Atlanta

Where can you see treasures from King Tut's tomb, soldiers from the Terracotta Army in China, one of the best aquariums in the country, and drink soft drinks from around the world all within a 2 mile radius. Only in Atlanta if you go before April 19 (that is the last day for the terracotta soldiers).

Although I have visited aquariums all over the east coast, in California, in Hawaii, in Australia, and in Spain, I was blown away by the Georgia Aquarium. The aquarium was fantastic even with some exhibits moved due to construction of a new dolphin tank. The main tank in the aquarium is so large that fish actually school in the tank. It currently houses 4 whale sharks (top photo) in addition to several other sharks, grouper, and rays. This is the first aquarium I have ever seen beluga whales (middle photo).

The penguins were on vacation during the renovation but the sea otters were quite entertaining. The aquarium also had river otters but they were all sleeping while we were there.

If you live on the east coast, I highly recommend a trip to Atlanta. You can get a combo ticket for the aquarium and the world of Coca Cola. The world of Coke showed some entertaining commercials from around the world but the highlight was tasting the soda's from Asia, Africa, and South America.

Although we did go see the terracotta soldiers and the King Tut exhibit, photos were not allowed. The most interesting thing I learned was that dolls were buried in the tombs of the pharoah's to act as laborers in the after-life. Models of boats were also buried so the pharoah's would have transportation in the after-life. After visiting the exhibits, Kevin and I made a deal. He will make sure I have plenty of dolls so I will never have to labor in my after-life. I will make sure he has a model of a Ferrari so he will have transportation.

Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy Space Center has really improved since we were there several years ago. We actually spent about 6 hours there and wished we had more time. Having both grown up during the space race, we enjoyed the historical exhibits and looking at the various rockets. I was amazed how cramped the astronauts were in the gemini and apollo capsules.

Although we did not get to see the shuttle launch, we did see the shuttle on the launch pad. We also did the shuttle launch experience which simulated a launch. Although tickets to the space center includes two IMAX films and another show, we did not have time.

If you plan on taking your kids to Disney, PLEASE TAKE THEM TO KENNEDY SPACE CENTER FOR AT LEAST ONE DAY!!! A day at Kennedy Space Center will make anyone feel proud to be an American.

Delta Rocket Launch

We originally went to Florida to see a space shuttle launch (STS-119) on February 12th. It is now March 15th and the shuttle has still not launched. Because of all the delays, we decided to see a Delta Rocket launch the Kepler satellite into orbit. The pictures above were taken by Kevin at the Jetty Park in Port Canaveral Florida. Although I will now probably never get to see a shuttle launch (there are only 9 launches left), I was pretty excited to experience the rocket launch.

Help Save Fort Jefferson

The construction of Fort Jefferson started in 1846. Many new innovative technologies were used in the construction of the fort, including "Totten shutters". "Totten shutters" were hinged, wrought iron shutters placed between the brick facade of the fort and the mortar core to protect the cannon openings. Unfortunately, in the salt water environment, the rusting and expansion of the wrought iron has pushed apart the bricks causing structural damage in large portions of the fort. In the pictures above you can see where large portions of bricks have fallen off of the fort and into the surrounding moat.

The park service has started a phased preservation program to stabilize Fort Jefferson. In the last two pictures, you can see the project in progress and the results from one of the earlier phases. To find out more about the fort preservation project check out the bulletin issued by the park on the project: http://www.nps.gov/drto/upload/Restoration%20site%20bulletin4.pdf

Fort Jefferson is truly a national treasure. If you would like to help preserve this treasure for future generations, donate the the park trust at http://www.southfloridaparks.org/

Camping at Fort Jefferson continued...

The top picture shows the beach after the boats have left. As you can see, it is a pretty remote location. It is not often that you find such a beautiful sandy beach as deserted as this one. There is also a picture of the ferry we took as it is leaving for the day.

The last picture was taken from the picnic table at our campsite...not a bad way to end the day :)

Camping at Fort Jefferson

After a day trip to Fort Jefferson over 15 years ago, we knew that we wanted to return some day and stay overnight. We finally got our chance.

During the day, the national park is a busy place. Two ferry's drop off visitors from Key West to tour the fort and to snorkel around the moat. At around 3:00, the ferry's leave and only the rangers and campers are left on the island. Currently, there are also several brick mason's helping with the restoration of the fort as well. I will talk about that more in the next entry.

The night we stayed, there were 10 campers including Kevin and I. There were also two sailboats and a shrimping boat moored to the buoy's in the bay. With this small population, we could walk through the fort and around the moat without seeing another person. It was very peaceful but also awe inspiring to be staying at such a remote but historic location.

Another great advantage of staying overnight is the chance to talk to the rangers and the volunteers who take care of this magnificent piece of architecture and important historic fort. Since there are so few visitors after the ferry's leave, the rangers were happy to talk about life on the island and the challenges they face to keep the park safe and accessible. Again, more on that in a later entry.

For this post, I chose pictures to try to give you an appreciation of the size of the fort so you can understand how unique it is to be in a fort that size in the middle of the Gulf. I also included a picture of our camp site.

Due to the fact we took over 100 pictures but the blog only allows me to post 5 at a time, I will create two more entries regarding this trip.

Fort Jefferson and the Dry Tortugas

The Dry Tortugas National Park is one of the most remote parks in the national park system. The park is 70 miles from Key West and is now only accessible by private boat or one of the two ferries that visit the park daily from Key West. Until the end of 2008, sea planes were also able to visit the park. We were fortunate enough to visit the park by sea plane on our first trip to Key West. On this trip we took a ferry to the fort and camped out overnight.

The most fascinating reason to visit the Dry Tortugas National Park is to see Fort Jefferson. Construction on the fort started in 1846 and went on for 30 years. Although the fort was never completed, it was complete enough to use as a prison during the Civil War. The most famous prisoner at the fort was Dr. Samuel Mudd who was convicted for conspiracy in the assassination of President Lincoln. His crime in the assassination was setting the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth.

It is pretty amazing to see a brick fort in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico, especially a fort covering a 10 acre island, built from 16 million bricks, and surrounded by a moat wall. This place is so special, it will require more than one post on the blog. This post will be the appetizer for more to come.

For more info on the park, visit the following link:

http://www.nps.gov/drto

Key West

Our first trip to Key West was in the early 90's. This is actually our 3rd trip. The biggest difference from our first trip to now is the cruise ships. Cruise ships now arrive every day and let off thousands of passengers. The cruise ships have made Key West a different place. I am glad I went to Key West before the cruise ships decided to stop in Key West.

Even with the cruise ships, Key West is a magical place. The drive from Miami to Key West is amazing....turquoise water, lots of bridges (including one which is 7 miles long). Once you get to Key West, you find a quaint little town with some beautiful architecture.

One thing that has improved since our first trip is the condition of the Southern Most House. The first time we were in Key West, the house was falling apart. From looking at this dilapidated home, you could tell it was once glorious. We bought a water color print of the home which now hangs above our bed at home. Luckily the artist was able to create a vision of what the house should have looked like. Now the house has been restored to its former glory.

The pictures posted include the restored Southern Most House restored to its original pink and turquoise glory. I have also include a picture of our historic lodging at the light house....and of course a sunset photo.

Airboat ride in Big Cypress Swamp

On the way from the gulf to the keys, we stopped at an Indian reservation to take an airboat ride. Billie Swamp Safari is run by the Seminole Indian Tribe. They offer Airboat and Swamp Buggie tours along with several other attractions such as Aligator Wrestling. We skipped all the attractions except the airboat ride. The ride through Big Cypress Swamp was quite a show of nature. On the tour we saw gator's, turtles, racoons, wild boar, and many varieties of birds.