Disembarkation and Looking for a Light (house)

When I was planning, I didn't know how early or late disembarkation would be, and I wanted to see two lighthouses that were north of us - Jupiter lighthouse (which we saw from the ICW)

Jupiter_Inlet_Light from the ICW

and Hillsboro Light. I figured it we went up north of Palm Beach to stay, we could see one of them, and then do the other one in the morning.

Thursday 4 January 2007

Fort Lauderdale at sunrise

They had breakfast both in the dining room and in the Lido - according to the plan of the day, the dining room was supposed to have some kind of express breakfast,

My "express" breakfast

but they didn't seem to know that it was anything different when I ordered it.

We could stay in our room until our tag numbers were called.

We got off the ship for the last time, and went up and down escalators until we got to the part pf the warehouse where the bags were. There were people with walkie talkies and clipboards attempting to make everyone go to the proper location where there bags were. Unfortunately, we had more bags than we could handle on our own because of being away from home for almost 40 days in weather from tropical to frigid.

Terminal building

So Bob sat me down with one of the bags while he went to get the rest of them. The shepherds kept trying to get me to move, but I could not. There was no problem getting through customs (even though I had bought coffee in St. John and my luggage smelled strongly of coffee), and they didn't ask us anything or seem interested in what we had.

The luggage person took us out to where he said we could be picked up to go to the rental car place, and when he did so, he retracted the handle on my large (new and expensive) rolling bag with which one pulls it and it broke. So I am unable to pull that bag around anymore.

I didn't know it, but the Hertz location where I had rented a car had closed, and it was now necessary for us to take the shuttle to the airport. After several fruitless phone calls (which I made while sitting on the sidewalk), I finally walked down to some policemen and other official looking people and asked, and that's what they told me. The shuttle was free, but of course at the airport we have to pay an additional airport pick-up fee.

Rental car shuttle bus

Eventually the bus came, and we got onto it, even with all our luggage. In the process, Bob dragged my down coat (which I had hung temporarily on the suitcase) under the wheels of the remaining roller bag and abraded two holes in it, so now down keeps floating out.

The bus let us off at the end of a big building that had all the car rental companies in it. We were by the Budget and Enterprise area. So I left Bob with the bags and scurried ahead to the Hertz counter, which made me first in line of the people on our bus.

Problem: Bob was to drive, but wasn't there to sign. I went out to look for him, but he had stepped back closer to the windows and I couldn't see him. So I rented the car with me driving. When I got the ticket for the car, I saw that I was being charged about $150 more than my reservation printout said. I pointed that out, and the rental agent looked at it and said "Oh My GOD". But after consulting with several people, he honored the original rate, which was $259/week. He couldn't help the airport pick-up fee and the fact that the taxes had gotten higher.

The rental agent told me to take the keys, go to the car (which was supposed to be a Hyundai or something, and ended up as a Chevy Malibu) and put the rental agreement on the dash, lock the car and then go get Bob and the luggage. So I did that.

I found Bob waiting not very patiently. We had to get a cart for the luggage and there was one, but he said he didn't have any change, and I had locked my pocketbook in the trunk of the car so I didn't have any either. I asked the shuttle bus driver, and he gave me a token, and he refused to take anything for it. When I got around to the other side of the cart rack (which I hadn't been able to see before) I found that it wasn't just spare change for the carts - it was $4. And they also took credit cards.

After we got everything loaded, we took off for Jupiter to see the lighthouse. Bob drove north. I did have one picture of the Jupiter lighthouse from the ICW (above), but since it is a red brick lighthouse I had confused it with the lighthouse at Ponce Inlet (also red brick) which we HAD visited, The whole reason for the lighthouse, is of course to warn sailors and boaters. We have not used Jupiter Inlet by boat - it is not a Class A inlet. .

By road, the lighthouse is really hard to find. Even with directions. I could find it on the chart and I could find it on a map, but I wasn't sure how to actually get there. I was pretty sure it was near US A1A which goes up along the barrier islands east of the ICW, so for awhile, we drove up the coast and looked at the Palm Beach mansions

Big house in Palm Beach

Atlantic Ocean

Intercoastal in Palm Beach

Eventually, we stopped at an IHOP for lunch in West Palm Beach (where Bob had a clubhouse sandwich and fries,

Bob's sandwich

and I had a spinach salad with chicken

Spinach salad

and it was way to much for me to eat), and then did the rest of the trip up to Juno Beach on I-95.

Downtown Jupiter

Arriving in Jupiter

When we went back to the coast, I followed the directions that I had in the computer, and we got to a parking lot which was on the road where the lighthouse sites said the lighthouse was. (Located in Lighthouse Park, 500 Capt Armour's Way (Beach Rd & US Hwy 1).

Locked gate

I could SEE the lighthouse. But at first I thought we could not get in - all the gates were padlocked.

Jupiter lighthouse

It turns out that you have to get a ticket from the museum, and the museum entrance is not obvious.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum sign

In 2007, the museum was $5 each and it was an additional $2 to take a lighthouse tour. The museum has nothing to do with the lighthouse. It is called: Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum and the DuBois Pioneer Home & Historical Tindall House. It is operated by the Loxahatchee River Historical Society. It was about the service members

Uniform and ration books

Museum exhibit

40 mm anti-aircraft gun shell casing

who were stationed hre during World War II - sub-spotters who lived in the house that is now the museum. I didn't think it was worth $5. The lighthouse OTOH was worth more.

Jupiter Lighthouse sign - designed by George Mead

Banyan tree

We went with a guide up to the lighthouse (I didn't climb it and I didn't get to go into the oil house). Tower-top tour restrictions: climbers must be 48” or taller, no flip-flops or spike heeled shoes. Food & drink, tripods, pets and wet clothing are not permitted on tour or in the museum.

Please wait here for a tour guide

You MUST go with a guide onto the lighthouse grounds. You are not allowed to wander around at will. This is a Coast Guard rule which says "Lighthouse Visitors are not permitted to walk back without an escort. Please wait here for a tour guide") The last tour is at 4 pm.

People who climbed the lighthouse

Jupiter lighthouse

While I was walking around taking my pictures, Bob talked to the guide who was new. He said that the lightning cable which goes down the side of the lighthouse was not grounded, and when lightning hit the tower, it blew some bricks out. So now it does go to ground.

Jupiter lighthouse

Geodetic Survey marker

Oil House

Jupiter Oil House plaque

The lighthouse can be shorter because it is on a mound that is about 14 feet tall. . In August 2004 the tower was closed to climbing to replace about 50 stairway brackets; it reopened late in the year. However, Hurricane Jeanne sandblasted the paint from the upper portion of the tower, and in October 2005 the light was temporarily extinguished for repairs. It reopened in December just before our visit

Looking up at the lighthouse

Bridge opening

We were able to watch the drawbridge open near the lighthouse. The lighthouse keeper's house has burned down but I noticed that there was a little graveyard on the grounds.

Little fenced cemetery

This proved to be the stillborn or deceased infant children of the lighthouse keeper. It is on the grounds of Jupiter Lighthouse probably near where the lighthouse keeper's house was.

Sign in the cemetery

Gravestone

Fisherman

After we finished with the lighthouse, we went to stay at the Hampton Inn in Juno Beach/West Palm Beach.

I picked this location to stay because it had a Hampton Inn, and I thought (somewhat optimistically) that I could get a free stay for each 3 or 4 nights at a Hampton Inn. And also it was mid-way between the two lighthouses that I wanted to see.

So after we saw the Jupiter Lighthouse

Drawbridge from the car

(and observed the operation of the draw bridge from the road), we drove down to Juno Beach and after a little bit of searching (I was using the GPS with the road map in the computer) we found the Hampton Inn on Route 1. (The sign was quite discrete.)
Although I did not get a chance to try it, this Hampton Inn has a heated pool. They also had free wi-fi, and their usual good breakfast and comfortable beds.

Bed with computer desk

The girl at the counter did not give us very good directions to a restaurant - the restaurant she said was 'right across the street' -- It wasn't. It was really about a mile or more down the road, and it also looked like it was overbooked. The hotel website says that within 3 miles of the Hampton Inn Juno/Jupiter Beach hotel in Florida, you can dine at the Thirsty Turtle, Juno Beach Fish House, Key Grill, Reef Grill, The Tavern at Jupiter, Waterway Cafe, River House or Chili's.

We ended up all the way back in Jupiter for dinner, and stopped in Bluff's Square (a shopping center). First we went to look at the menu outside of BarryMore's, but that was too expensive so we ate at Woodsons which was next door.

Open

We both had a half rack of ribs with a side of half of a coleslaw.

Ribs

The sides are not included in the price of the entree, but they did allow half priced orders. Then Bob had

A la mode Aplle Cobbler

a la mode apple cobbler (spelled Aplle on the menu), and I had creme brulee cheesecake for dessert ($5.95 each)

Creme Brulee Cheesecake

Hampton Inn sign at night