June 08, 2007

To the lighthouse with stories from New England, New Zealand and Cape Wrath.
posted by velvetrabbit 17 years ago
  • Lighthouses are interesting places. We've quite a few on the Great Lakes here in Michigan, I've visited, climbed, looked at most of them. My favorite is Big Bay on Lake Superior, beautiful 100 year old light on a 60' cliff over the lake. It is now a bed and breakfast, I tend to visit mid-winter, its a magical place that time of year.. pictures located here
  • Ancient as it is, in any thread regarding lighthouses, it is up to someone to post this.
  • I used to live near an old lighthouse. THere was a park next door and we'd spend summer afternoons peeking in the windows and imagning what it had been like to live there. There was definitely a haunted-house aspect to it. Now I'm going to have Brel's "L'Eclusier" stuck in my head all day!
  • We used to visit this lighthouse when I was a kid, and peek into the windows and try to imagine what it was like to live there. It was very spooky! And stop stealing my childhood, TUM. 80 demerits. ♫ I wanna marry a lighthouse keeper and keep him company ... ♫
  • I grew up around the port areas of Adelaide in fact near this lighthouse. I found an interesting story about another lighthouse that used to be there. I'm not sure why but this research triggered off a wave of sadness for me. I'm not sure why - whether it's lighthouses or thinking about the past.
  • And then there's the crush I (and probably Koko) had on Gus Pike from Road to Avonlea.
  • Lighthouses are fascinating, and sometimes spooky. This is the mournful mating call of one not far from me. Great post, Velve Trabbit!
  • Cool, I've always wanted to be a lighthouse keeper.
  • Thanks. This was the result of a bad day - the closest I could get to running away to be a lighthouse keeper. Looks like my plans to recreate Moominpappa at Sea are doomed.
  • ooo, and Fish Tick - that noise! Wonderful. I'll be playing that over and over while I click my little torch on and off and imagine I'm far, far away on some distant windswept rock with only the puffins for company ...
  • The lighthouse closest to where I lived. The painting makes it actually look half-decent. In real life, it's a corrugated steel water main standing on end and filled with concrete, at the end of a half-finished pier. So there was no playing at the lighthouse. In the abandoned cranes at the same marina, however...
  • I'll be playing that over and over while I click my little torch on and off Don't forget the occasional sploosh of salt spray from the neti pot!
  • Ah, the sound of the waves, the gulls, the mournful hooti...crashing of ships on the rocks. Dang, forgot to turn the lights on again
  • Lighthouse Keepers get up to all sorts of hijinks. Oh come with me to the rolling sea While the weather's calm and still We'll have some fun and laughter with The adventures of Portland Bill
  • I grew up visiting the Outer Banks lighthouses "way back when", before they became keychains. Hatteras was the most fun. You could climb to the top (if you didn't mind the unbelievable interior heat or the long spiral climb up dank cast iron stairs) and from there view the ocean churned up over the Diamond Shoals to the east. As the years passed, it was exciting to watch the land disappear, bringing the sea to the very base of the thing. The view was incredible... I was glad it was saved by moving, but the views from the top, primarily scrub pine forest, just aren't the same. BTW There's NOTHING more stunning than a first-order fresnel lens in good condition. It's like a gigantic diamond... There's still one in use at Bodie Island although the tower needs restoration. Bodie is my all-time childhood (and adult) favorite even though you could never climb it. The site, and the area around it, hasn't changed much since the 1870s.
  • Koko, your link says they don't allow hotlinking. Did they always say that, or did we kill their bandwidth?
  • This is the one she meant, I believe.
  • Oooh. It's beautiful.
  • What's the story behind the name "Burnt Coat," I wonder.
  • *sniffle* I've broken my torch. I am a bad imaginary lighthouse keeper. And the imaginary puffins all hate me. Very jealous of all these people living close to real lighthouses. Not much call for them around here.