A Little Father's Day Weekend Lighthousing

I was supposed to be in Maine last week for the NELL event but several factors caused that trip to be cancelled so it allowed me to go to the NJ Lighthouse society meeting on Saturday 6-19.

It was held at Absecon Lighthouse in Atlantic City. We went down the night before and took in a Moody Blues Concert- the show was good, the seats were not the best but we survived.

The after concert activities were even better than the show. We went into the Casino (Tropicana) and I proceeded to do my normal thing- leave some of my money in the slot machines.

I was down about $60 when I hit a nice jackpot- $560. I played it down to $500 on the slots and cashed in and then proceeded over to the Big Wheel where I gave back most of $100 (minus the tips I gave to the lady who brought me my drink- just water- and the gentleman who brought me my money).

The next day was the NJLHS meeting and that was very nice. It was outside under a tent and while it was quite warm and humid there was a nice breeze that made it bearable. I did not see any other Forum members there. Shirin skipped the meeting due to other committments.

We did get to talk to a number of people we had not seen as we had not manged to make it to a NJLHS meeting since March 2003 due to various factors including weather, surgery and the HL Regional in FL this year.

Esther climbed the lighthouse but I passed due to the weather and other factors.

I picked up some brochures for the 5th annual NJ Lighthouse Challenge that I volunteered to deliver to a Visitor's Center on the NJ Turnpike.

We drove home on Saturday after the meeting.

Sunday I decided to drive up to the Tourist Center (about 20 miles north of me) and deliver the brochures and then go in the opposite direction to see the closest real Lighthouse to me that I had never officially gotten to- Turtle Rock in Philadelphia, PA.

It was actually a working Lighthouse for a period of time. It guided Steamboats on the Schuykill River in the late 1800's and early 1900's. It's physically part of the last Boathouse on what is termed Boathouse Row along the river in Fairmount Park right below the Art Museum.

The boathouses are used by different Rowing clubs including the Univrsity Of Pennsylvania's rowing team. There are several Regatta's on the river every year including the Dad Vail Regatta that is held on mother's Day weekend usually.

Here's a couple of photos of the Lighthouse-









This area is just across the river from the Philadelphia Zoo. They have a new attraction that allows people to go up in a very large hot air ballon. I figured it would be appropriate to add a couple of photos of this here.






We took a nice little walk along the river and then went on our merry way. I have actually driven by this point on the Schuykill Expressway many times, but I don't ever recall seeing the Lighthouse prior to Sunday. You can see it very clearly from across the river while driving west on the Schuykill Expressway.

The area around the Lighthouse is a nice part of Fairmount Park and a short walk from both the Philadekphia Art Museum and the Rodin Museum.

This was the only Lighthouse on our little trip yesterday.

Dennis

So that means you left still up about $400????

Thanks for sharing your trip and pictures. The light is interesting - does the tower come up thru the rounded addition / room there at the front of the building? That's what it appears to be doing. Maybe you should have gone across the river for the balloon ride and taken a picture from above.........

Dave,

You're good at math apparently- yes I left about $400 ahead of the game. Of course, if you add in all the other times I've been to Casinos I'm still a bit in the hole. I don't patronize them that often and usually it's when I go to some other function, like this past weekend.

The Turtle rock Lighthouse was built first and the Boathouse was built around it at some later date. It's the newest Boathouse on Boathouse Row. The light was put into service in August 1887 and the Boathouse was constructed in 1902-03.

Here's a link to a story that appeared in the Lighthouse Digest in June 1997.

http://www.lhdigest.com/Digest/StoryPage.cfm?StoryKey=175

The Sedgeley Club is the name of the organization responsible for restoring the Lighthouse in 1990. It ss the only Woman's Boating Club in Fairmount Park.

Here's a link that shows some inside pictures.The Lighthouse has been converted to Electric from Gas but is lit only on special occasions.

http://www.partyspace.com/facilitypages/sedgeley/main_page.htm

There's a cupola up on a hill overlooking the Lighthouse. I couldn't see any way up there, but I may go back and drive around and see if I can find it. You can probably get a nice shot of the Lighthouse from there.


Dennis

Sounds like you had a busy weekend Dennis. Turtle Rock is one light that I've rowed past and walked past a number of times. Unfortunately that was before lighthouses for me so I didn't pay attention.

Thanks for the photos and the link to the club site. It's neat how the base of the tower is in the living area!

Sue, didn't you once mention that you also rowed past the Colossus of Rhodes in its heyday?

Right Dave. Here's a model of the boat.

http://www.pacific-tall-ships.com/Bigshipimages/Grbireme1.jpg

Bad Dave! Bad! Bad!

Dennis, sounds like you had a fine weekend! One minor point: I believe the Philadelphia Zoo's balloon is of the helium variety, not hot air. Notice the envelope is not open at the bottom and there is no burner.

As you've probably noticed, hot air is one of my specialties!

Bruce