In this part of Florida we’ve seen several Banyan trees. They are in the same family as a Fica tree, but have the unique attribute that the branches put down roots as well as the base of the tree. The branch roots snake down into the ground and often bundle with other roots. There are several here at the RV park, and a very huge one at the Lighthouse grounds that we visited. Our guide told us the largest banyan tree in the world is in India and covers over 11 acres!
We visited a local landmark today – the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. It was built in 1860 and during the construction there were several battles with the Seminole Indians in the area.
This site is fairly unique among lighthouses as it’s 1/2 mile inland from the ocean. But, it’s up on a sand dune and also has the highest rated prism that can transmit the light 15 miles away. The light source is only a 1000-watt bulb (originally they used a whale oil lamp) but the prism causes the light to be seen so far away.
It’s at the most eastern point in Florida, south of this area the shore curves, so this was a very dangerous area for ships who would sail along at night and not realize they were getting to close to the shore. There are a lot of shipwrecks in the area because of this land feature, giving the area names like “Treasure Coast” and “Gold Coast”.
We climbed to the top of the lighthouse – 105 steps the guide told us. He forgot to mention the 42 steps to get to the BASE of the lighthouse (because of the sand dune) so we had a good climb! Here are some pictures:
We traveled across Florida on Monday from the gulf side to the Atlantic side. We’re now in Lake Worth, a suburb of Palm Beach. It’s very warm here, high 70s or low 80s during the day and mid 60s at night. It’s not too humid this time of year, so it’s very pleasant!
We went to the shore so I could see and put my feet into the Atlantic Ocean this morning – I’d never been to the Atlantic! We had to go for miles through private beaches attached to huge mansions before we finally found a public beach! I was surprised at how small the waves are here – the biggest waves weren’t even 2 feet! Here are some pictures of the Atlantic:
