I Told You Driving Was Bad For Your Health! *2/2* NEW TRIP REPORT LINK P102

[emmysmommy]

I love your logic and how the Feb. trip fell into place. After your crazy work schedule you definitely deserve that trip. You've got great resolve to incorporate more non-Disney into your trip.

It's been years since I've been to Tampa but I have great memories of the cruise port area.

Happy anticipation for your trip!

 

[MEK]

I love your logic and how the Feb. trip fell into place. After your crazy work schedule you definitely deserve that trip. You've got great resolve to incorporate more non-Disney into your trip.

That's called Disney logic. When you end up with an excuse for a trip and then the trip includes some Disney time - its' Disney logic!

It's been years since I've been to Tampa but I have great memories of the cruise port area.

I wish we had more time to see all the areas in the city and surrounding it. The list of places I wash to see just goes on and on. But I'll just roll with me plans and see where I end up. I like the adventure!

Happy anticipation for your trip!

Thanks!

 

[MEK]

Before I move on to my regularly scheduled update I have two pieces of good news!

1. I just learned this week that Kathy and Mark of KatMark will be at the MK the exact same day that Denny and I will be visiting at the end of our Tampa trip! Woo Hoo! So excited to see Kathy again and meet Mark. We will be having lunch at CHH. Fun stuff. Mark promised to show up in a hat so I can recognize him. (like I need that!)

2. My wait list for BCV came through. So now we will be staying at BCV for one night instead of SSR. Denny's response, "How many more points is that?" Gotta love Denny. Any way, we are supposed to go to AK that morning, but I think right after lunch we'll head over to BCV so we can have a little SAB time. If the weather doesn't cooperate than we will just spend the day in Epcot coming and going as we please.

Lastly, just a little bit of info for those who can make use of this. I was considering some type of AP to the Busch Parks so we could hit Busch Gardens this trip and Seaworld in October. I've pretty much decided against it for this year, but if it helps you please know that Sesame Place is Langhorne PA is a Busch Park and right now their AP is on sale for $180 plus tax. It is only good through the end of December 2014, but it includes access to all 11 Busch Parks. It's a print at home ticket that can be taken to any Busch Park for activation. There are certain states who can not purchase the ticket like GA, FL, VA, CA, & TX. But darn - what a deal if you are going to Florida a couple times this year. Of course, if we bought the tickets we would also have to plan a trip to BG in Williamsburg. The discount price is in effect through March 1st. Hope this helps someone.

On to my update...

It's the Climb

When I left off last we had just gotten off the beach at Daytona Beach Shores. K&T suggested me make a stop before heading back to their house. I love seeing new things so I was totally onboard.

Where did we go you ask?

Here





Note that unlike the Lighthouse on Tybee Island, that we visited in April, this lighthouse was open until 9pm. Woo hoo !

The question - should we or shouldn't we?



We decided to venture into the museum shop. The price to visit the museum and lighthouse was $5 a person, I think. Whatever the price, it was certainly reasonable, so in we went.




Some merch





We quickly discovered that there was a lot more to do here than just climb the lighthouse. There were multiple buildings which were considered the "museum"





The first order of business was to climb the lighthouse



Why is it that you can never grab a picture without someone outside enjoying the view? Hey, come on buddy can you move for a minute? Kidding!









The entrance to the lighthouse





OMG - that's A LOT of stairs!



We went straight to the stop. I forget how many stairs. I counted them. It was a lot and I had to stop and catch my breath a couple times.

The view











This looks like a fun place








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[MEK]

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Now THAT'S a beach house!



Not too shabby either!









Fun!







There was a small veteran's memorial on the property





I loved it up there on the observation deck. You could actually go past the observation deck to the light, but there were wasps in there so that wasn't happening.

Time to go back down



Denny still rocking his F&W shirt



The whole crew



Looking back up.



Once we got back outside we decided to tour the buildings on property. Let me just say that this is a wonderful tourist attraction. I highly recommend it.

The pump house



One of the buildings housed the lighthouse keeper's quarters.



Everything was behind glass





The tower was restored in 2001



One building held all the old prisms that were used on the lighthouse





They are really gorgeous works of art.







There was an explanation of the different types of prisms



There was a SUPER cool display on ALL: the lighthouses in the United States. Pick a state and there was an all inclusive list of the lighthouses (both inland and on the ocean).

This particular lighthouse is located near me and I occasionally ride past it on my bike rides



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[MEK]

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Also not too far from my house



Another lighthouse in the Delaware Bay



Parts of the display focused on the history of the Indian inhabitants of the area.

And old canoe artifact



There was a nature path that started on the edge of the property and may have headed down to the beach. Considering it was summer and hot and humid we decided not to brave the nature elements and creepy crawlies. This would be a fun path in the winter or fall.



I have no idea what a cuban raft is.





There was another building just dedicated to information about the previous lighthouse keepers.



Old uniforms



Artifacts from the area



I found the history of some of the keepers to be very interesting. Ponce Inlet was originally called Mosquito Inlet. Guess that tells you something about the area. Ouch!










Of course I had to take a few more lighthouse pictures before we left the property.







I loved the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse and museum. If you are ever in the area I would highly recommend this very well done tourist attraction. It was more than just a light house. The exhibit provided a lot of good historical information about the area and really tried to educate about light houses. I wish I had visited earlier in the day because I think I would have absorbed more information.

By the time we left it was probably close to 7pm. We went back to K&T's house and took a much needed shower. If my memory serves me correctly we had leftovers on the lanai and turned in early that evening.

Up Next - Heading Home (aka What trip back to the airport is incomplete without some drama?)

BUT - as an added bonus to this weeks update I am going to include some pictures I took at Longwood Gardens Thanksgiving weekend. Denny and I bought a year pass to Longwood and it served us well. We decided to visit right before they removed the fall exhibit to make way for their famous Christmas exhibit. We had the place almost to ourselves. Its the first time I've seen the fall display and I loved it. So here you go&

















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[MEK]

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Selfie













I love this room because it is filled entirely with palm trees and we all know what palm trees remind us of!






































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[MEK]

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Children's Garden







Up Next - I'll post some pictures from the Christmas display!

 

[jenseib]

That lighthouse is gorgeous!!!! I would love taking a zillion pictures there too.

I am thinking of doing a mini trip report on our trip to Columbus Oh from last Sept. We also visited a conservatory type place and I have similar pictures. that place was so neat.

 

[englishrose47]

Wow the Lighthouse looked super interesting , although I would never make the climb to the Top I would love all the exhibits !! The flowers were absolutely beautiful !!! Just love the flower displays !!That's why I am sooo excited about F & G this May !!

 

[Wicket's Mom]

Love the pictures from Longwood, I would so spend lots of time there.

There is a light house in Jupiter, Florida which looks very much like the one in the Daytona area. This is north of Palm Beach, we usually see it every trip to that area, will be seeing it in March. Love lighthouses, during our stay on the Outer Banks we visited most of their lighthouses.

 

[scottny]

Nice you will see Kat and Mark.
I will do a non-rain dance for you. LOL
Pretty view from the top of the lighthouse.
Please stop showing pics of my home. LOL. That is nice house.
Looks like a great place to visit.
Beautiful pics of flowers.

 

[dizneeat]

Yeah for meeting up with Kathy and getting to meet Mark as well.

Congratulations on your BCV waitlist coming through. We loved BCVs last time we stayed there and SAB is just awesome. Have an icecream for me at Beaches and Cream.

The lighthouse pictures and the pictures of the grounds are breathtaking - really awesome! If we ever could stray away from a Disney place long enough .....

I am in awe with all your flower pics, unbelieveable. Thank you for sharing.

 

[MEK]

That lighthouse is gorgeous!!!! I would love taking a zillion pictures there too.

It's really impossible not to. You would love it. It was so much more than a lighthouse. That's why I need to get out and start exploring some other areas in Florida. There's so much out there I haven't seen.

I am thinking of doing a mini trip report on our trip to Columbus Oh from last Sept. We also visited a conservatory type place and I have similar pictures. that place was so neat.

Please do. I love your TR's and I am going into withdrawal. Please pm me when you get it up and going!

Wow the Lighthouse looked super interesting , although I would never make the climb to the Top I would love all the exhibits !!

You could do it Rosie! But even if you passed on the climb, the rest of the exhibits were really cool and very informative. I'm so glad we stopped there. It was fun. We've been to Daytona a bunch of times and I can't believe we didn't go there sooner.

The flowers were absolutely beautiful !!! Just love the flower displays !!That's why I am sooo excited about F & G this May !!

Longwood Gardens really has top notch displays. I loved having a pass there. It's expired now, but I might consider getting another one that starts in the spring.

When are you going in May? Any chance you will be there the 11th - 17th. That's when Cynthia and I are going.

Love the pictures from Longwood, I would so spend lots of time there.

It's a wonderful place. I really enjoyed having a pass there and was sad when it expired. I know we will get another one - maybe this spring. It's about 45 minutes from our house, so it does require a little advanced planning, but its worth it. I think we hit a winery on the way back from our Thanksgiving visit.

There is a light house in Jupiter, Florida which looks very much like the one in the Daytona area. This is north of Palm Beach, we usually see it every trip to that area, will be seeing it in March. Love lighthouses, during our stay on the Outer Banks we visited most of their lighthouses.

Lighthouses are pretty amazing. I remember visiting a bunch of them when Denny and I visited the OBX years ago. They have some really cool ones, especially the one in Hatteras.

 

[MEK]

Nice you will see Kat and Mark.

I know - how great is THAT? Totally not planned. Gotta love it!

I will do a non-rain dance for you. LOL

You better - I will be counting on you! Don't let me down!

Pretty view from the top of the lighthouse.

It was pretty cool up there. So glad we decided to get more exercise for the day.

Please stop showing pics of my home. LOL. That is nice house.

And you didn't invite me over while I was in the neighborhood? Next time!

Looks like a great place to visit.

If you are ever in the area you must go. It was fun and informative!

Beautiful pics of flowers.

Thanks! I just love Longwood!

Yeah for meeting up with Kathy and getting to meet Mark as well.

Can you believe two meets with Kathy in a year? That's so cool and I am really looking forward to meeting Mark. I know already he's a great guy!

Congratulations on your BCV waitlist coming through. We loved BCVs last time we stayed there and SAB is just awesome. Have an icecream for me at Beaches and Cream.

I'm excited, but at the same time I hope I'm not disappointed that we are only there one night. Nah! It's just going to be cool to be there at all because this is really a bonus trip. I finally went to B&C in October. Maybe we'll have dinner there. I loved the grilled cheese. So good.

The lighthouse pictures and the pictures of the grounds are breathtaking - really awesome! If we ever could stray away from a Disney place long enough .....

You do stray away. just to a different location. I always enjoy our little side trips to Daytona. I'm really glad we visited the Ponce Inlet. It was really cool!

I am in awe with all your flower pics, unbelieveable. Thank you for sharing.

Thanks. Our pass to Longwood served us well. It's really a top notch display and I'm so glad we visited when it was virtually empty. Definitely the way to do it!

 

[twinsouvenirs]

Gorgeous pictures!!! I feel like I just took a mini vacay

 

[MEK]

Gorgeous pictures!!! I feel like I just took a mini vacay

twinsouvenirs and thank you! Sometimes its good to see flowers and sunshine on a winter day.

I see you are heading to VGF in 3 weeks. How awesome! I hope you have a great time. I am so looking forward to staying there in October!

 

[Pinkocto]

Firstly, congrats on the BCV wait list!!! That Denny!


The lighthouse looks fabulous, I love historical things like that. I went to a light house in Cozumel and the walk up was brutal!

Your Longwood pictures are absolutely gorgeous, wow! I really need to get back there soon.

 

[eandesmom]

I would love to do that lighthouse someday! How perfectly wonderful and what a lovely day for it, just gorgeous. Love the Longwood pictures as always, so pretty!!!!!!!!!!

 

[jedijill]

Yay for meeting up with Kathy and Mark!

I love all the lighthouse pictures. Growing up landlocked lighthouses are still a novelty to me. Longwoid Gardens looks beautiful too.

Jill in CO

 

[Millie12591]

So happy to hear you got the Epcot resort you wanted.

And getting to meet up with Ms. Kat and Mr. Mark is just icing on the cake.

I have to agree with Jill, I grew up right smack in the middle of the U.S. so seeing lighthouses are a true form of wonder to me. I of course have seen them in books and magazines, but I don't believe I've ever really seen one in person let alone toured one. I feel like I have now, thanks to you!!

As always your pictures are amazing and tell the story. It's why I love reading your TR's so much.

Also the Longview gardens are beyond gorgeous!! But then you know me and flowers.

I very much enjoyed the fall display and can't wait to see what they come up with for the Christmas display. Thank you for sharing it with us.