Constructing Fort Jefferson didn’t just take 16 million bricks; it took a massive amount of manpower. In addition to the Army Corps of Engineers, labor in the form of Irish immigrants from the north and slaves from Key West were brought in to complete the project. But despite decades of…

In the skies overhead, magnificent frigatebirds soar lazily along in the Florida Current above the group of islands known as the Dry Tortugas. Weighing only 3 pounds, but wielding impressive 6-foot wingspans, these birds hunt their own food. They aren’t just looking for prey; they’re carefully watching other birds. When…

The gentle breeze of the Florida Current and the quiet waves lapping the white sand beaches of this lonely stretch of islands known as the Dry Tortugas are a sharp juxtaposition to the domineering structure of Fort Jefferson. Seventy miles west of Key West, Florida, and 120 miles north of…

If you want something, ask for it! — I set an income goal for myself last year and barely made it halfway. Some of this was because of projects I accepted, and some of it was because of poor boundaries and low value of myself. So when December rolled around, and the final dollar count for the year…

Revisiting your resolutions — If you’re like most Americans you started the year off with a laundry list of things you’d like to improve about yourself. This year you were going to lose 20 pounds, write a novel, snag that promotion, and run your first 5k. And, along with most other Americans, those resolutions…

And someone else’s, too — I walked up to the checkout line with a handful of items for dinner, pleased that only one person stood in front of me. …

Tis the season, or something — Christmas break. Two words that strike terror in the heart of parents everywhere. Two weeks of children at home in the middle of winter while the wind howls outside, company comes and goes, presents are unwrapped and in various stages of being assembled, and siblings argue over who ate the…

Spending without budgeting doesn’t have to hurt your relationship — Money can be a tender subject. We all have our own ideas about money — how it should be spent or saved, which items receive a top spending priority, and how much (or if!) we’re willing to go into debt to buy the things we want. Money is one of…

My dog cared for my cat in his final years, and I didn’t even know — Our dog Penny is a people dog. She’s not the kind of people dog who wants to sit on my lap or be constantly touching me, though. She’s the kind of people dog who simply wants to be in the same room with me. Whether she’s sprawled on the floor…