Thanksgiving Florida Keys Trip- Dry Tortugas National Park (Part 3)

Dry Tortugas National Park is one of the least visited National Parks. Dry Tortugas is difficult to get to beacause it is 70 miles away from Key West through the open ocean. You can only get to the national park by boat, seaplane or ferry. Unfortunately, the seaplane and the ferry were sold out so our only other option was to take a private boat.  It takes 3-4 hours to get to Dry Tortugas by boat from Key West. A few of us get seasick, so I was pretty nervous about this trip. 

The kids and I all took Dramamine the night before. Unfortunately, Caitie threw up the dramamine in the middle of the night (we are guessing she is allergic). The rest of the kids and I also took it in the morning to hopefully avoid any seasickness. The trip started out beautifully. We were all feeling fine for the first hour and a half of the boat ride. However, about halfway in, the wind really picked up and the boat was rocking pretty badly. Caitie was the first to go down, then me, and then Patrick. The three of us threw up for about an hour and a half on the boat. It was miserable. Michael and Peyton felt really sick, but didn't throw up. Conor seemed fine!

We finally made it! We were all a little out of it when we arrived, so we forgot to take a family picture!

We explored the fort first. We learned a lot of facts about the fort and enjoyed seeing it. 

Patrick was still feeling a little sick from the boat ride over and was not thrilled about walking in the heat to explore the fort. 

After exploring the fort, we tried to snorkle around the moat. However, the water was a little murky since it was so windy. We still had a great time laying on the beach. The kids did see a few fish!

Caitie and I walked around the moat to where the boys were snorkeling. 

After exploring the national park, we got back on the boat and the boys fished. The caught some big fish! 

The boat ride back was not nearly as bumpy and none of us got sick! Most of us were so tired from getting so sick on the way over that we napped most of the way. 

The fort from the water is really beautiful

We were really glad we visited, but I would never recommend taking a boat.  If we ever visit again I will definitely take the seaplane! We have now determined that three of us cannot handle the rough ocean water!