Everglades National Park, Florida

At the southern tip of Florida is the third largest American national park: the Everglades. We spent several days investigating the area. We went on boat trips to explore the mangrove swamps of the Everglades. There are many types of mangrove trees, some sending shoots up from the bottom, and others sending branches down into the water to take root on their own. We also went on a 15-mile bike ride to get right into the Everglades. Hiking the boardwalks also gave us some excellent views of wading birds (blue and white herons, egrets, ibises, anhingas, etc), turtles, and of course the ever-present alligator. Camping at Long Pines campground was very peaceful, and we also saw some beautiful sunsets in the Everglades. It's a gorgeous place.

Bahia Honda State Park, Florida Keys

About 30 miles back from Key West, we stayed at Bahia Honda State Park, whose beaches were voted as the best in the USA in 1992. Unfortunately the windy conditions obscured the snorkeling for us, but we had fun camping on the beach-front and investigating the park’s other wonders. We discovered the history of the Overseas Railroad which was built by Henry Flaglar in the early 1900s. He believed that Key West’s deep port was an excellent location for importing goods, especially those coming through the newly-constructed Panama Canal. So, he built a railroad from southern Florida all the way down the Keys (about 125 miles). When travelling down the keys now, we saw evidence of the bridges used for this railroad, and indeed, one of these old bridges is a famous landmark at Bahia Honda. It was on the pilings of the old bridge that we saw a 4-foot long bright green iguana. Bahia Honda also has small a colony of an endangered butterfly called the Miami Blue. We saw a few of these butterflies (or what looked like them) flying around. The Nature Center and the rangers at Bahia Honda were a wealth of information, and helped to make our visit a wonderful experience.

Dry Tortugas, Florida Keys

From Disney World we travelled south to the end of the Florida Keys at Key West. That is where we caught the catamaran boat to take us to Dry Tortugas National Park. The Dry Tortugas is a collection of small keys 70 miles west of Key West. The main key/island is almost completely covered by an old fortress named Fort Jefferson. It was used as a POW prison during the American Civil War; probably its most famous inmate was Dr. Samuel Mudd, the doctor who set the broken leg of John Wilkes Booth shortly after that man assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.

Once we arrived at the site, we took a tour of the fort, which was very interesting. Since the Dry Tortugas keys have no fresh water to drink, the fort was designed to collect rain water in cisterns; unfortunately the weight of the fort (due to the more than 16 million bricks used in its construction) caused the cisterns to crack, leaving only 7 of the 109 cisterns able to hold the fresh water needed.

We also saw evidence of some modern history-in-the –making when the guide showed us a “chug”; this was a make-shift boat used by Cubans to get to American soil. Apparently if the Cubans can get onto American soil, they are allowed to stay in the USA. If the Coast Guard picks them up in the water, they are returned to Cuba, 90 miles south. (The "chug" is seen behind the Ritchies, on the beach.)

Even with my passion being history, probably the biggest thrill for the entire family was going snorkeling in the aqua-marine colored water that surrounded Fort Jefferson. It was our first real experience with the snorkels, and we all enjoyed seeing the incredible sea-life: colorful fish of various sizes, coral, sea fans, etc. When Allan strayed off by himself, he even encountered a menacing-looking barracuda and also a Portuguese Man o’ War jellyfish.

Our trip to Dry Tortugas National Park was capped off by a thrilling trip home. The catamaran boat bucked the 8-foot waves like a bucking bronco. So, the 2+ hour trip seemed to take a lot longer, especially for the poor people hanging over the edge getting sick. The Ritchie family faired very well, with no one feeling any adverse effects.

It all made for an extremely memorable day!

Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground, Disney World

During our 10-month tour around North America we called Fort Wilderness our ‘home’ for 6 weeks. Yes, it was our home-base for visiting the Disney theme parks. However it became home to us in more ways as well. Fort Wilderness has a children’s sports program; the boys played lots of football, dodgeball, kickball, volleyball, wiffle ball, capture the flag, and ultimate frisbee. Elise liked the crafts sessions better. And the entire family took part in the Pool Parties that happened several times a week; pool parties consist of hula-hoop contests, limbo competitions, ‘musical dots’ (somewhat like musical chairs), and dancing events. Morgan won the most prizes in these fun pool parties. Of course, our family spent hours at the pool too, having fun, practicing swimming techniques, doing aquacise, and learning to use our snorkels. Biking was also one of our favorite pass-times, riding around the forests and the lakes of the campground. Another pass-time which we started to become quite good at was shuffleboard; it’s not only for old folks. Fort Wilderness is the home of the Tri-circle-D barns and petting zoo; we liked watching the cast-members preparing the big horses for their wagons and carriages. Fort Wilderness is located on a lake across which we took the boat to go to the Magic Kingdom; but the white-sand beach and the Spanish moss-covered trees made the lake-front very romantic. In addition, every night Fort Wilderness has a campfire sing-along, followed by a Disney film shown at the outdoor theater; this was a favorite for us all. We were amazed at how quickly our time at Fort Wilderness slipped by, and will remember it as our Florida home.

Murray Visit to Florida

Once our 10-day Disney tickets were used up, we welcomed a visit from my parents, who live in Edmonton, Alberta. Their visit lasted only 5 days, but it was so nice to see family after our 5 months away from home. We took Grandma and Grandpa out to Cape Canaveral where we toured the Kennedy Space Center. We actually saw a Space Shuttle (or at least its fuel tanks) standing up at the launch pad; it was due to be launched in January, 2008. Dave and Pearl enjoyed relaxing by the swimming pool, as the weather stayed around 80-85 degrees F. during their stay. We did some exploring around the Disney properties: the resorts, transportation, restaurants, stores, and the beach. We also watched the ‘electric water parade’ which sails by Fort Wilderness every night. It was a very special time sharing this special place with such special people.