1/20 - Ponce Inlet Lighthouse, Daytona Beach, FL

Today was such a nice day I would head north, past Daytona Beach, to the Ponce Inlet lighthouse.  I have been here before, but it has been about five years, so time to go back and enjoy the day.  It's only about 30 miles away, but the shortest route is through Daytona Beach, so it takes about an hour to get there.  

The road along the ocean is pretty scenic at first. 

But then you hit the city, and things slow down. 

Glad I am not staying along this area in one of these high-rise hotels.  

And here it is--the third tallest lighthouse in the United States!  

After wandering around the gift shop, I head to the lighthouse for the climb up 203 steps. I have climbed the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, which is 20 feet taller, so this one should not be too bad.

Makes me dizzy just looking up. 

I like that they wait until you are halfway up to tell you about the keeper who died climbing the stairs!!

One stop before the top is the service room. 

It was a beautiful day--at least at ground level.  The nice breeze at the bottom turned out to be about 65 MPH wind at the top, which kept blowing off people's hats and glasses.  I took off my glasses and put them in my pocket!  

But what a view!! 

Looking down at the lighthouse service buildings and the several homes of the keepers. 

 Looking southeast at the inlet and Atlantic Ocean.

This is the parking lot behind the lighthouse where I am parked.  You can see my motorhome sticking out in the middle.  Mostly, however, this lot is really intended for boaters.

Looking up at the light.  Unlike a lot of retired lighthouses, this one still has a functioning lens, although it is powered by electricity instead of kerosene as it was originally.  

And looking down at the bottom of the stairs. 

I've been to several lighthouses throughout the U.S. but this is the only one that has a lens museum. 

There are two big Fresnel lenses in this building.  The smaller of the two is the original lens from the Ponce lighthouse.  There is another original lens currently in the lighthouse, but it was not possible to take a photo.  

The original Ponce lens is the smaller one to the right.  The really big one to the left came from the lighthouse at Cape Canaveral.  It is huge and there is a door at the bottom where the lighthouse keepers could go inside to clean the lens.

Some of the other lenses on display.

And another view of the Cape Canaveral lens.

This photo may seem out of place, and it is, but it has some relevance because it is the hotel I stayed at with four college roommates and my cousin way back in 1964!!  It has been added onto, but it is still the same place, with a yellow paint job instead of the original green color.