Day Two: Lessons From the Road

Hey Everybody!

I got some real sleep last night and guess what I just found: the blog I kept rewriting! So, here it is (sort of) but modified with today's happenings.

After a marathon night of cleaning and a few hours sleep (and accidently breaking the glasstop stove while cleaning...oops!), I finally took to the road! It didn't take long to decide that day one was all about working out the kinks. Actually, today is too, but at least I have some travel legs under me now. What I have learned:

1. When a website indicates that an attraction closes at 4:30p - even in season - they mean it!

2. When the lighthouse you want to climb seems inaccessible, then it probably is. That was yesterday; today I climbed the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. A couple facts about this old lighthouse: The brackets that look like concrete are actually granite - making it the only lighthouse in the world to have them. There are 107 stairs to the top, which the 84 yr old guide climbs 9x daily! And, most of us thought going down was much harder than going up! Finally, the man who created the Frensel lens took his secrets to the grave. To this day nobody has been able to make glass of such quality!

The view at the end of the climb:

3. When you've only had about three hours sleep it is unlikely you will drive all the way to The Keys....and more likely that you will choose the hotel with pillowtop mattresses (what luck!) and that's okay too! But finally this afternoon I set up my temporary home in Key Largo. Tomorrow I'll travel south to explore, but spend a second night in Key Largo before heading north on Saturday.

4. When dressing it's important to check to make sure your clothing is on right before leaving for dinner! I wish I were kidding, but no.....I got as far as the security guard at the campground gate when I had to stop and turn around. "What do you need?" he asked. "Oh I already checked in," I said. "I just need to run into the restroom because I put my shirt on backwards." At least I caught it before dinner.

5. If you want to see the rocks at Blowing Rocks Nature Preserve blow, then go during high tide - not low tide. But even at low tide you will get splashed when you try try to outsmart the surf by hiding between rocks.

 

 

 

 

 

So far all is well - going smoothly despite the kinks. I hope all is well at your end too. I'll be in touch again soon.