Ponce De Leon Inlet Light Station, Florida 1/10/2014

JANUARY 10, 2014 (Friday)

First off, CONGRATULATIONS to Mario and his new bride. They got married today in Mexico. We wanted to go but it just didn’t work out. Wishing them many, many years of love and happiness!

Slept in and woke to more grey skies. Very foggy and overcast. It turned out nice for awhile and then the fog came back in. We got up, had breakfast, read on the computer and then left for a tour of Daytona 500. When we got there, it looked like some event was going on, as well as a blood drive. We decided to give blood as we like to do that when we can. Very nice and easy process on the big buses. You start out in the tent and then process through into the bus to give the blood. They put Michael in a different bus but it was okay. I got through the whole initial process and when the nice young man put the needle into my vein to start drawing out the blood, he went all the way through. He apologized and said I had very thin veins and that I was going to have a big bruise. I thought about having them try the other arm but opted to wait awhile before trying again. Michael didn’t have a problem and gave his blood. When I was leaving the bus, the nice young man said I could still get a ticket. I didn’t know what he was talking about so asked him and he said to give the paperwork to the people in the tent, which Michael and I did. We found out we got tickets to the Daytona 500 qualifications before the regular Daytona 500.

Edie and I gave blood today. They had three of these at the Daytona International Speedway.

After that we went into the Daytona 500 area. They had nice displays and a store there. Fun to look at the stuff. We asked about the tours and when it was best to tour. We were told they had an event until next Monday, but after that it would be okay for Tuesday, Wednesday, and maybe Thursday. They had cop cars out racing this weekend.

We got two free tickets for giving blood. They are for days before the 500, a qualifying day.

At first I thought there wasn't a radiator. Then I saw it way up front. Also found the rams horns that let me know it was Mopar. — At first I thought there wasn’t a radiator. Then I saw it way up front. Also found the rams horns that let me know it was Mopar.

Founders of the Daytona Speedway, The France family. They moved it from the beach to the racetrack. From moonshine runners to a multibillion dollar business.

Gassed up today, watched TV while filling.

We stopped on the way home to get gas ($3.45 gallon) and then got Lexi and went to lunch. We had been wanting pizza so decided to go for it. We ended up at Pizza Hut. They had a special for three pizzas. We had to pay a little more, though, because Michael and Lexi both wanted more than one topping on theirs. We also got some bread sticks, which we did not need or eat because the pizzas were so huge. We figure we’ll be eating on the pizza and breadsticks for dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow (and maybe lunch).

Went across a bridge with these beautiful murals every hundred feet or so.

Edie's pepperoni pizza. — Edie’s pepperoni pizza.

We went back home and dropped Lexi off because she didn’t want to go with us to the Ponce De Leon Lighthouse. It was only about ten miles south down Atlantic Boulevard. Nice drive with resorts and beautiful homes everywhere. At spots along the way you could see the ocean. Lovely. We also saw some fun mailboxes.We were thinking we might have missed the lighthouse and then BAM, there it was. Beautiful. Brick red colored.

We parked and went into the store to purchase the tickets. ($5.00 each) They had really great display of the different homes for the different light house keepers. You could actually walk into two of them and look into the third one. Was very nice. Then it was time to walk to the top. This time we knew what we were getting into but the steps were wet, slippery and very narrow. We were both tired by the time we reached the top. It was so worth it. So beautiful. We even saw a shark out in the water from the top. So fun. Glad we did it. Going down was much easier. Great place to spend some time at all the exhibits and things to read. Really enjoyed it.

The sidewalks are being refurbished with memorial bricks.

We didn't check the price. — We didn’t check the price.

Edie does this all the time. I warn them that at the end she will ask for a donation, I also ask them if we can make a quick call to New Zealand on their camera phone.

View from the top, interesting fog. It was warm today.

Looking southeast, the inlet and Atlantic ocean.

We saw this beast surface several times and think it is a shark fin, lacking the distinctive inner curl of a dolphin's fin. — We saw this beast surface several times and think it is a shark fin, lacking the distinctive inner curl of a dolphin’s fin.

There was a plaque on the wall telling about how the first assistant light keeper went to light the light and when the light didn't come on the second assistant light keeper went up and found him dead from a heart attack. Not reassuring as I was huffing a little bit. — There was a plaque on the wall telling about how the first assistant light keeper went to light the light and when the light didn’t come on the second assistant light keeper went up and found him dead from a heart attack. Not reassuring as I was huffing a little bit.

A demonstration Fresnel lens showing the long wide light that is unmistakable to ships at sea.

Lighthouse lamp posts down the street from the real deal.

Then it was “home” again. We’re tired and ready to rest. That was our day. Hope yours was great!