Jacksonville to Jupiter

As we left Jacksonville this morning it was downright chilly!  Bill in his shorts, and me in my capris got into the car shivering!!  It was damp and the weather forecast didn't look great - showed rain beginning about 2 pm in Jupiter... we were to arrive at about 1:30.  But as we headed south the sky cleared up, the temperature warmed, and the weather forecast got better and better!  By the time we arrived in Jupiter it was a warm and pretty day!  Carmine and Judy met us at the hotel and were our gracious tour guides for the day.  First up - the Jupiter Lighthouse.  There is a wonderful small museum and then we were given a guided tour of the lighthouse.  The grounds were absolutely beautiful!

The drawbridge in front of the lighthouse museum up to allow boats to pass on the intracoastal waterway.

The lighthouse from the museum.

The property was full of gorgeous banyan trees.  

This is ONE tree!

Carmine and Judy.

Bill and I.  

We survived all 100+ steps to the top!

Looking up into the lights.

After leaving the lighthouse Carmine drove us up thru Jupiter Island, where the rich and famous have homes.  We didn't see much of the homes, because they all had fabulous landscaping protecting them from view!  But it was beautiful.  

The public beach at Jupiter Island.

Next we went to the Loggerhead Marine Life Center where they rescue and rehabilitate turtles and educate the public about them.  They had several tanks with turtles you could view.  These loggerheads were HUGE!!  

I asked Bill to get by the viewing window here to give some perspective on the size of these guys!  The turtle that is, not Bill.

Then back to Carmine and Judy's home for a fabulous dinner.  But first, a walk thru their very beautiful yard filled with native plants.  

At the end of the day, we said a fond farewell to Carmine and Judy.  Jupiter is truly a special place!