Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
This adventure was inspired by our friend Elisabeth!. She has written about visits to lighthouses near her home in Nova Scotia. I started thinking… “I live on the coast- I wonder if there are any lighthouses near me?” A quick google search revealed that there is a notable lighthouse in Jupiter, Florida, which is about an hour away from me. In case you’re wondering where the heck Jupiter, Florida is, here you go: Last week my daughter had an all-day rehearsal in Jupiter, and rather than drive there and back twice, I opted to spend the day in Jupiter- I knew exactly what I wanted to do! The Jupiter lighthouse is located at the juxtaposition of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian River, and Loxahatchee River. For $12, you can climb to the top of the lighthouse and visit the lighthouse museum. First, the climb to the top- they warned that it’s 105 steps. No problemo! I’ve been working out. What I didn’t anticipate was climbing that narrow spiral staircase was kind of… scary. I never thought I was scared of heights before, but there was something about it that made me anxious- maybe that the steps were a metal grid, so if you looked down (eep) you could see all the way to the bottom… anyway, I made it to the top and was rewarded with this view: I was definitely glad I went up, but the climb down was even more scary. I made it though, and made my way to the lighthouse museum. This was a small exhibit on the history of the lighthouse, which I loved. It was built in the 1860s, and one of the displays showed a timeline of the history of the lighthouse along with what was going on in the U.S. at the time. I like this little tidbit: It was fascinating, reading about the lives of the lighthouse keepers and their families. This was a rugged and isolated area in the late 1800s, and their lives were hard. Every once in a while there was a shipwreck, and it was their job to rescue what they could of the crew and cargo. In addition to the museum, the “Tindall Pioneer Homestead.” is located on this property. Built in 1892, it’s one of the oldest houses in Palm Beach County, and it was relocated to this area so that visitors to the lighthouse can tour the house on the same visit. The Tindalls raised TEN KIDS in this tiny house! I loved hearing stories of their life. They cooked their meals over an open fire. The “noon meal” was the cooked meal- dinner- and anything left over was eaten for supper. There was no refrigeration, of course, so they only cooked what they could eat each day. There was also information about the Native Americans of this area: I loved reading about it, but I can’t imagine living in South Florida without air conditioning! These people were tough. Near the lighthouse is a protected natural area: I followed the path to a little beach. I sat here for a while watching the boats go past. It was so peaceful! Visiting this area was so out of my normal routine, it was just what I needed to jolt me out of my post-holiday funk. A few days later, my husband was working up in Jupiter and sent me this photo of the lighthouse at night: Now I want to visit more lighthouses in Florida. Some of them are too far away, and some are accessible only by boat (ooooh…). Future adventures await! Have you ever visited a lighthouse? Would you climb to the top? Are there any lighthouses near you?