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One of the most interesting and historic sights ten miles south of Daytona Beach and less than five miles south of our Daytona Beach vacation condo is the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse and Museum. Built in 1887 and now a national historic landmark, the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is one of the best-preserved lighthouses in the USA. It is the tallest lighthouse in Florida and the second tallest masonry lighthouse in the country.  For an amazing view of the ocean, wide beaches, Inland Waterway (Halifax River) and Ponce Inlet, you can climb 203 steps to the top of the tower and stand on the outside deck.  It is not for the faint of heart, but it is well worth the climb if you can do it.

Some of the other attractions on the property are the old lightkeepers’ homes, a marine science center, and a museum with a collection of restored Fresnel lenses and other memorabilia. Just steps away are restaurants, fishing and a hiking trail.  The lighthouse and museum are open seven days a week and tours are available.  For more information, visit http://ponceinlet.org.

January has been an exciting month for some lucky people in the Daytona Beach area. To the delight of many, humpback and right whales have been sighted swimming along the northeastern coast of Florida near Daytona Beach. There have been frequent reports of whales from Flagler and Volusia County residents, excited to see an unusual treat.  Sightings of right whales are particularly rare, as they are an endangered species with an estimated population of about 400.  The humpback whale population is much healthier and thought to be around 10,000 to 11,000.

This time of year the North American right whales usually swim down from Nova Scotia and Maine to the Georgia and Florida coastal areas for the calving season.  Humpback whales swim further south to the West Indies, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.  Whale sightings along the Eastern coast were quite rare in 2017, so the many sightings this year is encouraging.

A few years ago I saw a whale along Daytona Beach Shores that had swum too close to shore and go trapped by the incoming tide.  A crowd gathered and tried to push it out to sea.  Amazingly, it seemed to work, since I looked out again a few hours later and the whale was gone. Read more…