As you read this I hope to be with half a dozen or so friends settling into a campsite at the Dry Tortugas National Park. The house, the vegetable garden and the Bonneville (without the ignition key!), are in the care of a house sitter and for four glorious days and three cool nights we will be under canvas somewhere here.
The blog will have to soldier on without me, as will Key West PD until I get back on the Saturday afternoon ferry and rush off to my uniform waiting for me in my locker when I take up the reins of civilized life once again. I am very happy to be escaping the bonds of civilization for a few days, and I very much appreciate this ideal wilderness we have just 70 miles (110 kilometers) from Key West. At Fort Jefferson there is no food, no water, no cell phones, no nothing very much unless we load it on the ferry.
The weather forecast advises us a cold front is about ready to hit the Keys and we can expect rain in squalls with wind and cooling temperatures, possibly into the mid 60s at night (17C). We have a supply of extra blankets and red wine to fight off frost bite. As you might imagine, with half a dozen women in the party we will leave nothing to chance. Last May I was a pack mule getting our modest heap of stuff from the ferry to the campground.
To those that wish it, I hope you get all the snow, yellow leaves and changes of season you can stand. To those forced to stand in line in airports, or in traffic jams on freeways, felicitations, I'm sure your families appreciate the sacrifice. To riepe, I apologize in advance for the posts the next few days which will look exactly like normal but I won't be available to be your whipping boy. Tell your bud in Alaska that if God and I were on speaking terms I'd be asking for a Government Writer's Program like the WPA had, for Christmas. Failing that perhaps we can ask China to annex us to Hong Kong and send us Cuban doctors to take care of our health needs. Remember: They may have a perfect welfare safety net in Norway but they don't have seascapes like these:
Till next time then, I'm off to find a campsite and eat turkey on my very own, more-or-less private, desert island. Happy Thanksgiving Everybody! (Even Canadians who've hogged the turkey and had theirs in October, greedy guts).
As you read this I hope to be with half a dozen or so friends settling into a campsite at the Dry Tortugas National Park. The house, the vegetable garden and the Bonneville (without the ignition key!), are in the care of a house sitter and for four glorious days and three cool nights we will be under canvas somewhere here.
6 comments:
Dear Sir:
My idea of the ideal vacation wouldn't be anywhere near a place that had the word "Dry" in the title.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Riepe
Happy Thanksgiving. Can not wait to see pictures. Eat a piece of tropical turkey for me !.....BYRDMAN
Mr Conchscooter:
we had our Turkey so long ago I can barely remember what it tasted like.
Why didn't you say you needed a housesitter. I still have a weeks vacation left to use before December. I could have watered your topsy turvy tomato plants and continued on with your Diary. I would have found the spare key to the Bonnie and ride around all night going up and down all the lanes taking pictures. I know nothing about the history of your area but would come up with some sort of jibberish.
Have a happy Thanksgiving. Did you bring the ice cream maker this trip ?
bob
bobskoot: wet coast scootin
As a longtime reader of your blog, I have finally decided to take this opportunity to comment on an idea that should've occurred to me some time ago. I've been a guest of Key West twice, and am well aware of the Dry Tortugas and Ft. Jefferson, along with the overnight camping opportunities. However, for whatever reason the idea of spending a holiday camping with loved ones on a tropical island never materialized until reading this blog. I look forward to the photos of this adventure, and hope to be able to use them as ammunition in what is likely to be a battle over the "amenities" that are available on the island. Regardless of the outcome, I wholeheartedly wish you and yours a tranquil and rejuvenating Thanksgiving, squalls notwithstanding. It's somehow comforting to know that for however many of us who are working this Holiday, somewhere there are others with a glass of wine in their hand and their feet in the sand.
AHHHHH !!! Sweetness!!!! I did that same trip to escape the midweek madness at Fantasy Fest. Awesome snorkeling,solitude, and sunsets from atop Fort Jeff. My own moonlit beach to sip a fine Scotch on. How often does one get to go to the most remote National Park in America! Maybe not the most exciting.....but the relaxation, peace and solitude....Priceless!
Jim--Colorado
I hope you all had a glorious Thanksgiving. Central Florida dipped into the 30's. Maybe I should have rethought that invitation! Happy Turkey Day!
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