I knew better than to try it, but I did anyway. My husband Tim even said, “I knew you should’ve stayed outside.”

Where in the world were we? Standing inside the Saint Augustine lighthouse.

We were on their ghost tour. As you all know, I don’t go on ghost tours to see ghosts. I go because I love stories and history. And with Saint Augustine being the oldest European settlement in North America, it is full of rich and even tragic stories.

If I’m not afraid ghosts, then why shouldn’t have I tried to go up the lighthouse? Because my knees are shot. The more we climbed up the stairs, the more my knees hurt and burned. With the pain intensifying, I stepped out of the group when we reached one of the landings.

Tim and our daughter Sara stepped out with me. They didn’t want to leave me there alone. That’s when a couple of other women stepped out too. Let me tell you, they were doing some huffing and puffing. I guess I gave them the courage to stop too.

By the way, it’s not easy walking up spiral, stairs without much light. The tour starts as the sun sets.

I convinced Tim and Sara to go on up to the top of the lighthouse since I wouldn’t be alone. So there I stood the in the almost complete darkness with two strangers in a hot and supposedly haunted lighthouse. The only lights were the glow sticks hanging around our necks.

The longer I stood there, the more I began to feel left out. I was missing out on the fun and the adventure. There was only one thing left to do.

“Ladies, I started this climb up and I am going to finish it. I’ll take a break at each landing, do you two want to come along?”

For a few seconds, they didn’t say anything. I wondered if they were thinking: “Is she crazy?” Then they agreed. So I lead the way and true to my word, we stopped at every landing. They huffed and puffed while I rubbed my knees. To be fair, I huffed and puffed some as well.

After what seemed like an endless climb, we reached the top. I will never forget the wide-eyed and opened mouth facial expressions of Tim and Sara.

They were standing out on the walkway/ledge. And I surprised them further by stepping out on the ledge as well. As you may know, I have Basiphobia, which is the fear of falling.

Once I stepped out, I plastered my back against the lighthouse. And I am glad I did. The view from up there was absolutely breathtaking.

The Saint Augustine Lighthouse is on the end of Anastasia Island. From the ledge, I was able to see lights all the way over to the rest of Saint Augustine on the mainland.

“I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 (KJV)

I am so glad that I pressed onward and upward, literally. When I walked off the last step, I felt so victorious. I raised my short arm arms in victory like Rocky Balboa did in the first “Rocky” movie. Instead the theme song, “Gonna Fly Now,” I wanted to hear the hymn, “I’ll Fly Away.”

Brooke Cox is an author, speaker, and storyteller. Also, she is a member of Toastmasters and will be attending storytelling camp again for the 4th summer. She was a 2016 Selah Awards Finalist for Debut Novel. And she has two books out in her storytelling series: “Saucy Southern Stories.” The Amazon links for her books may be found on her website: brookecoxstories.com. Please feel free to contact her. She would love to hear from you.