Lighthousing with Bob and Mary Ann

2/27/2000 – Stationed in Ft Lauderdale, I rose at 6:30 am for a trip to Jupiter Beach about an hour and 15 minutes north on 95. Get off at the Jupiter exit and follow that road east to the beach about 8 miles. You can turn left when you get to US1 or continue all the way east to the end then turn left (north) and go about a mile. Go over the bridge to Jupiter Lighthouse Park where there is a museum and tour at normal hours. Unluckily the LH is still being restored and the framework is still around it. When I got there I remembered someone had warned us about this on the Forum but it wouldn’t have made a difference. The fire engine red paint is now gone, and the natural red brick can be seen through the skeleton. Best pictures can be taken from the west side of the bridge on the dock at the Blue Pelican restaurant. You can get reflection on the water and an unobstructed view of the tower from this point.

2/29/2000 – 3pm break provided for a perfect short trip on A1A north from Oakland Park Blvd to Hillsboro Beach. As you approach the bridge in Hillsboro, look for a park on the right side. If you miss it you’ll take a road under the bridge and soon arrive back where you started. Good photos of the tower can be taken from the park but you’ll have to go exploring to get the best shots from the beach across the inlet. Take a left out of the parks parking lot, and travel along the southeast side of the inlet. As you turn the curve all the houses have beachfront property. I found a house under construction and asked the carpenters if they minded me cutting through to the beach. WOW! I found the mother load – the tower, keepers house, reflecting water, neat little boats, etc. I left MaryAnn in the car and she said when I returned that she was ready to send out a search party!

3/2/2000 – Another 6:30am trip special to Key Biscayne by way of Miami Beach to Cape Florida. Take 95 south about 40 minutes and I guess follow the signs for Key Biscayne and the Miami Seaquarium. I didn’t go this way but returned that way. Pay a dollar toll to go over the bridge and travel by tons of pleasure cruisers and sailboats, pass the Seaquarium, by very upscale houses, and you arrive at the entrance to an untouched South Florida park. Except for a paved road and limited parking, it must be the same way it was in the early 1900s with alterations provided by the hurricanes that travel through.