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HoustonChronicle @HoustonChron Houston Chronicle | Sunday, May1,2016 |HoustonChronicle.com and Chron.com Section L xx

ISLAND ADVENTURE West of KeyWest Exploring remote tropical paradise of Dry TortugasNational Park

By SusanL.Ebert along with itsintriguing history, has impelled me to devote aday peer overpilot Gary of my Florida Keys excursion to Bouchard’s shoulder as exploring Garden Key, the largest the turbine engine surges of the sevenDry Tortugas islands smoothlytolifeand the and the site of the massive,lore- Inose propeller becomes a rich Fort Jefferson. Here,I’llpay near-invisible blur.I’m wearing S.L.Ebert homage to the 100th anniversary my swimsuitunder my clothes The 70-mile trip from Key of the National ParksService and and have stashed my rented West to Fort Jefferson takes 40 work my waynorth to KeyLargo snorkelgear in the cargo hold. minutes by seaplane. before hightailing it to Miami for Like the other sevenpassengers, aflight home. Ihaveawindow seatand unob- the United States, DryTortugas As we cruise toward our des- structed view on thehigh-wing National Park. tination at an altitudeofamere float-equipped plane as it taxis to Amongthe nation’s 407 500 feet, scores of sea turtles the runway at KeyWestInterna- national parks,onlysix others — seemingly floatthroughthe air, tional Airport and, after ashort three in Alaska, and one each in suspended in the crystalline wa- take-off run, becomes airborne. Michigan, Washington and the ters beneath us, their undulating Forty minutes from now, we will TerritoryofAmerican Samoa shadow-selvesonthe underwater splash down 70 mileswestin —havefewer visitors than Dry sand dunes in pursuit. Icount the azure Caribbean Sea, in the Tortugas. Itsreputation for spec- more than 100 before becoming southernmostnational parkin tacular birding and snorkeling, Park continuesonL4

Andy Newman /Florida Keys News Bureau Fort Jefferson takes up nearly all of Garden Key, one of the seven keys comprising the Dry Tortugas. Built in 1846 to protect the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico from foreign countries and pirates, it remains the largest masonry edifice in the Western Hemisphere.

Houston designer creates her dream home in the country

Farmhousestyle interior designer for Mark W. city and countrycan be spotted Todd Architects. Sheand her in everyroom. Thekitchen mixes rustic details husband, Will Prestridge, a sink is farmhouse style, but with modern touches Houstonfirefighter,boughtthe it’s made of stainless steel. property fiveorsix years before Thekitchen backsplashand By Alyson Ward they started building.While shower wallsare coveredwith they rented ahouse with traditional whiteglass On atwo-lane roadoffTexas their twodaughters, subwaytile —but it’s laid 105, Lauren Prestridgehas built now9and 6, Prestridge HOME straight,not in brick the house of her dreams. drewthe plans, adding DESIGN formation, to look more Thecharcoal-graytwo-story in everydetailshe’d contemporary. in Cleveland, whichPrestridge ever wanted ahouse to Thehomehas three designed insideand out, is full have. bedrooms and 2,170 of contrasts. It’s amodern-day “Because it wasthe square feet of living space. farmhousethatoffers amix of country, Ineededittobea “Wewanted it to be industrial details and charming farmhouse,”Prestridgesays, comfortable but still small,” she antiques, cozy corners and butshe also wanted modern says.“We didn’t want anything wide-open spaces. touches and an “urban vibe” big thatwecouldn’t takecare of Brett Coomer /Houston Chronicle “I hadbeen dreaming mixed in with the homey once the kids are gone.” Lauren Prestridge designed and decoratedher family’smodern aboutthis place forever,” details. Shedidn’t wastespace farmhouse in Cleveland. says Prestridge, the principal That mix of newand old, FarmhousecontinuesonL5 L4 | Sunday, May1,2016 | Houston Chronicle | HoustonChronicle.com and chron.com xx ESCAPES Park is agift to historybuffs, birders, more

Park from page L1 If yougo distracted as the pilot GETTING THERE directs our attention to Current nonstopairfares the Quicksands, where run less than $200 round treasure hunter Mel trip foreitherSouthwest Fisher discoveredthe AirlinesfromHoustonHob- Nuestra Señora de Atocha by Airport to Fort Lauder- and the Margarita —two daleorAmerican Airlines shipwreckedSpanish from Bush Intercontinental galleons —and where to Miami International. You it’s rumored thatmore canflyintoKey West,but than $500 millioningold, you’ll want acar anyway, silverand jewels still so whynot drivedown remains strewn across an and enjoythe scenery? 8-mile area. Themastof OnceinKey West,takethe Fisher’s work vessel, the ferry ($175;2hoursand 15 Arbutus, whichalso sank minutes each way) or a here,juts from the surface seaplane ($317; 40 minutes and servesasasignpost each way) to reachDry to the site. TortugasNational Park. Back to the turtles: In 1513, Ponce de León MORE INFO designated these seven Yankee Freedom Dry coral atolls Las Tortugas TortugasFerry: 305-294- (the turtles) in recogni- 7009;drytortugas.com tion of the plenitudeof KeyWestSeaplane these charming creatures, Charters: 305-293-9300; thought by ancientsailors S.L.Ebert photos keywestseaplanecharters. to be totems of hope and The nevercompletedFort Jefferson became aprison duringthe Civil Wartohouse Union deserters. Dr. com longevity. (Myguess: Be- SamuelMudd, convicted of conspiringinthe assassination of AbrahamLincoln, also wasincarceratedhere. cause turtles are reptiles thatlay eggs on land, a 60 mi. abit aheadofthat, and clownfishand neon-yel- sighting of manyturtles 75 as luck has it,the narrow lowsmallmouth grunts 41 Miami meantland wasnearand Gulff Off Mexico channel between Garden —and those are onlythe gave sailors hope that Keyand Bush Keyhas ones Ican identify among DryTortugas 1 they’dliveanother day.) NationalPark sanded in, so Ican walk the seemingly endless KeyLargo Five species (loggerheads, S over. species —dart among the Y Islamorada E green turtles, leather- K As Istroll barefoot corals, their neon arrays DA KeyKey RI backs,hawksbills and FLO down the shoreline, of lightand darkserving West Kemp’s ridleys) reside Atlantic Ocean tight-packed schools of as camouflage againstthe within the park’snearly Garden Key permitdart throughthe living corals shimmer- 100 square miles, fewer shallows,shattering the ing in the refracted light. than 40 acres of whichare Bush Key surfaceasthey scat- Ifloatnearly weightless land. “Dry” wasadded Long Key ter to avoidstreaking justbeneath the surface, later to warn sailors of the Fort Jefferson tarpon in hot pursuit. entrancedbytheir seem- ¼mile lack of freshwater. Brown pelicans dive into ingly endless variety of Chronicle the schooling fishfrom electric colors, vivid pat- Fort lore above,lumbering off with terns and elegantshapes. Bouchard eases back the heavilyfortified beakfuls of wriggling fish. Surfacing, Isee afellow on the throttle as we entryway. ElegantAmerican avocets passenger waving atowel approach Garden Key, Begun in 1846, con- To campovernight at Dry Tortugas National Park, cutscythelikeswashes from the beach,motion- circling the island once struction faltered at the plan ahead: The parkservice allows threetents at a thoughthe shallows with ing thatBouchard’s ready so Icatch abreathtaking outbreak of the Civil War, time and eachfor amaximum of threedays. their distinctive long forustoboard the aircraft aerial viewofthe mon- when building materi- upturned beaks, while forthe flight back to Key strous, ancientFort Jef- als became increasingly around the clocktosave ing us day-trippers onto ruddyturnstones and West. ferson —still the largest scarce.Atits peak,1,729 livesofofficers,ldiers so the sugar-sand expanse. plovers peckamong the As Idashfor the plane, masonrystructure in the troops once garrisoned and the 52 remaining While the other pas- dunes. Icastanenvious glance Western Hemisphere.A here,plusthe families of prisoners. Throughhis sengers walk left toward AlthoughLongKey, at the campers in their hard-earned lesson from some officers;weve ho r, tirelessexertions, only the fort, I’mdrawn to the third atoll, is off limits colorful tents. Thepark the Warof1812 taught the they neverengagedin 38 of the 270stricken theright by the spectacle year round, Iperchatop limits overnight camping youthful United States battle. men died. Twohundred- of hundreds of magnifi- adune at the end on Bush to onlythree tents and thatwhomevercontrolled During the Civil War, ninety-nine officers and centfrigatebirds —with Keyand sitrapt, elbows justthree consecutive the DryTortugascon- Fort Jefferson became soldiers signed apetition wingspans of 7to8feet— on knees for stability nights—an experience trolled the entire Gulf the prison of exile for the initiated by Lt. Edmund wheeling and diving over and binoculars pressed worthweighing for my of Mexico,asthe only nation’s mostheinous Zalinkski, whowrote, Long Key. to my face,glassingthe next visit. This time,I waters deep enoughto criminals. “Heinspired the hope- sooty terns, roseate terns, have aschedule to keep be navigable throughthe Undoubtedly, the most less with courage, and by Birdingbounty brown noddies and mag- and more Keyadventures mouth of the Gulf passed notorious of the prison- his constantpresence in Birders often identify nificentfrigatebirds that planned, so Iclamber within cannon rangeof ers incarcerated here the midstofdanger and more than 70 birds in flitamongst the man- aboard, sodden, sandy Garden Key. wasDr. Samuel Mudd, infection, regardless of aday here; in fact, 299 groves. and satisfied. Determined to protect aMaryland physician his ownlife,tranquillized species of birds have been Thefloatplane plows thatnarrowpassage from whowas acquainted —to the fearful and despond- sighted in theDry Tortu- Marine reverie throughthe water and both foreign countries what extent is still hotly ing.Manyherewho have gas to date,including such After exploring the becomes airborne. and pirates, the U.S. debated among scholars experienced his kind and rarities as black noddies, fort —and even walk- Bouchard dips the left government sentmasons, —withLincoln’s assassin, judicious treatmentcan white-tailed tropicbirds ing along the parapets wing,and the craft banks slavelaborers, oh, and John Wilkes Booth. Booth neverrepayhim.” and red-neckedphala- crowning the edifice —I to the northeast. My nose about16million or so sought aid for abroken Althoughhis efforts at ropes, as well as brown, donmaskand snorkelfor pressed to the glass, I bricks overfrom the legincurred during the Fort Jefferson earned him masked, blue-footed and aplungeinthe aquama- watchthis singularly idyl- continental U.S. The assassination from the apardon from President red-footedboobies. rine expanse behind the lic treasure of anational imposing hexagonal 31-year-old doctor he’d AndrewJackson in 1869, Spring’s considered the campground. As brilliant- parkslowlyrecedefrom structure has two metahandful of times; to this day, he’s not been optimum time,but then ly toned as the myriad sight, then vanishintothe thousand casemates Mudd’s settingofthatleg absolvedofthe original again, Bush Key’sclosed kaleidoscope-patterned seamless horizon of azure (archedports to hold earned him alifesen- conspiracy charges, and during thenesting season reef fishappeared from seaand sky. cannons)arranged in tence for conspiracy and his name is still, well … from Marchthrough above the surface, they’re three tiers, encircled by aone-way tickettoFort Mudd. September,asitholds a even more stunning Houston-basedSusan L. amoattokeep enemy Jefferson. Theplane’s floats slip breeding colonyof80,000 when viewedunderwater. Ebertisthe author of “The shipsfrom accessing the Whilethere,amalaria into the glassysea, and sooty terns —the species’ Queen angelfish, empress FieldtoTable Cookbook,” casements. Adrawbridge outbreak struck Fort Jef- Bouchard eases the craft onlymajor nesting site in angelfish, grayangelfish, published by Rizzoli in leads to the “sallyport,” ferson, and Mudd toiled onto thebeach,disgorg- the continental U.S. I’m butterflyfish, parrotfish, April.

GUIDE shaded by tropical foliage and funkydécor.Stroll down to the seaport for lunchordinner, Hopping the Florida Keys where ConchRepublic Seafood Co.’sbeenserving fresh-caught To visitremote DryTortu- square miles of coral reefs, seafood since the 1890s, in a gas National Park,visitors go seagrass beds and mangrove casual atmosphere with live throughKey West.And for swamps in whichyou can scuba music mostnights. Forelegant those whomakethe roadtrip dive,snorkel, kayakand tour dining,ferry overtoLatitudes from Miami, there is plenty to by glass-bottomed boat. More at Sunset Keyfor chef Todd seeand do along the way. than 6,000 species of marine Holender’s exquisite classical life have been catalogued in takes on local seafood and KeyLargo the sanctuary, whichalso tropical fruits, servedonapatio WHERE TO STAY:Tuckedinto protects shipwrecks and other with KeyWestshimmering acoconut grove on Tavernier archeologicallysignificantsites. across the water.AtStock Key, the 18-room CoconutInn Island marina, HogfishBar and (coconutpalminn.com)radiates Islamorada Grill’s killer hogfishsandwich the barefoot eleganceofa WHERE TO STAY:Cheeca features flaky, delicate fresh- well-tended, multigenerational Lodge(cheeca.com), afavorite S.L.Ebert speared hogfishonCuban familybeach house with ahip of PresidentGeorge H.W. Bush, ErnestHemingway’s home in KeyWestdisplays thetypewriter bread, smothered in Swiss eco-conscious flair.Smack-dab Jack Parr and Paul Newman, on which“The OldMan and theSea”was broughttolife. cheese,onions and mushrooms. between Islamorada and Key celebrates its70th anniversary WHATTODO:Touring Largo,it’sreplete with amarina, this year.The newmain lodge willdeftly grill, fry, blacken or KeyWest Hemingway’s stately, well-kept pool,gardens, 400-foot beach sports four first-rate eateries broil it to perfection. WHERE TO STAY:The Chelsea grounds and mansion ranks and Hatteras-style hammocks. (seafood, Italian, sushiand WHATTODO:Fishing is HouseHotel is one of ahalf- as aKey West must-do —don’t WHERE TO EAT:Whether poolsidetiki). Tropical gardens, the name of the game in dozencharmingboutique miss feeding supplied treats youchoose smoked, jerked, a525-foot fishing pier,1,100-foot Islamorada, whichlong ago hotels in the OldTownarea to the six-toed cats lounging blackened or Matecumbe-style palm-lined privatebeach,six earned itschops as the sport- and justashortstroll from poolside. Amongmyfavorites with Spanishonion, capers, tennis courts, Jack Nicklaus- fishing capital of the world. the ErnestHemingway of the countless shopsin shallots, tomato and lemon, designed nine-hole golf course, Fish the Florida Baytothe Home and Museum.Any MallorySquare are the Shell the catchofthe dayatthe Fish spa, twoheated swimming west.Fishthe Atlantic Ocean to one of these historic inns Warehouse in AsaTift’s19th- House really wascaughtthat pools and asaltwater lagoon theeast. Fish in the mangrove (historickeywestinns.com) centuryicehouse and the Key day. Or,gostraighttothe source, addtothe place’s allure. tunnelsand backcountryflats is within walkingdistance West SpongeMarket(OK,and seafood purveyorKey Largo WHERE TO EAT:Dine on one of that dividethem.Fishout of Bud of at least100 restaurants. A Kermit’sKey Lime Shop;you Fisheries, and chompdownona the Keys’onlynatural beaches NMary’sMarina, theoldest 20-minute walk gets youto can burn off the ’spie calories KeyLargo spinylobster BLTin at Marker 88 Restaurant; chef andlargest recreational fishing MallorySquare to watchthe with the 88-step climbtothe the backyard café. BobbyStokyhelped makethe fleetinthe Keys with morethan sunset, after whichyou can toss top of the KeyWestlighthouse WHATTODO:Key Largo ranks Keys’seafood cuisine legendary. 40 first-class fishingcaptains acoininthe giantgrouper’s later). To catchthe famous Key as the No. 1divespotinthe Or hop overtothe Green and guides. Ifished with Native mouth outsideCaptain Tony’s West sunset, Danger Charters’ Keys.The FloridaKeysNational Turtle Inn, alocal icon for ConchCharters’ TimmyArce (siteofthe original Sloppy Joe’s, fun staff ably crewahistoric Marine Sanctuaryand the nearly 70 years. If youfish out withresoundingsuccess, Papa’sfavoritewatering hole.) schooner on aWind &Wine adjacentJohn PennekampCoral of BudNMary’sMarina, carry catchingmangrove snapper, WHERE TO EAT:Icould eat cruise while dishing out wine, Reef StateParkencompass your prize next door to Lazy Spanish mackerel, snook, breakfastevery dayinBlue craft beer and hors d’oeuvres. more than 3,000 nautical Days,where chef Lupe Ledesma redfish, wahoo andhogfish. Heaven’s outdoor courtyard, SusanL.Ebert