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A long walk home

 

There are a few lighthouses in this country that one must make a little effort to see.

 

But, that's half of the fun.  I am still amazed whenever I head out to visit a tower that can be seen for 17 miles out to sea, but cannot be found two city blocks away.  One would think that hey, the Hatteras tower is 208 feet high and you should be able to see it from Rt. 12 in Buxton.  North Carolina that is.  Only two or three miles from the highway.  The land is basically flat.......it's on a barrier island for God's sake.  But not so.  You can't see it until your almost upon it. 

 

 I would understand if it were Absecon lighthouse I was looking for.  It's in Atlantic City, NJ and who could see a paltry lighthouse amongst all those gambling dens called Hotels.  It's sort of like being in a back alley of New York City and looking for a cross town bus.  Yup, been there too!

Even when I know exactly where the lighthouse is located and can see the light in the evening for miles,  Hereford Inlet light in New Jersey can't really be seen until you are on Central Avenue and a couple of blocks away.

Stage Harbor lighthouse, on Cape Cod, is probably in terrain nearest to what it was when it was built.

It is a couple of miles from the road head on flat scrubby sand which is still getting that old sand blast thing that Mom Nature.  Even at that, the light room is long gone.  So so much for a total realistic immersion in historical significance.

A post card in the showing the Fenwick Island lighthouse on the Maryland, Delaware border in the early 1900's Vs. one made around 1950 will give you the idea of just what the building clutter does.

They also show just how popular it is to live near the beach and helps to understand how hidden some of these things are.

 

 

Early 1900's

 

 

1950's

 

And there are so many others where the trip to, is the most challenging part of the trip.  The one light that really stands out in my mind however, is the walk out to Race Point Lighthouse on Cape Cod.  About 2 mile walk through the dunes and marshes at the end of the cape.  It was really a nice walk to and from, although it got kinda dark on the way back.  So it was a long walk home.  One really gets a significant "Feel" for what life must have been for those souls who tended to the lights.  Lonely and barren life which centered around polishing the glass lanterns and carrying oil up anywhere from two stories to 208 feet [with 10 foot ceilings that's a 20 story climb].  Their arms must have been down to their knees after carrying all that oil to the lantern rooms.

 

 

I think that I may have liked that life style!