Cape Florida Lighthouse

Our final day in Florida had two very different parts, so I am splitting it into two posts.

The first half was primarily dedicated to brunching with Caty's high school friend (and an all-round great person), Robin Dunlap, who just recently moved back to the Miami area. Caty's only other visit to far south Florida had been to Robin's wedding in the Keys.

Cape Florida Lighthouse

Since we had time in the morning and we were meeting for brunch on Key Biscayne, we went to see the Cape Florida Lighthouse in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park. Constructed in 1825, the Cape Florida Lighthouse warned mariners of the Florida Reef, which starts near Key Biscayne and extends south to the Keys.

The 65-foot-tall tower was supposed to be solid brick, five feet thick at the bottom tapering to two feet thick at the top, but the contractor scrimped on materials and built hollow walls. In 1835, a major hurricane damaged the lighthouse and the keeper's house. 

Caty at the lighthouse

In 1836, a band of Seminoles attacked and severely damaged the lighthouse, resulting in a 10-year shutdown. It was rebuilt using the old bricks from the original tower and house plus new bricks from Massachusetts and re-lit in April, 1847. 

In an 1855 renovation, the tower was raised to 95 feet and the old light was replaced with a Fresnel lens to extend the light beyond the off-shore reefs. 

Historic

After Confederate sympathizers destroyed the lighthouse lamp and lens in 1861, it was repaired and relit in 1866. But, it was still insufficient for keeping ships away from the offshore reefs. So, the Coast Guard built a lighthouse on Fowey Rocks, seven miles southeast of Cape Florida and, in 1878, took the Cape Florida Lighthouse out of service. 

Looking very, very "old Florida"

From 1888 to 1893, the Cape Florida Lighthouse was the headquarters of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. In 1898, during the Spanish-American War, it was briefly made a signal station to provide an early warning of an approach by the Spanish fleet. By the time the lighthouse was restored in the 1920s, a quarter-mile of beach in front of it had washed away. Engineers discovered that the foundations for the tower were only four feet deep, so it was given a new concrete foundation with steel casing for the tower, which helped it to survive the a major hurricane in 1926.

In 1966, the State of Florida bought southern third of Key Biscayne and established Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, named for the editor of the Miami News, who had helped arrange for preservation of the land. The state restored the lighthouse tower, and in 1969, constructed replicas of the keeper's dwellings.

Keeper's House

In 1978, one hundred years after it was decommissioned, the Coast Guard restored the lighthouse to active service. Then, after twelve years of service, the light was permanently decommissioned. A joint project with the Dade County Historical Society restored and relit the lighthouse in time for the Miami Centennial celebration in July 1996.

In addition to the lighthouse, we saw a few interesting (and alarming creatures). Just as we were discussing potentially coming back to the beach to swim, we saw what originally appeared to be a plastic bag but turned out to be an Atlantic Portuguese Man o' War Jelly. 

Atlantic Portuguese Man o' War

Also known as the Man of War, Bluebottle or Floating Terror, the Portuguese Man o' War is actually a colony of specialized tiny creatures called zooids that attach to one another and function as a single organism. The name comes from the Jelly's resemblance to the man-of-war, an 18th-century armed sailing ship, at full sail.

The Atlantic Portuguese Man o' War has a gas-filled bladder that floats on the surface of the ocean like a sail and supports a mass of 30-160 foot-long stinging tentacles. Detached tentacles and dead Jellies, including those that wash up on shore, may remain potent for days. I am glad we didn't step on it or touch it. And, we decided not to come back to swim.

We also saw a large lizard that turned out to be a small Nile Monitor lizard. An invasive species to Florida, a Nile Monitor can grow to 5 ft. long and weigh 15 pounds. The one we saw was about 2 ft. from nose to tip of the tail.

Big ol' lizard

They are semi-aquatic and are often found basking or foraging along canal banks. They can swim swiftly and stay submerged for an extended period. Current populations in Florida likely came from escaped or released pets. The Nile Monitor can no longer be acquired as a pet in the state. They eat mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and eggs. State officials are assessing whether they may have a negative impact on Florida's native wildlife.

We enjoyed our visit, but as the day progressed, it became very hot and humid. So, we were glad to head off to the air-conditioned Rusty Pelican for brunch with Robin.

Me with the light

Trip date: December 27, 2015-January 3, 2016