150th Anniversary of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse

What a fantastic day for Jupiter! Today was the 150th Anniversary of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. The historic celebration honored the January 1860 arrival of Captain Edward Yorke and the hardy men who built the landmark Jupiter Light. The day began at 1pm with authentic Children's Maritime Heritage games.
An hour later the ceremony began with guest speakers James Snyder, Loxahatchee River Historical Society Board Chairman, Bob Abbey, Director of the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Rear Admiral Steve Branham, Commander Seventh Coast Guard District, and Bruce Dawson, Field Manager, BLM Eastern States. Event sponsors included the BLM, the Village of Tequesta and the Town of Jupiter. As soon as the ceremony ended, it was off to the Light to take the first climb.

As you can see, the line was wrapping around the lighthouse. I spoke to several people who ended up waiting a full hour and a half just to see the view from the top of the lighthouse. From what I saw and from what I heard, the wait was completely worth it!

The last time I climbed the Jupiter Light was in August of 1989! I was 6 years old and it was the first time my family traveled to the light. I have to dig up the old Jupiter Courier Newspaper in which my family was on the cover with an article about the days event :) Anyway, I was excited to start Climb For The Cure with the hometown lighthouse I had climbed 20 years prior. Lucky for me, both my parents and Alyssa Rivera's family made the climb with me. 105 steps up and we saw the most breathtaking view. We took out time to explore and when we came down we were rushed over to the next activity.....the Cake Off!

The Lighthouse Anniversary Cake-Off competition had 5 entrants including cakes from the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa, Jupiter Beach Resort & Spa, Seagull's Diner, Cake Kingdom and Publix. Alyssa and I assisted in judging the Cake Off and let me tell you.....not ONLY were the Cakes gorgeously creative, but they were absolutely delicious! That was my last hurrah as it's time to get serious about my Miss USA diet. The public was served cake and refreshments by volunteers from the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club & Spa and asked to vote for the People’s Choice Award. I had the honor of announcing the winners of the day and the were:


Best Tasting:Jupiter Beach Resort.........Best Historical: Seagull's Diner


Most Creative, People's Choice, and Judges Chioce: Cake Kingdom



Once the difficult choices were made, all of us enjoyed the rest of the day mingling and signing autographs with Jupiter locals and tourists. We met people from Poland, Germany, New York and more. I even ran into former classmates, old friends, my high school debate teacher (Mr D) and parents of dance students that I taught when I still lived in Jupiter! I am so glad I participated in this event, it was like a homecoming! Thank you to Jamie Stuve and Kathleen Glover for allowing me to be a part of this event and start my Climb For The Cure. Both Jamie and Kathleen are so passionate about Lighthouse Restoration and life in general. You cannot help but to feel inspired when you are around them :)



What a great way to start 2010! Hope to see you all soon!

Sincerely,
Megan Clementi
Miss Florida USA