We left Ft. Myers with expectations of a step back in time as we proceeded into the wilderness of the Everglades. The first sign of changing times was observed as we looked at the many high-rise buildings in Ft. Myers and the surrounding towns. As time moves on, the height of high-rises seems to grow upwards. This picture shows several different eras of building.
Looking at the shorter buildings, I can remember this style as being prevalent during my preschool days when I lived in Florida. The newer ones are much higher and more imposing in size. I wonder if the trend to always build bigger will continue in the future.Florida has many wonderful state parks, with names and scenery that captures the imagination. Bill and I have purposely visited as many as we could since they seem to have preserved much of the natural beauty of the area. One of our favorite-named parks is “Lover’s Key” and it is just south of Ft. Myers. What a great place to visit near Valentine’s Day!
As we approached the Everglades other cruise boats were traveling in the same direction,
and many were stopping in the same anchorage – Shark River! The river’s name was intimidating, but the river was beautiful as it winded around anchored boats, feeding dolphins, 
and resting birds that were visible as we traveled up river.
and resting birds that were visible as we traveled up river.
There were no houses or docks; instead the banks were covered with many different types of trees; mangroves being the most common. We had an eerie feeling as we moved a mile upstream before anchoring. 
The next morning we enjoyed the scenery as we moved downstream and
we were surprised to see several small fishing boats
at the mouth of the river. How far had they traveled to get there?
This is the first time we have visited the Keys by boat. We went under the seven-mile bridge at Marathon. The picture shows the old bridge with the boat passage section removed and the new bridge with a much higher clearance than the old bridge had.
After going under the bridge, we passed a boat carrying crab pots.
Crabbing is not allowed in Everglades National Park, so the pots started appearing as soon as we left the Everglades boundary. It had been rather windy for several days, and boats were not leaving the protected waters of Marathon in Boot Harbor. Unfortunately that meant we had to anchor outside the harbor until a mooring ball became available. Luckily we weathered the windy conditions and were pleased when the marina radioed us three days later to tell us which mooring we could pick up. We entered the harbor at 8:00 am and picked up a mooring ball where we stayed for one week while we explored Marathon and Key West.
On our first trip to Key West we enjoyed walking the streets
looking at the old homes,
parks, 
and the sunset performers at Mallory Square.
and the sunset performers at Mallory Square.
The most famous performer we saw was Catman, and his trained cats. There are videos of his performances on the Internet, but we were not able to take his picture because of the crowds. This is one picture we captured from the Internet.
Several days later we set the alarm for 4:15 am, dressed, dinghied to the marina, and walked several blocks to catch the 5:30 bus to Key West. We had reserved seats for the tour boat
to Dry Tortugas National Park.
Dry Tortugas National Park is an island based fort, prison and park about seventy miles from Key West. It was a warm day with fog passing through making visibility limited. Ponce de Leon discovered the Dry Tortuga islands in 1513. For centuries the islands were inhabited by pirates; in 1846 construction was started on Fort Jefferson to protect the shipping channels in the Gulf. However after thirty years the fort was still not complete. During the Civil War it became a prison for army deserters and for the conspirators of Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Hopefully these pictures will “whet your appetite” for visiting it if you are in Key West.
The magnificent frigate bird soared high above the fort. The wingspan of the frigate bird spans up to eight feet and it can remain aloft for hours without a wing beat.
This boat is a chug used by Cuban refugees to escape to the United States. If they land on US soil, legally they can then stay here. This seems to be a common problem in southern Florida.
This living space and other similar ones in the fort/prison are used for housing volunteers to the park. Bill and I have thought that we will probably do more volunteer work after we complete our "Great Loop Trip". We thoroughly enjoyed the times we helped at Florida's Caladesi State Park.
We slowly made our way back to Florida's mainland, anchoring at several Keys to enjoy the scenery and places of interest. Our first stop was at Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park.
On Key Largo, we took a snorkel trip to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The coral, sea fans, and fish were colorful and plentiful. These nearby flowers caught our eye.
The next stop was at Boca Chita Key where there is an impressive lighthouse.
Unfortunately the necessary forms were not filled out and no one requested that the lighthouse be used for navigation purposes before the lighthouse was built. After the fact, authorities deemed this lighthouse could not be used for navigation. Imagine this picturesque lighthouse has never been able to “light its light”. It is a great place to view nearby Keys.
After we left Boca Chita Key, we passed Stilts Ville, a housing community built in the water and supported on stilts.
The last Key we visited was Key Biscayne where we anchored in No-Name Harbor in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park.
Ponce de Leon named this area Cape Florida and in 1825 its famous lighthouse was constructed.
Unfortunately this first lighthouse was damaged during the Second Seminole War. The repaired lighthouse was completed in 1846 and is today’s picturesque lighthouse as well as the longest-standing structure in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The lighthouse keeper's home is located near the lighthouse.
When we left Key Biscayne, we saw a less fortunate boater’s upside down boat, tended to by Tow Boat US, the Coast Guard, and a working crane. A sailing boat was anchored nearby. When we had entered the harbor only the upside down boat and Tow Boat US were present.
The rest of our trip to Ft. Lauderdale included passing by many commercial waterfronts,
a Coast Guard boat setting new channel markers, and
and many different boats along the waterfront in the Inter-coastal Waterway.
We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale late Thursday, Feb.27, spent all day Friday provisioning the boat and doing laundry, and then left early Saturday morning for seven to eight weeks in the Bahamas. We are currently enjoying the warm temperatures and beautiful scenery of the Abacos region of Bahama, but we'll save that for another blog.
