on a mostly cloudy day...









Finally got a chance today to meet the owner, Jim Walker. He said that he would very much like to get a 6th order lens for the light but that there are very few in existence. He also recalled the day in 1995 that BY stopped by during their open house to unveil the HL of the lighthouse. Jim also told us that that same day in October three people drowned out in the lake having gone out in a 19' boat in 8-9' waves.

Previous to Jim's arrival we chatted with his S.O. who was manning the store. She said that the tower is currently closed off as a couple of the stair treads (not original)are broken. Also she spoke of the rising cost of window replacement. The cost of the next window to be replaced will be $1800!

I asked her about the hotel. She said they are just trying to keep it stable at present. There was some sort of explosion near the marina in l987 which destroyed the building which housed the marina office and the Town required that a new building be errected for that purpose. Therefore funds have not been available to restore the hotel.

thanks mombo. Just as I remember it - there in '98, I think that was the year we did western New York. We arrived at the same time as a whole bunch of fishing tournament people. I bought Jim Walker's last Bicentennial lighthouse pins from him and chatted him up about his Web sites which were one of the early lighthouse resources on the Net.

Blogging along the coast of western New York is a trip I very much want to do again. I really enjoyed the area with all the 1812 history and of course all the great lighthousing. We made it as far as Thousand Islands and Sunken Rock. Tibbets Point and Fort Niagra stand out in my mind as neat spots, but there are so many its hard to choose.

We will go back, though it needs to be one of those 2 week driving vacations - course those are what I like the best. :-)

T