Visit a Northwest Florida LighthouseLong before radar, sonar or GPS, the Florida lighthouse provided direction and safety for mariners sailing near the coast.Today five historic Northwest Florida navigation lights remain as great Florida attractions. They have been the settings for gothic novels and the focal points for stories of heroism, but in a practical sense, lighthouses have for centuries helped steer sailors home from the sea. 
In the early days, light keepers kept torches or oil lanterns burning at night in the tops of stone towers so that mariners would know to stay clear of a point of land. As time passed, navigation lights became more sophisticated, using prisms and angles to project the light further out, allowing sailors to follow a series of lights to a destination.
Even today many of the old lighthouses are still in use and are identifiable to mariners by the type and brilliance of the light as well as the shape, style, color and design of the exterior. No two lighthouses are alike. Some are tall, some are short, some have stripes (in different widths and patterns), some are solid color, some are concrete and some are cast iron skeletons. The Cape St. George Light (1-888-927-7744) was built in 1833 on the west side of St. George Island to mark the Apalachicola Bay. It was rebuilt in 1848 on the east side of the island, but destroyed in a hurricane in 1851. A third structure was completed in 1852, but after more than 150 years of storm battering, the structure collapsed in 2005. The current lighthouse is a reconstruction using much of the original brick. 
The first Pensacola Lighthouse (850-944-0179 or 850-916-7864) was built in 1824, but by 1850 the light was considered too dim and the lighthouse was deemed inadequate. The current tower stands 150 feet tall and was first activated in 1859.
The Cape San Blas Lighthouse (850-229-1151)at the south end of St. Joseph's Peninsula is the fourth tower to serve the area since 1849. The current 98-foot tall white skeletal structure was built in 1885. The Crooked River Lighthouse (850-697-2585) near Carrabelle is a 103-foot cast iron skeletal tower built in 1895. There are picnic tables and a children's play area with a super climbing gym built to look like a boat. Visitors can climb the towers in Pensacola, Cape San Blas and St. George Island. The Crooked River Lighthouse and the St. Marks Lighthouse are open for special events and offer picnicking facilities. Admission to climb a Northwest Florida lighthouse varies, but is usually about $5 for adults. Both the lights at Cape San Blas and the St. George Island have gift shops that offer themed gifts and collectibles. Note: This article first appeared May 17, 2009 on Suite101.com. go from Visit a Northwest Florida Lighthouse to Northwest Florida Attractions |
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Northwest Florida Wine Tour
Print Edition
Did you know wine was made in Florida more than 50 years before the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock? Or that Muscadine grapes are native to the Southeast? You can learn about Florida wine and visit all the wineries in Northwest Florida with this unique travel guide.
If you like wine and you like wineries, this is the only guide that tells you where to find all of the Northwest Florida wineries, who are the wine makers and what wines they make. There's also a complete list of wine festivals so you won't miss any Northwest Florida wine events, recipes and cooking with wine, things to do and more.
You can buy the Northwest Florida Wine Tour print edition today and get it in time to take with you on spring break!
This is the only travel guide to the vineyards and wineries of Northwest Florida and it's an easy to use, comprehensive listing of attractions, B&Bs, shopping, state parks and historic sites, places to eat, annual wine festival events and more. You can use the book to make a daytrip, or plan a complete wine tour vacation. Best of all you can get it two ways, either as a downloadable e-book ($5.00) or in the popular print version ($11.95).
Go to the Northwest Florida Wine Tour page for more details or you can order the book now by clicking on the Add to Cart button above and start Exploring right now.
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