March 24 - “Let’s go see a lighthouse”

Well, Spring Training… check. Great couple of days. And now, as our travel buddies so eloquently put it on Facebook, “Let’s go see a lighthouse!”

The lighthouse we visited was named after the same planet as the town - Jupiter. It was nestled in a jungle-like terrain just on the banks of a river and, of course, in ready view of the Atlantic. As we walked up to the entrance, I fully expected a ninja sloth or at the very least, an errant spider monkey, to leap from the trees and attack us. We managed to escape such a horrendous fate, however. 

Instead we walked up the 35 steps dubbed “the test steps.”  They received that monicker because they gave you a clue as to what to further expect once inside. Sort of a last chance to escape your impending doom. 

We successfully negotiated those steps and moved on to bigger - or taller - things. The lighthouse had no less than 105 more steps, all arranged smartly in a tight spiral. It took a while, with rest stops every 25 or so steps, but we made it to the top. We each received a nice certificate commemorating our achievement. 

We also picked up another travel buddy. A tiny manatee named, appropriately, Manny. Oh! And on the way back to the car I found a coconut, fresh off the nearby tree, I guessed. It sloshed with the coconut juice inside and everything. It may or may not have made its way into an empty Walmart bag we had in the car. Now what do I do with it?

Back in the vicinity of Cape Canaveral, we decided to make a return trip to Rusty’s. I ordered shrimp this time. Chris had the same as last time - grilled shrimp over rice and beans. We were … satisfied. So much so that we decided to do something kind of weird. We went to the beach. Cocoa Beach, to be exact. Well, we didn’t exactly go to the beach, either. Costs five bucks just to get a view of the sand. Nope. I can do that at home. 

We arrived at our next hotel around 4:20. (Check in time was 3). The guy at the desk said there would be a 10 minute wait. It stretched into about 20. Something about inspecting the rooms. Also, there were no luggage carts available. During that entire time no one brought a cart back to the front. That is, if they really had carts. Never saw one. Now, I gotta say, though, the facilities were excellent. The hotel has only been open for six months, so everything felt new. Just … the service. Ah … the service. 

‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭10‬:‭13‬ says, No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to humanity. God is faithful, and He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation He will also provide a way of escape so that you are able to bear it.

Father, I do thank you for an amazing place to stay for a day or two. Amen.