We packed up the car with our cooler and my cameras and made the 3 1/2 hour drive down to Ponce de Leon Inlet in Florida. The weather was great for exploring! Sunny most of the day, but the clouds did provide some shade from the sun, as the day went on.
Our first stop was the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse. It's the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the second tallest in the US.
The Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse made history because it was the first lighthouse built like it was. The built a ring platform around the structure and when they finished the row, they would move each individual plank of the platform, up.
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| A model depicting how the lighthouse was built |
On the property there is also the Ayres Davis Lens Building. It is one of the largest lens museums in the world. Inside, there are all different types of lighthouse lenses from all over the world.
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| A First Order Fresnel Lens in the lens building. |
Of course, we had to climb to the top of the lighthouse. The view was phenomenal.
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| The view looking up the center of the lighthouse |
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| Me at the top |
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| The view from the top |
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| The view from the top |
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| Cody at the top |
Isn't it a wonderful view?
While we were at the top, the wind was gusting pretty hard. At times I felt like I would be blown away!
As the day began to draw to an end, we decided to grab a couple more geocaches before heading out. We found a beautiful boardwalk that lead out to the beach, The walk was amazing. It felt like I was walking through a tropical paradise.
We decided to head back to the car. We stopped along the boardwalk to empty our shoes of sand. And elderly couple coming from the beach, stopped and asked if we were waiting for the shuttle launch. We had heard nothing of this launch, so we asked about it. Turns out there would be a launch across the inlet at Cape Canaveral that evening.
We moved our car and parked close to a nearby pier. The pier had rocks on both sides and the waves were crashing loudly against them. There were people all along the pier, fishing. We made our way to the. Looking back toward land, the view was breath taking. The sun was starting to set and you could see the lighthouse lit up.
As the day began to draw to an end, we decided to grab a couple more geocaches before heading out. We found a beautiful boardwalk that lead out to the beach, The walk was amazing. It felt like I was walking through a tropical paradise.
Since it was a cool day, we basically had the beach to ourselves. It was lovely. The beach was lovely. Absolutely beautiful. It was so relaxing hearing the waves crash on the shore and the gulls crying out to one another.
Something I find really cool about the beach at Ponce de Leon Inlet, is the fact that you are able to drive on the beach. There are actually speed limit signs posted all throughout the beach.
We moved our car and parked close to a nearby pier. The pier had rocks on both sides and the waves were crashing loudly against them. There were people all along the pier, fishing. We made our way to the. Looking back toward land, the view was breath taking. The sun was starting to set and you could see the lighthouse lit up.
As the time for the launch approached, Cody pulled out his phone so we could watch the live feed of the launch.
The launch occurred at 6:35 pm. We watched as the SES9 rocket launched high into the sky. We were able to see the various stages of the launch.
The rocket launch is probably the coolest thing I've ever experienced. Overall, our trip the Ponce de Leon Inlet was a success!
These are fantastic! Such an awesome day. And seeing the launch wow!
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