On October 15th, my family and I went to the Dry Tortugas about 70 miles from Key West in the Florida Keys. We woke up at 6:30 am and went to the docks to wait for the Yankee Freedom Ferry at 7:00 am (other options for transportation to the island include private boats or seaplanes). The estimated time to the destination was 2 hours and 30 minutes departing from Key West. Breakfast on the ferry included cereal, bagels, fruit cups, coffee, water, and more. I went outside to the front of the ferry a few times to watch the beautiful sunrise over the clear blue water. I wished to see turtles or sharks, but only saw fish which was still cool. It felt like they put on my playlist because classic rock was playing the whole time. When we got there, we explored Fort Jefferson and took pictures of the vast ocean surrounding us. After that we got lunch that was provided for us from the ferry which was sandwiches from Jersey Mike’s ,also including chips, cookies, and drinks. We walked to South Beach and ate our sandwiches on the shore and saw two barracudas hunting for a school of fish in shallow waters but as more people started coming to our spot, the sea animals went away. Although the ferry company gave out snorkeling gear, we had our own gear and went snorkeling for a couple hours and saw a tiny jellyfish, a conch, more schools of little fish, coral, and bigger sized fish. There was a lot more fish and coral to see on the wall of the moat, so I recommend swimming in that area. We had to be back on the ferry by 2:45pm. The ride back seemed longer because I was tired but overall, it was a good experience. I recommend bringing sunglasses, sunscreen, a swimsuit, a camera, and a towel. Overall I learned about the history of Fort Jefferson, saw beautiful animals while snorkeling, watched the sunrise, listened to good music and more.
