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Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123351 01/15/03 08:44 PM
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lhlover Offline OP
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Okay, the cat is out of the bag! Of course it was interesting to see your guesses and wishes. But Shortcake had to give it up :p , so I might as well share with you the information I know. Harbour Lights contacted me and the Florida Lighthouse Association to ask us if we would like to attend the Regional Event again this year. It will be held in Jacksonville on April 26th. (Remember that Harbour Lights states that the date can be subject to change.)

Unfortunately we were unable to get you into any lighthouses the day of or after the last event we had here in November due to the short notice. As it has been previously mentioned in another post, there are a few Florida Lighthouses in the Jacksonville area that aren't open for touring. I have contacts at these lighthouses and believe that with the 3 months we have ahead of us, I may be able to get us on the bases to tour the lighthouses. Within an hour's drive of Jacksonville, we have St. John's Lighthouse (aka Mayport), St. John's Light Station, Amelia Island, St. Simons GA. The other direction we have St. Augustine - St. Augustine is easy to get to and is open for visitors daily. If you are really adventurous, Sapelo Island Lighthouse is also within reach.

I am sure that we can get to Amelia Island Light and the two St. John's Lights in one day, though we would have to rent a bus. If you wanted to make it a two day event, we could do St. Simons, and possibly Sapelo (or Tybee/Cockspur), one day and the 3 NE FL lights the day after. My questions to all of you Wackos that are planning to attend the regional event: How many of you are interested in taking a tour bus to Amelia Island and the two Mayports? How many of you would be interested in having a two-day tour bus to GA/FL? Would you all be willing to pay the bus/tour fee? I'm sure that the more people we have join us, the cheaper we can get the tour fee. If I get a great enough interest in this, I will start working on getting it set up. Please post me or email me your thoughts or suggestions and I'll see what I can do. smile

I hope to see you all soon! I enjoyed meeting a bunch of my fellow Wackos at the last event and hope to meet even more of you soon! laugh


BonnieJean
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Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123352 01/15/03 09:04 PM
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SThompson Offline
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Bus to Amelia Island and the Mayport Lights for me. What day are you looking at for these local lights?

April 25th Friday
April 26th Saturday
April 28th Sunday

Thanks

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123353 01/16/03 03:21 AM
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Dave H Offline
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I have been told by a very reliable source that the date for this event is pretty firm. What is not a definite at this point is whether it will be in Jax or somewhere in the general vicinity. The general vicinity would include Ponce (Daytona Beach) or St. Augustine.

Dave

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123354 01/16/03 04:09 AM
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MrsTLC Offline
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Sure wish Terry & I could attend this one however, we already had a time share in Carlsbad, CA set up during this time. I had such hopes that there would be one at Rosemont. frown Hopefully another Regional will be later that will work out for all of us to attend. I really need a "WACKO FIX" :rolleyes:
Ruthie smile
p.s. Not in August please!!!


Ruthie
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Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123355 01/16/03 08:23 PM
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Weasel58 Offline
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Lord knows I'll do anything to see a lighthouse I aint been to. So the answer is Yes!


Eric
Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123356 01/16/03 09:17 PM
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lhlover Offline OP
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Let's see - the event will be Saturday and probably in the middle of the day, so it kind of cuts out any lighthouse touring for Saturday. We will probably get a better price if we do the two day tour in a two day time frame instead of three. When you response to this, please let me know if you would like a one day (Amelia, St. John's & St. John's) or two day trip (NE FL & two in Georgia); what days would be best for you; and how many would be in your party. If we keep communicating, I'm sure we can get this nailed down and scheduled. Thanks! wink


BonnieJean
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Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123357 01/16/03 10:26 PM
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Well actually I don't wish to do a bus tour at all but seeing how we probably won't be able to get in any other way I would prefer to do Amelia, and the St. John's lights on Friday and use Sunday as a travel day home. I've been to the others so it's just a single day for me.

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123358 01/16/03 11:21 PM
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lhlover Offline OP
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I figure the bus tour will be easier. I know the Naval Base at St. John's won't allow 20 individual, unsupervised vechicles with X number of people in them, onto the base, but I believe they will let 1 bus with X number of supervised people on the base. With the bus idea, the Naval Personell don't have to worry about people coming during all times of the day.

Also with the bus, we can schedule a certain time to be at the Amelia Island Lighthouse and they can give us a presentation on the history of the lighthouse. This will also eliminate any problems with the Amelia Island Lighthouse neighbors seeing X number of cars outside their homes visiting the lighthouse. The neighbors have been known to get so upset that they call the law and tickets are given for parking on the side of the road or vehicles are towed. I would like to make this a good experience for everyone involved - you, my Wacko Friends/Family; the lighthouse and their "keepers"; and the neighbors around these beautiful lights.

I hope that we have a good response with interest on this tour because the more people we have, the cheaper it will be for each of us. smile


BonnieJean
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Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123359 01/17/03 01:53 AM
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Listen to what Sean is saying - go for the difficult to see lights. Ponce, St. Augie, Tybe and all can be very easily seen whenever someone is in the area, and would love to help you part with your tourist dollars. However, the two on Mayport and Ameilia are very difficult for most folks to see. This is where to concentrate your efforts. If HL will set up an afternoon event, you could do these in the morning without too much trouble (though I am imagining a tour bus turning down the lane to Amelia).

Folks can see the St. John's River Light from a few feet away, though through a fence. You can walk or drive up the lane to Amelia to get a glimpse. The other light on Mayport is what I would call an unattractive light, but it is one to be "checked off" if you are trying to see 'em all.

You might also get someone like forum member Stan (aka Glo Stan) involved - he is a retired Naval officer and lives in that area. His presence, as well as that of other military retirees (like Sean) may help soothe concerns over allowing a bunch of wacko lighthouse people onto a closed base.

Dave

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123360 01/17/03 07:12 PM
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lhlover Offline OP
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Well you see Dave, I kind of think of Sapelo as a "Hard-to-visit" Lighthouse also. I know that I could get us all onto the island and in the lighthouse, but couldn't make it to Sapelo and NE FL all in the same day. I figure that if people are interested in Sapelo, then we could do Sapelo in the morning and St. Simons on the way back. (No use driving by a lighthouse, with plenty of light to spare, and not visit it!) That is what I was really proposing with the two day trip.

The NE FL lights:

Amelia - we will not be able to climb because the granite stairs are in bad condition, but I know I can get the CG there to open up the doors so we can see the inside and take pictures of the really cool granite steps. Plus I know that I can get them to show a slide show on the history of the lighthouse and their research on it (includes lots of old pictures), plus the daughter of the very last lighthouse keeper (if I can get her there) can tell you some great stories about the light and her father.

St. John's Lighthouse (old one) - there is no way to get into the light because the Navy removed the attached house and buried the door under 7 feet of dirt that they had when they redrudged the river. If I can get the president of the Mayport Lighthouse Association (a good friend of mine), I may be able to get him to let us in through the lowest window by ladder. Of course, don't get your hopes up too much, since the Navy will have the final say in that - it may be too dangerous for some or someone might fall off the ladder, etc.

The St. John's Light Station is too. . . modern for my taste. I have visited it and have climbed it. I know that I will be able to get us permission to climb to the top of this tower (in small groups) if we get on base. I spoke to the Air Force Personnel that operates it last time I was there and he stated that he loved showing off the light to people that are interested.

I made a big deal in my last post about the bus option because I've had quite a few of you email me and ask if I could just get you permission to visit the lighthouses on your own time in your own vehicle. It's hard enough to get one person on the base to see the lights, much less 20+ people in 20+ different cars throughout a three day weekend. Not to mention the hated neighbors at the Amelia Island Lighthouse.

I think Friday will be the best day to tour the 3 NE FL Lights. Saturday will be a ruined day because it will take 3 hours to just see Ameila Island and watch the History Presentation. Not to mention the hour it takes to get to St. Johns, the time it will take for everyone to get pictures of the St. John's LH, and the time it will take everyone to climb the St. John's LS. Plus I will be setting up a table again for the Cedar Keys Lighthouse, so I have to be there before the HL event begins. Another thing, I believe the AF is only in the SJLS Monday thru Friday.

From your responses so far, I will see about getting us a bus on Friday to tour the Amelia Island LH, the St. John's LH, and the St. Johns LS. If we have time left over and still have light, we may even shoot for St. Augustine as a little bonus. How does that sound to everyone?

Please note that I will be away this weekend - the Florida Lighthouse Association is meeting in Jupiter, FL for their Quarterly Meeting. I will be back Sunday evening. So discuss this among yourselves and I will review this thread when I get back on Sunday.

I know that I have been offline here on the Forum for a bit, but promise to get back online as soon as I get time. Plus I have a lot of lighthouses to tell you about. I ended up seeing 21 Lighthouses and 1 Lightship on my travels to Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Canada. wink

Chat at you soon!


BonnieJean
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Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123361 01/17/03 08:33 PM
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Dave H Offline
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BonnieJean,

I understand what you are saying about Sapelo, but folks can get out there to tour the island if they want. If they don't have a valid military ID they aren't going to get onto the Naval Station. Concentrate on getting the difficult lights set up for your main effort. If enough people want to make a separate trip to Sapelo, go with it, but I would make this my secondary effort.

I am a little confused as to why the Air Force is operating a CG Aid to Navigation located on an active Navy base??? I know we are pushing more and more towards joint service operations, but this is somewhat of a stretch.

Dave

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123362 01/17/03 08:54 PM
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I fully understand the reasons for the bus wink Is there a view from across the marsh in the State Park of Amelia Island that I could hike to? I have up to almost 1000mm of lense so I don't have to be real close.

laugh

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123363 01/17/03 09:10 PM
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DANIEL Offline
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I agree with Sean and Dave H
Focus only on the two Mayport and Ameilia Lights.
They are the ones we can not see without your help.
You can offer an optional second day for the Georgia trip if you like.
I would rather be dropped off than go all the way back down to St. Augustine.
We will be there at the Bill signing on April 15 and it all ready sounds like plenty to do with the three lights all ready mentioned.

Sean I can find out if there are any good places to take pictures and let you know Monday.


DANIEL
Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123364 01/17/03 09:53 PM
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Thanks Daniel, I was at the park shortly last year but it was raining at the time so I didn't get to really snoop around.

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123365 01/18/03 12:12 AM
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Dave H Offline
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This is from the bridge - didn't have time to try the park to see if there is a better straight across shot. Do know someone who hiked along the beach area to get a shot.


Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123366 01/18/03 12:42 PM
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Thanks Dave, I looked at it from there but I was hoping from inside the park perhaps there might be an angle with a few less trees and a chance to crop out the docks. Just call me picky smile

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123367 01/18/03 01:44 PM
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Dave H Offline
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Sean,

If I remember correctly, the grounds of the lighthouse itself contain a lot of trees all the way around. May be difficult to get a good lok otherwise. You could always go up to Saint Mary's and take a flight in the old spooter plane that Derith & I rode in. He flew over Cumberland Island then flew down and over the Amelia light.

Dave

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123368 01/19/03 12:24 AM
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TERRY BARFIELD Offline
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You want to hear something strange? According to Yahoo maps, I can get to Jacksonville, Florida quicker than I can get to Buxton to visit Hatteras. I`ve never been to Jacksonville, but I am excited about going to the regional. laugh

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123369 01/27/03 09:59 PM
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Here's a little Hint..Don't use yahoo maps. Use www.RandMcnally.com That's the thomas bros site! Here are a few more things we know about the Jacksonville Regional:

Saturday, April 26, 2003
11:00 am to 3:00 pm
Wilson Center for the Arts on the FCCJ Campus
11901 Beach Boulevard
Jax Fl 33246

YEAH BUCS! cool

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123370 01/29/03 12:58 AM
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TERRY BARFIELD Offline
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Thanks Little red, I used the site and its still quicker to get to Jacksonville than Buxton. Amazing.

Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123371 01/29/03 01:36 AM
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DANIEL Offline
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Quote:
Wilson Center for the Arts on the FCCJ Campus
11901 Beach Boulevard
Jax Fl 33246
That's about a mile from where I work. cool laugh


DANIEL
Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123372 01/29/03 10:13 AM
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Shortcake Offline
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Daniel that's great, I know you must be happy that the regional will be so close to you!

As for me it will be 401 miles from where I am in Carrollton, GA. And it would be 432 miles from Mobile if I were at home. Not much difference in mileage just coming from a different direction.

Also noted that MapQuest now has a Krispy Kream locater incorporated into their Directions Maps. For those interested the address for Krispy Kream in Jacksonville is: 810 Cassat Avenue. I know I'll see some of you there! laugh hehehe laugh

Stephanie


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Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123373 01/29/03 01:57 PM
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Maybe Bill Younger will turn out a line of HL Krispy Kremes


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Re: Harbour Lights Regional Spring Event!!! #123374 02/24/03 06:50 PM
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Gary Toth Offline
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Kay and I just returned from Florida the week before last. We were based in Orlando, but managed to make a few day trips, one to Ponce de Leon and St. Augustine, one to the Kennedy Space Center to see Cape Canaveral (now visible only from 2+ miles away while on a moving bus), one down the coast to Jupiter Inlet, Hillsboro, and Cape Florida (a very long day), and the last to the St. John's River lights and Amelia Island. It's that last day's trip that is relevant to some of the questions and comments above. We did try to get on the Naval base and would have been successful if we had had our car registration. They were allowing individuals who were not military or former military on the base after a complete personal and automobile search in the parking lot at the base entrance. You did have to produce a license, proof of insurance, and automobile registration (not required in Missouri so we didn't happen to have it with us), but entering the base was possible. We were repeatedly told that the St. John's Light Station could only be viewed from inside the base. We didn't let that small obstacle deter us however. We proceded on into the city of Mayport where the St. John's river light was visible from a road behind a fence (a hundred feet or so away - we couldn't get onto the property on the day we were there). We then took the ferry across to A1A on St. George Island and entered the park on the other side of the St. John's river. Great views of the St. John's (Mayport) light were available along the southeast side of the park across the river and, unknown to the park employees who also told us the Light Station was not visible, we were able to see about the top 80% of the St. John's Light Station from area 59 through about area 71 along the park road. The view may have been better without the aircraft carrier sitting in dock, but such is life. Also, regarding Amelia Island, there is a small viewing spot inside Fort Clinch park in Fernandina Beach set aside for viewing the lighthouse. You have to exit your car and walk and 50 feet through the trees to get to the open area opposite the light, but the view seems to be better than the picture shown above. Also, a little further down the road inside the park on the right side in the trees lies the remains (portions of house and brick pillar supports) for the north rear range light. It's not particularly marked from the road so you have to keep your eyes pealed. For the truly fanatic there's one more spot to see. If you go all the way down the park road to the fort and walk east from the parking lot to the beach you can then walk about 600 yards south on the beach to the original position of the old north rear range light. Currently, offshore at that point reside two wooden towers containing day range markers. At any rate that was another fairly long day. We took a day or so off in between several of these trips, but still managed to put 1000 miles on the car while in Orlando.


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