Trip to Egmont Key, FL

Just outside of Tampa Bay on the Gulf of Mexico lies Egmont Key.  Many years ago I sailed by it, but I'd never set foot on it.  ML and I made an aborted attempt a couple years ago when we took the 14 foot sailboat to Ft Desoto, but we picked a day without one breath of wind.  After rowing and broiling in the sun for an hour and a half, we rowed back an hour and a half and loaded up and went home. 


But this time we rented a little motorboat from Tierra Verde Boat Rentals with our friends, George and Francis.  Laura went too.  The boat rental ran us about $300, but was seamless and cheap when you compare it to owning a boat!

First stop was a snorkeling reef on the southwest side of the island.  My 25 year old mask didn't even tear and it was great to see a variety of fish and coral.  The water was a perfect temperature and clear to look through.  These "rocks" are really a remnant of an old gun battery used to protect Tampa Bay.

For awhile, there was a town of 300 inhabitants that manned the fort.  Here is a street that, in its heydey, had houses on both sides.

Now the lighthouse, which is still operating, is a Florida State Park.

I liked this picture with the colored sail behind the "battlements."

Concrete bunkers faced the ocean with munition storage rooms behind.

The island has an interesting history.

The southern end of the key is a bird sanctuary.  All I can tell you is there are lots of birds there: terns, brown pelicans nesting, frigate birds - you name it.  Other than that, there is sand, sun, and water to enjoy.  Next stop west?  Mexico.