Greetings, HL Forum Folks!
We're joining the forum! We have spent many hours reading through the forums - what a great "collection" of people! The humor, creativity, and camaraderie are fantastic.
We think we are very in sync with the HL forum family . . .we're just as wacko!

We live in Seattle where we often sail on the Puget Sound at night - the many active lighthouses are such a welcome sight. Our HL collecting started 3 years ago. I innocently bought the HL Mukilteo for my husband in Nashville where I was attending a convention. We found out about HL's when we read through the stuff in the HL Mukilteo box. Off we went to a HL dealer and took a look. . . 117 HL's and many lighthouse adventures later, we're just your average, typical HL wacko's.

Some adventure highlights: 1. On the way home from our local IKEA store with a HUGE load of new bookcases-with-glass-doors for our HL's collection, our van broke down on the busy freeway into Seattle. We had just pulled over to the shoulder when a big flat-bed tow truck pulled in behind us and offered to load us up and take us home for $60. The flame was burning for us! 2. We were going through security at the Burbank, CA airport with 9 HL's, purchased in the LA area, packed in one suitcase (the 9 boxes were flattened in the other suitcase) and security made us unwrap every single lighthouse. The security person admired the HL's so much, she called the other security folks over to take a look. We shared the flame! 3. We had to go to a wedding in Indiana last month. We decided to drive so we could see as many accessible Great Lakes lighthouses as possible. (And we could take our dogs with us.) The lighthouses were awesome! (8 rolls of film.) We fanned the flame! 4. So the Duluth area had NO MOTEL ROOMS available anywhere. We just had to see Split Rock in the morning. . .what to do? We slept in the back of the Jeep with our two 90 lb. Dogs! Split Rock was worth it. We kept the flame!
We're glad to be part of the whole HL family of collectors and wacko's!
Y'all keep the flame now!



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Seattle Sailors

Welcome Seattle Sailors!
Thanks for those great stories!
Browse around the Forum and enjoy. I'll be looking foward to your future contributions.

Welcome Firstmate / Seattle Sailors! Sounds like you've had the "HL Bug" for a while. What took you so long to speak up?

Great stories...thanks for sharing. From your experiences of visiting the CF in the past I don't have to remind you about how friendly and helpful the people are that visit here.

I'm looking forward to reading more posts from you in the future.

Once again, Welcome aboard!

Bob

Welcome to the Writin' side of the Forums!

A word to those other 'Lurkiers' : see how easy it is? Come-on, join in. Everyone's welcome.

Welcome to the Forums, Seattle Sailors!!
From the tales you have told us you sound like Wackos already!! I'm sure you will hit the 50 post mark in no time.

A hearty welcome from "TheLightkeeper". Welcome aboard!!!


"TheLightkeeper"

Welcome aboard First Mate. Since you have already learned your way around we will dispense with the orientation, and put you to work. Fasten that modem cable and start posting!! Or it's the plank for you all!



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Weasel58


[This message has been edited by Weasel58 (edited 10-20-99).]

Hello and welcome to the Seattle Sailors!

Thanks for sharing that great story with us. We are looking forward to more of your insights.

Again Welcome!

-Todd

Hello Seattle Sailors,

I enjoyed reading your post and I'm glad that you've shared your experiences with us. Seattle is one place I've always wanted to visit, so any stories you want to tell, I'm eager to read. And I'm so glad that you shared your trip with your dogs!

Joanne

Hey, First Mate!

It's very common for all the motels within a 50 mile radius of Duluth to be booked. It's a vacation gateway to the splendors of Minnesnowta!

But, since MY first mate and I live just down the road in Minneapolis, why dincha call us? We have lotsa room for HL folks!

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Bob Steinbrunn
Nautical Research Guild

welcome Seattle folks! Great stories!

Well, gosh, Bob...thanks for the late hospitality offer! Now, if you folks ever come to Seattle, you're entirely welcome to the back of our Jeep. You can even have the whole place to yourselves - we'll keep the dogs in the house.

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Seattle Sailors

Great stories First Mate, Sound like real wacko's to me! I too long to see Seattle. I have several freiends working here in Arizona with me that are from Seattle. Good folks.

Looking forward to hearing more of your adventures.

Dale

WELCOME ABOARD, great stories.

WELCOME ABOARD, great stories.

From Cajun Country USA
Lafayette, Louisiana

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Bob

FirstMate,

Great reading material, and welcome to the wonderful world of obession. I never thought about IKEA for cuirios, are they pretty nice?

Yo Youngone!
We think the IKEA cabinets are really nice - sturdy and very good looking. We have the Billie model in the really dark reddish brown with the glass doors and extensions on top. They look like they're built in. People are REALLY surprised to hear they're IKEA. They were way,way $ less than anything we could find - and a cinch to put together.
The previous is an unpaid testimonial!!!

Seattle Sailors

I have never heard of IKEA. Please tell me a little bit about it so I can take a look. Sounds like what I'm looking for. I want a bookcase but with glass doors.

Joanne

I enjoyed your post with the many experiences you have had as HL collectors. I want to welcome you to this great family of HL-Collectors and Forum-Friends. Looking forward to hearing from you in the future.

Ron
(CT Keeper)

Joanne,

IKEA is a scandanavian (SP/) co, that sells mostly, or did, put together furniture that is usually fairly attractive and usually fairly inexpensive, as furniture goes. I'm in MD and they have an outlet in Bel-Air MD and they have one in VA at a shopping outlet, Potomac Mills. They also have a catalog, or at least did. If I get the chance to get down there in the next two to three weeks, I'll pick you up one while I scout around for a possible Christmas gift for myself.

Thanks youngone, I appreciate the help. Funny, I thought it might be Japanese.

Joanne

Think this should be in the Display/Storage Tips area, but - here's where the IKEA thing got going, so adding this here.

IKEA has a Web site : www.ikea.com where you can order a catalog (and see some products). However, the 2000 catalog does not picture the tall Billy wall systems and bookcases AT ALL like the '99 catalog did. The gorgeous pix in the '99 catalog had us at the store in a heartbeat, where we got what was pictured in the catalog. We have interior lites (from Home Depot) in the bookcases - so they're very much like curios, but at a fraction of the cost of what "real curios" cost.

Seattle Sailors

Welcometo the forums. I see that you have 29 posts, so you are well on the way to being an official wacko. If you haven't already checked out the threads about the wacko pin, look in the general forum. Then when you become a wacko you can join all the other wackos and get your pin when they become available. Thanks also for the info on the IKEA product.

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foghornkeeper