February 9, 2014
From the day we arrived in central
Florida, Pam and Tom have been talking about Ponce Inlet.
"It is their favorite fishing
spot", "The jetties are beautiful", "the light house is the tallest in
Florida", and other statements like that. This weekend we made
them "prove it".
Our first stop was at the Ponce de
Leon lighthouse.
Now for those of you who think I am
overdoing the lighthouse thing, you need to understand that Jo ranks
lighthouses right up there with quilting and chocolate. She has a
passion to learn the history of lighthouses, and has even had a
collection of ceramic lighthouse pieces over the years. Now she is
really enjoying visiting the places she has studied about. She likes
to climb the ones she can, and, of course, she takes hundreds of
pictures of lighthouses. I encourage it, because I enjoy watching how
happy she gets when she actually sees the lighthouses.
And too, I have
become a lot more interested, as I see the actual structures.
It is
interesting to imagine what it was like to work in a lighthouse
setting, and to accept the responsibility to mariners during those
times. (And what it must have been like to get to the top and
remember you forgot something). Of course, lighthouses for the most
part, have become relics of history with the advent of sophisticated
sonar and GPS systems that mariners use today. However, during the
times of their use, the lighthouse often meant life or death to those
who used them to navigate treacherous waters.
The Ponce de Leon light is indeed an
impressive structure. Made with 1.25 million bricks, it is 32 feet
across at the base tapering to 12 feet at the top of it's 175 foot
height. The grounds have been made into a very nice visitors area
with the lighthouse in the center and buildings you can tour that
were the homes and workshops for the light keeper, and assistants.
Nice displays
tell the story of the lighthouse in times past.
From the lighthouse, we drove a short
distance to another parking area near the inlet where we had a very
nice stroll out along the jetty, observing the breaking surf on the
rocks. It was also nice to watch the activity of boats and people
fishing along the jetty.
Ponce Inlet Jetty
A section of beach has been opened to
dog traffic where you can walk and play on the beach with your pet.
Another section is open to auto traffic where you can park right on
the beach.
At one point during our stroll, we saw a pelican land on
the side of a boat, much to the surprise of it's occupants.
Is it lunch time yet ?
Thanks to Pam and Tom for showing us
Ponce Inlet. Their statements have proven true. Ponce Inlet is an
extremely scenic place with relaxing palm groves around picnic
tables, easy walking paths along the jetty and inlet, and of course
the lighthouse.
While we did not come prepared to check out the
fishing, they did show us their favorite fishing spot,
but....shhh...., we will keep its location a secret.
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