I did something I’ve not done in years. 2002, to be exact.
I climbed a lighthouse.
I didn’t do it alone – Spawn was with me. I remembered to take a breather every level. There were 9 in this one.
However, I forgot how scary it is to come down the first 2 levels.
I’m getting old folks.
But after spending pretty much the entire week stuck at home waiting to get the car fixed, (it finally did get fixed Friday morning) he and I decided to screw everything and just go DO something today.
That would be a 3 inch crack in the radiator.
We were told it would rain. It did. Right up until we reached the State Park. And then there was not a cloud in the sky. When we left, it rained. So be it.
I saw something I’ve never seen ALIVE.
A sand dollar. And yes, it was alive. (When Spawn loads his pics, I’ll show you!) Yes, we released it back to the waters whence it came. When we were walking back, 2 ladies were holding a different one – they had no clue what it was.
Because when you’ve seen one, it was dead, and the little hairs bleached off, so it was white. And the little bones shook around.
The water was really cold.
But we had the best time. It was a good day.
Over by the bush in the middle is a rather large gator. Trying to figure out if it’s Lamar’s mama or not…
Sorrynotsorrymybadnot.
An almost better picture of the gator.
On that branch is a turtle. Yep. We did nature today!
That’s not scum. It’s pollen!
Looking up.
This is the original casing for the 2nd order Fresnel light. Making a Fresnel shard is a lost art. (It’s faceted glass that reflects the light.)
Spawn has loved lighthouses since I can remember. Many years ago – 1997 to be exact, he and I took a 4 day off the cuff trip and took off to North Carolina. We traveled north and visited all the lighthouses in North Carolina – Currituck (climbed) Bodie (can’t climb) Cape Hatteras (got there too late to climb, shucky darn and this was before they moved it) visited Kill Devil Hills and then on to Ocracoke (If I ever get married again, that’s where I want to honeymoon) You have to take a ferry to get on and off Ocracoke. We ended up sleeping in our car when we reached Morehead City because there wasn’t a single room to be found! (That’s another story!)
When then visited Cape Lookout Lighthouse, (Okay, we used the telescope to look at it across the bay) and visited (drove by) Oak Island Lighthouse. (2nd ugliest lighthouse we’ve seen. First ugliest lighthouse is Charleston Bay.) We missed Bald Head Island and didnt’ feel like going back.
Either way, he has a lovely collection of collectible lighthouses that we’ve visited, wind chimes, t-shirts, shoot, his room and bathroom is done in nautical… so this was a treat. He was really happy to get out of the house (so was I) and go do something.
It was so pretty. Spawn said I should have brought Thorin.
No!
zee's muse 
Glad you had such a wonderful day!
Sounds like a great day! Can’t see either the alligator or the turtle but I’d love to see the live sand dollar – I don’t even know what colour they are!
When Spawn loads his pics, I’ll load them. His are much better than mine – and he got a picture of the gator from the back side, from the road.
it’s beautiful! and you’re not getting old, you just need to be up lighthouses more often 😉 Sounds like you are in the right area to do so 🙂
And omg… he’s wearing short sleeves.. outside!!!!! I#m still wearing 2 layers inside, 3 at work because of aircon and 4 outside+ gloves and scarves and stuff.. spring is nowhere in sight here!
back to lighthouse… i am glad the beautiful view compensated for the climb, i’d be hoping for icecream at the top :-p
Love the beach and the colours of the sand..
And i learned something new! Had never heard of a sand dollar before, looks amazing, what a special creature!
And never knew turtles could go up branches!
DON’T want to know about the gators, would have probably run away as fast as i can if i ever saw one and would not go near the place again 🙂
Glad you had such a lovely day out
Not only is he wearing short sleeves, he’s also wearing shorts and flip flops. I was wearing a thin cotton tunic and capri jeans. It’s been in the upper 70’s and mid 80’s here. Of course, for the next 3 or 4 days, the highs will be in the mid 60’s so not as warm, but I’m sure we’ve seen the last of winter. We are DEFINITELY seeing spring, according to all the pollen around.
I would climb a lighthouse 3 times a week, if I could afford it. This particular lighthouse is an hour away and it cost 10 bucks to get in the park and 2 bucks each to climb the lighthouse. I should check to see how much the Tybee Island lighthouse is to climb… there isn’t a park fee and it’s about 45 minutes from here… There IS the parking fees there however. (Tybee makes millions every year on parking fees alone.)