In this post we’ll finish up our road trip and return home to Wisconsin. It was an abrupt ending – much different than the relaxing week in St. Augustine and the vacation with our kids and grandkids that we had planned in Williamsburg, but we are not a family of quitters. We are trying again next year.

Click on the first photo in each group and scroll to see the square photos at full size.
To start at the beginning of this series, visit Dodging the Deep Freeze 2020.

USAF Restricted Entry

This morning we left Weston and visited the beautiful Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse in The Great Escape. Since we were traveling along the Space Coast, our goal was to see Port Canaveral Lighthouse on our way through. We were on the coastal route (A1A) and entered an area that was restricted by the United States Air Force. When we inquired with the gentleman at the gate, he made sure we turned around, but offered no alternative route by which we could see the lighthouse. Assuming it was now closed, we continued our way north.

In doing the research for this blog, we found that it IS still open and offers tours! Visit the link above for information on tours.

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse & Museum

It’s unusual to see a red masonry lighthouse – let alone two in a row (also Jupiter Inlet)! At 175 feet high, Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest lighthouse in the state and the second tallest masonry lighthouse in the U.S. It is one of the best preserved and most authentic historic light stations in the nation.

All of the original structures are here to be explored – and there are quite a few! Since we didn’t have nearly enough time to see it all, we decided to get a few pictures and return on another day. Clearly an entire afternoon should have been allotted to see all there is to see here.

“Step back in time and climb 175 feet of fun in the Florida sun at the Ponce Inlet Light Station and Museum! Constructed in 1887, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse has guided mariners along the Florida coast for more than 130 years. Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1998, this world-famous lighthouse museum is conveniently located ten miles south of Daytona on the World’s Most Famous Beach and offers a treasure trove of experiences for young and old alike. Not to be missed, a visit to the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is guaranteed to take your Florida vacation to new heights of adventure!” – READ MORE

Ormond Beach

A scheduling blunder was solved with a bonus night at Casa del Mar in Ormond Beach. Although our one night stay cost us two night’s pay, it was still cheaper than any hotel we could have found last minute – on the last Saturday of Bike Week! This was the only blunder in two nine-week road trips, so that’s not too shabby. Where is some wood I can knock on?

Yet another Change of Plans

We checked in, unloaded the car and walked across the street and down just a bit for a drink and some dinner at the Tipsy Taco Cantina. It was pretty packed and once we got home and the Coronavirus numbers were growing, I was a little concerned about this stop. Our only saving grace was that – since it was pretty packed – the turnover was very low. We sat at the bar for quite a while and enjoyed a margarita (or three) and had a great dinner.

Some time that evening, we decided we would not cancel our last stop in St. Augustine after all. We had always heard wonderful things about the resort there, but have never been. There is lots to see and do in the historic district in St. Augustine and, although the resort is a good twenty minutes to the action, if it’s as fabulous as I’ve heard, we would be OK with that. Spoiler alert: it was!

The next morning we drove the coastal route to get more ocean views. For quite a while we were following an old hot rod with a coat of primer in lieu of paint, and the driver and at least two dogs were not in any hurry. We settled in for an enjoyable ride up the Atlantic coast. We sure didn’t make good time on this trip, but it sure was relaxing.

St. Augustine

We saw a billboard for Redfrog & McToad’s Grub & Pub that looked intriguing. We were pretty hungry and hadn’t stopped till now because all along the way, restaurant parking lots were full of motorcycles making their way home after a busy week. Our waitress said they were only serving breakfast for another ten minutes, so we quickly made our choice and settled in.

Since we’ve been back home, we checked out their full menu and realized that we missed an opportunity! Growing up with Iowa tenderloins as big as your head and nowhere to get good ones in Wisconsin, this sounds like the place for us! Next year when we come back, we’ll give one a try!

St. Augustine Lighthouse

We came into St. Augustine from the south on A1A, and oohed and aahed at all the sites we’d be seeing over the next week. We decided to visit the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum on our way through today and were immediately impressed. Beautiful diagonal black and white stripes decorate this lighthouse in a more traditional way than the red ones we saw earlier in the day, although they did add a splash of bright red on the observation deck and lantern room – which was pretty beautiful.

Keeper’s House

We came onto the grounds in a central area – the back yard of the keeper’s house, so we decided to check that out first. It was gorgeous on the outside with bright white railings all around. The interior rooms were decorated beautifully in the style of the late 1880s. “At Home with the Harns” is an interactive display that tells a story of each family member. There you could read about what life was like for the light keeper’s family in St. Augustine at that time.

Another interactive exhibition was down the spiral staircase to the basement. WRECKED! tells of St. Augustine’s ties to the Revolutionary War with a display of some artifacts from a 1782 British loyalist shipwreck. You can also learn how underwater archaeologists locate historic shipwrecks on the ocean floor, which was very interesting.

USCG Memorial Bell

The keeper’s house is in fabulous condition and the grounds are impeccable. As we came out of the front door facing the street, the front porch and yard were just beautiful – with that old southern charm. The “United States Coast Guard Memorial Bell” was recently restored and is “the crown jewel” of the museum.

“This bell is connected to our lighthouse family and our beginnings in so many different ways. It is important to us because it reminds us of sacrifice and that giving back is at the center of the museum’s mission. It touches our heart and those of our visitors.” ~ Kathy Fleming, executive director of the First Light Maritime Society, which runs the lighthouse and museum.

“Try your hand at Toting the Oil”

Next up was the oil room, the keeper’s office and the tower. In the oil room were several storage tanks and the display below where you can “Try your hand at Toting the Oil”. Can you imagine carrying this five-gallon bucket weighing about thirty pounds, filled with HOT oil up 219 stairs several times a day? I get tired just thinking about getting myself up 219 stairs! He also had to wind the clockworks, to rotate the lens every two and a half hours. They had a tough job saving ships from demise on their coastlines, and their families had to step in where needed.

Days Gone By

Lighthouses serve as a reminder of days gone by. They each have a story of the dedication of their keepers and their families, and their detailed records offer a snapshot into a certain point in history. Most are beautiful, with fantastic views – perched high on some craggy coastline or jetting way out into the sea. I love that so many are being restored and maintained, and that visitors will be able to enjoy their charm and hear their stories for many years to come.

Pack it Up Buttercup

We arrived at Grand Villas at World Golf Village and the woman behind the counter said that the very next day, the lighthouse would be closed until further notice because of the Coronavirus. After checking in, unloading our stuff and catching up on the news, we assumed that other places of interest would probably be following suit rather quickly. We heard that the kids’ schools would be closed starting Monday, so after only one night in this beautiful condo, we decided we would call it quits and head home in the morning.

I Guess This is Happening

All the way home we were very careful of what we touched and only drive-thrus were open for meals. Our hotel was pretty deserted. We stopped just across the border of Wisconsin at a rest stop. Usually a friendly face is there to welcome us (back) to Wisconsin, but there was not a soul in the place. Not the welcome we had hoped for, but at least it was open!

We got home on Tuesday, March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day – and went straight into quarantine. Since we had been vacationing in the hot spot of Florida, we felt it mandatory to stay away from our kids and grandkids for the suggested 14 days. After that, since someone from both of their households was still working, we decided they should stay away from us for another 14 days, which was just too long. What a long, strange (but wonderful) trip it’s been!

Next up: Deep Freeze Recap

Happy trails,
Barb