I clicked on the link for the "trip report" but it seems to be removed? Would love to see it.
Not sure what's up with the link, because
the post is still there. Here is the full trip report:
Trip Report 9/16-9/28 2024 Pompano Beach
Oct 1, 2024, 12:21 PM
My hubby & I drove from Wisconsin to
Pompano Beach to stay in a timeshare resort (Wyndham Sea Gardens) for 12 nights. This was a convenient home base for a very relaxing and enjoyable "post retirement" vacation. (I retired earlier this year.) It was also our first return trip to South
Florida in more than 15 years.
We enjoyed the resort's amenities as well as access to their sister properties (Royal Vista and Santa Barbara) which were less than 5 miles away down A1A. Early in our vacation, we did a beach cabana one afternoon at Royal Vista. With the incoming tropical storm the second week we were there, I visited the Sea Gardens' private beach just to see the ocean waves and take a few photos. With the winds whipping up the coastline, it was like getting a sand exfoliation on my legs. LOL
Things we did . . .
Day trip to
Everglades National Park (
Homestead/Pink Flamingo) . . . note to others to not "avoid" the toll road. Yeah I too hate paying tolls! We headed out, on our way south on Hwy1, but the side roads were clogged with a lot of traffic and road construction down through
Hollywood &
Ft. Lauderdale towards
Miami. What should have been about a 90 minute drive turned out to be nearly 3 hours! Once to the national park, we toured the visitor center (watched a short movie) and did a couple of short walks in the park. We didn't see any wildlife, not even alligators. So that was a bit of a disappointment, but it was still a nice visit. We did drive home via the tollroad . . . and it was just under 1.5 hours back to Pompano Beach.
Lighthouses . . . being so very close to Hillsboro Inlet, it was first on our agenda for our lighthouse "day". Unfortunately their small museum located across the inlet in a park had yet to reopen after being closed for updating. When we arrived, they said they expected to be open by now, but there had been delays. They were very kind to let us poke around inside to take a few photos, plus get my USLHS * Passport booklet stamped. The lighthouse and surrounding grounds are not accessible to the public, except for one day per month and by tour only as it requires boat access from across the inlet. For more information check out their website:
https://www.hillsborolighthouse.org/tours .
When then headed up the coast on I95 to the
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. To access the grounds and lighthouse, you must pay an admission fee: kids $6 and adults $12, with a small discount to $10 for seniors (60+) . This lets you onto the grounds and the ability to check out the various buildings, as well as to climb the lighthouse if you wish. My hubby did the 140 stairs (35 to the base of the lighthouse + 105 up the tower to the top). After completing the climb, they give you a certificate for your efforts. Guests can visit the small informational exhibits in the former lighthouse keepers' house, as well as the historic Tindall Pioneer Homestead. Both were very interesting. During our visit the main museum was not open, but they said it would be reopening soon (after the fall
Atlantic hurricane season). For more information check here:
https://www.jupiterlighthouse.org/explore/our-exhibits/ . FYI this lighthouse also participates in the USLHS * Passport Program.
As for dining, we mostly cooked & ate in our timeshare unit. Eating out twice a day for nearly 2 weeks can get expensive . . . even groceries there coast more than back home in Wisconsin! We did enjoy eating out at the following local restaurants:
Stingers (breakfast our first day in town, plus a Friday fish fry dinner)
Seaside Grill - excellent seafood dinner
Zuccarelli’s - outstanding pizza
The Beach House - excellent (& very pricey) oceanfront dining, thankfully we had a $100 g/c from our timeshare resort making it not quite so expensive
As you might imagine, the weather in South Florida in September is always unpredictable and can be dicey at best. For our first week, there were evening thunderstorms every night. Perhaps the best was the night we were at The Beach House when the storm rolled in from the north, coming down the beach. The lightning was sharp & vivid . . . with the thunder booming. Being on the beach watching and listening to the storm provided a unique ambiance through dinner.
During the day that first week, however it was very nice to lounge at the pool or the beach. But with the tropical storm coming, our weather was coming in from the south, and was overcast and rainy for several days. There was a short break of broken clouds and sunshine one day, so we did get in one last afternoon at the pool before heading home on Saturday.
Because of Hurricane Helene and her landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida, we opted to drive north to
Jacksonville and then head west on I10 to pick up I75 into Georgia on our trip home. We did see quite a bit of damage in northern FL and southern GA . . . trees, billboards and highway signs mangled, flattened and/or down. Our prayers to all who were impacted by this most devastating weather system.
Total drive time between Milwaukee and Pompano Beach was roughly 22-23 hours each way (1,500 miles). While not for everyone, we do like not having to fool around with the
airlines these days plus having our own
car on vacation is preferable.
* For more information on the USLHS (US Lighthouse Society) Passport Program, here is the link to their website:
https://uslhs.org/ . This program helps to support lighthouses around the USA. I have completed 3 books (60 lighthouses each). The 2 lighthouses on this trip were the start to my 4th passport book.
P.S. For anyone interested in seeing photos, here is the link to my FB photo album, which is set for public viewing:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10227008379976443&type=3 .
