Some of the coolest things about the Atlantic Coast versus the Pacific Coast is that the Atlantic Coast has way more lighthouses to explore. This day found us exploring one at Daytona Beach that was one of the original lighthouses in the area. Many of you may not know that St Augustine, FL is the one of the oldest cities in the country and Daytona Beach not being much further South is actually fairly old as well. 

In the early days of American history Indians and traders alike frequented this area although oranges were not yet established there were other crops that were very plentiful here such as sugar cane and forestry as well as the Spaniards bringing in cattle later on. All of those crops needed to be moved to get to the markets, so they utilized the river system primarily consisting of the Saint John river and its tributaries as well as the Atlantic Oceanside. 

Many of the Indians while traveling by canoe and skiff were unable to haul much cargo so as settlers came to the area they needed to devise a way to accomplish that. This meant digging some deeper channels and maneuvering things in different ways. Hence all the more reason the lighthouses were that much more important. 

Ships oftentimes would not see the rocks due to the water being too high and would often run aground because they were unfamiliar with the area and there was no GPS or sonar to tell them to stay clear. They could run aground and still be too far away from shore to be able to swim to safety, so lighthouse keepers became a staple in early America. We even found out that the actor who played Lurch in the original Adams Family series was once a lifeguard here. 

It was quite fun exploring the different lighthouse keepers quarters until the kids, my niece and nephew, found out that they had no indoor bathrooms, then they just thought it was gross. Although it wasn’t as much fun coming back down after climbing the 214 steps to the top of the lighthouse the view from the top was spectacular. You could see all around Daytona Beach, Ormond Beach and far out into the ocean. You could see inland and it was much easier to see those sugar cane fields that were around. 

A cool fun fact that I did not know was that lighthouses are built in the shape of a cone rather than a cylinder. They are actually wider at the base and pointier at the top as they narrow to create stability which is why many of them have stood for hundreds of years when other houses have not. Although recent hurricanes have damaged the Daytona Beach area quite extensively, there is still a lot of beach left to explore so we will head down there to see what birds we can get to come eat our potato chips or French fries, whatever we have available. Until the next adventure…