work
The town of Ponce Inlet, long ago called Mosquito Inlet, wouldn't exist without its lighthouse. Named for Ponce de Leon, the first explorer to record a visit to the area, the lighthouse stands as a 175-foot-tall marker of this treacherous inlet pass where many boats perished throughout the years. Today, when you drive over from Port Orange and enter beach territory at Daytona Beach Shores, remnants of spring breaks past leap out all over the place.
In the early 1500s, Ponce de Leon came here in search of a boat that had been separated from his fleet by strong currents. He named the area Bay of the Cross and set forth exploring. By 1569, thanks to what is now our state insect, the colloquial name became Mosquito Bay, which stuck for the next 300 years. Still, the area wasn't settled until the 1700s, when British plantation owners planted crops of oranges, rice, cotton and indigo nearby.
Although you may be wondering what a crass reference to the nether regions is doing wedged between port and cognac on your after-dinner wine menu, there's a very simple explanation. Get your heads out of the gutter, boys and girls, and pay attention.