Anna Grace and I have been reading The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge by Hildegard Swift.  It is a great book about the lighthouse that stands beside the Washington Bridge and the Hudson River in New York City.  Unfortunately, many of our Five in a Row activities for this book were more boy oriented.

We learned about all the different types of boats (Anna Grace was not pleased).

We learned about building bridges (AG…still not pleased)

We learned about all the different styles of bridges (AG really not pleased).

So… I decided that we should take an outing to our own version of a “little red lighthouse” and we headed to Ponce Inlet Lighthouse.

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

Ponce Inlet is a teeny tiny town south of Daytona and the inlet was originally named Mosquito Inlet by the Spanish.  The lighthouse is the tallest light in Florida and it is the second tallest masonry light in the U.S.  We had hoped to climb to the top as they still let visitors inside however, the lighthouse is closed when there is thunder in lightening in the area.

It started to storm just as we arrived. 

Anna Grace on the Porch

The keeper’s and assistant keeper’s houses had been turned in to museums so we were able to go inside and learn more about the history of the light and this part of Florida.  And we also spent a lot of time sitting on porches waiting for the rain to let up.

Fresnel Lens

In another building they had lights and fresnel lenses from various other lighthouses.  I found this portion of the visit fascinating.  Anna Grace??? Not so much.

After we visited the lighthouse I had intended that we could hang out at the beach for a little bit. But the weather really hadn’t changed all that much.

Anna Grace at Ponce Inlet Beach

We were on the beach less than 5 minutes when both the lifeguard guys drove by in their car and announced that we should stay off the beach due to weather and Anna Grace announced she was cold and wanted to go home.

So, to sum up…. we drove 1.5 hours to climb up inside the lighthouse and to play at the beach and we did neither.  But… the trip was a success in that Anna Grace is now excited about the story of The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge. My goal is to read living books with Anna Grace but if she can’t relate then it isn’t exactly a “living” book.  I think our trip helped the whole story to “click” and so I’ll call that a success.

But I really wanted to climb up in that lighthouse!