W^2 – inspired

W^2 or W squared for Wordless Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Inside Fort Zachary Taylor – Key West, Florida. Tuesday, March 29, 2022 3:46 PM

This week for my W^2 post, I have Fort Zachary Taylor and a quick post inspired by an innkeeper in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

My wife and I are on spring break with another couple. It’s our first BIG trip (not counting a visit to the lake house) alone, without children, since my brother’s wedding in the summer of 1997. Yesterday we drove west to Key West or Cayo Hueso which means in Spanish ‘bone island.’ It was a good day.

We parked the car at 9:30 AM and left after the sunset in Mallory Square. In between we packed the day with all sorts of things. We had fun, we enjoyed the sun, and there were a few things we left undone. My friend Jansen (aka Patricia) pointed out there is never enough time. But, while time is finite, we do our best to make those moments count, every last one of them.

One of the things we fit into our day was a trip to Fort Zachary Taylor which guarded the entrance to the harbor. It was part of America’s coastal defense system of the nineteenth century and constructed of brick and mortar.  I find it an interesting parallel that brick and mortar was old technology for military fortifications by the late nineteenth century and today, we are watching brick and mortar being eased out of date in the twenty-first century.

Yesterday, I crossed one thing off my ‘bucket list’ and it was an a amazing day. I know today is gonna follow in its footsteps. I know it and I can feel it, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, making the most of every day, all the time, or at least trying.

What is one thing you wanted to do on a vacation or trip that made your trip whole?

6 thoughts on “W^2 – inspired

  1. I love photos like this at old forts. I have some myself! I love the repetition and patterns. We have never made it down to Key West. We planned to and then….covid. Someday we’ll get there. There is a similar fort up in Maine and for a moment, looking at your image I thought that was where you were! But I think all forts of that vintage probably photograph similarly. Have a wonderful rest of your trip!!

    1. Dawn, thank you for stopping in. I visited Fort Jefferson on Dry Tortugas National Park with our daughter in ‘17 and the two are similar in design. A lot of brick and labor went into the construction. I saw a photograph of Fort Sumter at the entrance to Charleston harbor and all three have a similar look. I loved the symmetry of the shot and I was inspired by my blogging friend to spend some time in Key West and the fort in particular. There is always so much to see and time is finite. We come home tomorrow and we are bringing home warmth with us. Ha! Keep making your days count. Peace.

    1. Yes indeed it is imposing and for the most part untested. The fort was used from the Civil War until the Cold War as a radar instillation during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. My hope for the world is that when money is spent on defense it is never used. I believe you touched on that with your post yesterday about day 6 and where it all started to wrong. As for our time away, it’d going well and we are sending postcards home. Take care and Peace.

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