around like a Jeep on a rough road, but that was better than a slow rocking motion would have been. The little ferry was fast enough to overtake and passed the big ferry boat. We were approaching the Fort at this point and the water was smoother and the boat was going slower.
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We were told that we couldn't reboard until it was time to return to Key West, so we had to take everything off with us. We stored our gear in the shade of the shrubery near the entrance. I 'grabbed' this quick shot of the entrance as I walked over to join our group.
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This is our tourist shot. Ann's brother-in-law took the shot.
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An old anchor sets off the entrance to the fort.
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There were several picnic tables along the moat to the left of the fort entrance toward the swimming beach. Our tour guide told us that several of these were reserved for food tables. Each tour service provided lunch cold cuts and fruit for their guests.
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