After breakfast this morning we headed out to Cape Florida State Park. The park is located south of Miami, but unfortunately, I missed the exit and we ended up in downtown Miami during rush hour!!! Horrors! The good news is that we finally made it to the park and were even in time for the ranger led lighthouse talk and tour. The original lighthouse was built in 1925 with many restorations due to hurricanes, attacks by Seminole native Americans, and even an explosion due to lantern oil and gunpowder. It is 95 feel tall (109 steps to the top) with views of lovely beaches, downtown Miami and other vistas. There were 6 stilt buildings still in existence off the coast. There were originally 26, but because this is all part of the park system, if any of the structures has more than 50% damage, it must be removed and not renovated. Nearby to the lighthouse is the two-story keeper's cottage with a separate kitchen building. The most interesting thing that I learned is that this site is part of the Underground Railroad system. Many slaves seeking freedom were able to catch ships here to Andros Island (Bahamas), Cuba, and Haiti. Despite this park being touted as a great birding spot, we did not see a single bird. We stopped for lunch at the Boater's Grill. The view was lovely - right on the water - and the food was good, but the service was very slow and the waitress did not get the order right. We headed back to Florida City and passed through some sharp showers on the way. It doesn't seem to have rained here, but the air is very humid for the first time on this trip. We will have leftovers tonight.
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