I kind of felt guilty later when the tour took two hours. The desk had said 45 minutes and I had left Wallace sitting on the porch of the old army barracks. This building was typical of the last century. It was certainly an officer’s barracks, however, because it was too luxurious for enlisted men. The apartments were two-bedroom and each had a brick fireplace, something you just don’t see in Florida. [Author’s note: they were indeed married officer’s quarters restricted to families with at least two children.]A museum now occupies the space. It is less than a ten minute tour, the best exhibit is part of an old dugout canoe. At the time the lighthouse was build, the army had to station troops in case of trouble with the natives. There were no roads and all supplies had to be brought in from twelve miles away. The area was an undrained swamp and often work could only take place a couple of weeks per year.
This is the first time I’ve been in a lighthouse. It is not for the acrophobic or claustrophobic. The other tourists in my group were definitely affected by the climb and the lack of interior space. The stairway spirals up counter-clockwise, making the descent even more hairy as the handrail is on the left side [which disorients a lot of people]. The walls are eight feet thick at the base. At first the lamp burned lard, which not only had to be hoisted up by the barrel each night, but also had to be melted before use.
While I knew lighthouses were painted different colors, I thought it was to prevent airplanes from hitting them. The pamphlet states costal lighthouses (are there any other kind) have differing paint schemes so that ships can identify them in daylight. The light does not blink, rather a rotating shield creates the illusion of carefully timed flashes.
There is a public park nearby with old cannons and new tennis courts. As usual in this part of the world, the area is completely deserted most of the time. Here’ new information. The Gulf Stream is closer to the coastline here than anywhere else on the entire continent. The average is 15 miles out, but during a storm it can be as little as two miles. In the sailing days, this caused all kind of shipwrecks. I purchased a booklet on the topic.You been good, so here is a photo of the antique cannon. If you really look close, you can see the reddish-brown tower of the lighthouse in the distance, dead center in the picture. The top of the structure is hidden by some trees to the side of Wallace’s left arm.
