We are getting serious about planning our time in Califirnia in March/April.

So here comes the plea for information.

We will be staying in Ramona - not in El Cajon as originally planned.

We definitely will visit our friend the Old Point Loma lighthouse again.

But what else is there by way of lighthouses in "day trip distance"?

And also ... WHO is within day trip distance?
We'd love to meet some CF friends if possible!

Nobody knows anything about Southern California?? Shame...

Oh well, we will just have to do our own exploring! But we will have fun doing it!

I figured people who live there could help better but..... If you can drive north to Long Beach you can see Los Angeles Harbor light well out in the harbor on along jetty. Above it high on a hill/bluff is Point Fermin in a small city park and the easiest to visit. Not far north on the same road is Point Vicente. It's in a Coast Guard Station and will likely be closed to visitors, but it can be seen clearly through the fence. That's it for the south LA area. An easy side trip between San Diego and LA is the San Juan Capistrano Mission or the San Luis Rey Mission near Oceanside. At least the two Point Loma lights are close together.

Margret,

Day trip to see LA Harbor, Point Fermin and Point Vicente wouldn't be too bad. You could look for a boat trip of some type to see LA Harbor, but I believe you can also distantly view it from land. Point Fermin is in a park so you can get up and around it fairly easily. Not sure if the building is open at all, but it has had considerable work in the not too distant past.

Point Vicente is open one day a month, I believe. The compound also contains some USCG housing so it is not normally open. It is only about 10 miles north of Point Fermin, so it is worth the add on trip even if not open. You can get decent views from the gate and a small park next door. This light is a very pretty light, and has a neat lantern room. The Point Vicente lens is HL's most recent release in the lens series (double bullseye clam shell).

Beyond that it gets into a lot more travel. The trip out to Anacapa Island will give you a nice visit and a smaller version of the Point Vicente tower. However, it is pretty much an all day evolution. At Point Hueneme thee is also an interesting light that is open some weekends. You can walk along the beach to view it.

Go to lighthousefriends.com for help with info and directions. A helpful book to have about the CA lights is the Umbrella Guide to California Lighthouses by Sharlene & Ted Nelson.

Thank you Bob and Dave ... sounds like we WILL get some lighthouses in front of the lens! Great!

Thanks for the tips!

You can view the LA Harbor light from Point Fermin - aways off in to the Southwest. But if you take the harbor cruise and ask the captain nicely, he'll get you up close and personal.

There is a pseudo lighthouse restaurant in Long Beach. Can't recall the directions or name. But one of our gang will step in here and give it to you.

Thanks for the tip!
Looks posh and expensive ! ... we will have to see what the purse strings say ...
But I must at least take a picture for our "faux lights page"

Margret if you want to see Pt. Vicente on a day it's not open it might be worthwhile trying to contact someone ahead of time. When my friend went there a few years ago he met up with one of the Coast Guard folks at the gate and they told him to go on in. So they were receptive, at that time anyway. And if you tell them that you came all the way from England, you'd think that might help!

Mr Eric Castrobran, USCG Auxiliary

I found this name in a archived Forum, he was our guide when a group of us visited Point Vicente Lighthouse in 2001 when we were in california for the West HL Regional that year.. Eric was the main man in getting a museum set up at the lighthouse almost singled handed..

Margret, there's always Mexico too. I'm pretty sure that you can see the lighthouse at Tijuana without crossing the border. Some friends got photos of it that way a couple years ago.

http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/baj.htm

Hopefully this phone number is still an active one to contact Eric.. (310) 541-0334

Down by the Queen Mary (I think that is the one that is now in Long Beach) there is a nice faux light - think it is the Lions Club Memorial or something along those lines. Would have to find old notes.

Margret, go to the "browse topics for ___ days" and set it to show all topics. Lots of old trips and ideas in those posts.

gets better... thanks all! Brilliant.

We should be OK getting in touch with the Coast Guard... friend of a friend is in the Coast Guard around there... And the "come all the way from England" thing has worked before ... so we will try that again

And as for Tijuana -- that is certainly worth a try. Even though I bet the hire car will not be allowed into Mexico. We had that problem in New Mexico ... the hire companies all had that stipulation.
But if you can photograph the light without having to cross the border ... GREAT

And a faux light by the Queen Mary (yes that is the one at Long Beach) ....

Good job I have plenty of memory cards for my digital camera... seems like that will be busy

We are soooo looking forward to this trip! Thanks all for the tips!

You HAVE to see Queen Mary, even if it's not a lighthouse! Just being aboard the ship should be incredible...such a historic vessel. If you have time, it's definitely worth it.

I seem to know less and less about lighthouses the further west you go, so I am not really that good with the West Coast. But the ship geek in me knows how cool QM is.

Hey, I am planning on being in San Diego for a few days at the end of March, maybe I will see you at Point Loma!

I beg to differ about the Queen Mary...admire it from a distance but don't waste your money...it's ridiculously expensive just to park near it and it is NO FUN AT ALL seeing this once proud lady defaced with vending/ATM machines on board...

There is a park on the US side of the border to get a distance shot of Tijuana. Next to it (the lighthouse) is one of the stadiums for Bull Fighting.

Point Vincente - I would take a picture from the fence (if you can't get in) and one from the park next door (even if you get in). From the park you can see the cliff...makes a good picture. Also note the glass in the lantern room facing away from the water is tinted with color.

L.A. Harbour...if you can't see it from a boat there is a pier that is somewhat near to get a picture.

Long Beach does have a real lighthouse also, some would call it ugly...go to Lighthouse Directory for more info. If you go a long distance shot can be made from the pier, but a boat would be much better....I wonder if you could get someone to boat you to that one and LA Harbour...there are neighbors...sort of.

Last but not least Fermin is between L.A. Harbor and Point Vincene and was being restored a few years ago, so should look great now (my pictures show lots of ply board).

Here is a link to a picture of the Tijuana lighthouse from the air.
http://www.californiacoastline.org/cgi-b...=0&year=current

On the Weasel58 picture, just to the right and up just a little bit from the lighthouse is the bull ring. To the left of the lighthouse is the fence that separates US from Mexico.

had a closer internet search about the Tijuana lighthouse... that looks real peculiar ... seems like a park cut in half by a fence...
bet the border patrols have "fun" just there ...

Do you know the dates yet? I have a reason to be in San Diego area for a few days and coule make that coincide with your visit for a day of lighthousing.

John

Hi John, just got your voicemail on Skype...
We will arrive in the evening of Sat. 18th of March and depart again in Tuesday the 18th of April.
And so far the only days we have any definite plans for:

Sun. 19th March (yes the day after we get there ) there is a stamp show in San Diego, which seems the only way to get to buy some stamps. Apparently none of the dealers have shops any more.

Sun. 26th of March ... that is Susan's birthday and needs celebrating!!

At some stage we will go for a day trip to LA to see lighthouses. Our friend Kim Fahlen invited us ... can't say no to that, can you. But we are not sure which day that will be.

Would LOVE to meet with you!!! So if you can make it let us know. !!! We can give you Sue's number when we are there, so we can get in touch.

Best wishes from cold England ... well at least the sun was shining today...

I'm pretty sure we can work it out Margret. Let me check with the other folks I plan to see next week and I'll let you know.

Margret, you couldn't have a better guide. That should be a fun get-together!

Looks like we will be there Monday, March 27th to Thursday, the 30th. Staying at "Harbour Lights" in the Gaslamp Quarter.

Hey Jim, let's meet for a coffee! Sounds like a great idea! We are not quite sure yet how our transport situation will pan out. But I hope we can borrow a car. So maybe we can meet up either in the Gaslamp Quarter or in the Seaport Villeage. What do you think?
Hey maybe John can join us

Just remember that we drive on the right side of the road (in more ways than one) . . . . .

... careful Dave Remember I passed my test on the right side of the road (in Germany) ... so no problem there !!

I visited Point Fermin in November, and it was beautiful! The Point Fermin Lighthouse Society runs guided tours of the grounds and lighthouse, including the lantern room. You can see Los Angeles Harbor Light in the distance, but it's a little far away to get a good picture of it. The hours are 1 to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. While I've seen the tours advertised on the hour, they will usually start one once there's a few people. Admission is free, although they do ask for a donation.

Great to know that they do have the light open for visitation. It was being worked on for quite a while - glad that it appears to have paid off with your 'beautiful' description!

It's great to know that this beautiful lighthouse is open and so accessible for all to enjoy.

Hello All,

I wanted to take the opportunity and inform all fellow light enthusiasts that Pt. Vicente Lighthouse and Pt. Hueneme Lighthouse are open to the public once a month. Pt. Vicente is open on the second Saturday of each month 10am to 3pm and Pt Hueneme is open the third Saturday from 10 to 3 pm (last shuttle pick-up at port gate is 2:30pm) Both are operational US Coast Guard Aids and have exhibits. admission is free. Visitors 18 and older must have photo id. Come visit us!
info line for both 310-541-0334

By the way,

just to let you know, Eric Castrobran is still the"main man" at Pt Vicente, I'm his son and I am keeper of Pt Hueneme light. Come out and see us.

It is really good to have an actual keeper join the forums. I am really looking forward to hearing more about your experiences - and those of your dad - at your respective lighthouses.

We are SOOOOO looking forward to seeing at least Pt. Vicente and Pt. Fermin.
Can't wait to get going... 2 days from now we are off to San Diego, CA and then we can start planning a lighthouse day!

Margret,

A few years ago I had the distinct pleasure of visiting Point Vicente and meeting Eric Castrobran. Have to say that he is most passionate about "his" light and has worked very hard to presrve it and to open it to visitation when possible. Apologize for the quality of the pictures, but the day I was there was very foggy and these are scans of photos. The lantern room is magnificent (as is the double bullseye bi-valve lens). Only light I can think of with colored astragals. (think that is what the 'window panes' are called...)





Our new member - USCG Lighthouse Keeper and Eric's son - has been a prime factor in the work done at Point Hueneme. The lighthouse itself is a newer one - 1941 I believe. While the style is fairly simple, it is also somewhat elegant in its simplicity. The lens displayed is the same one used in the original lighthouse that was similar in design to the Point Fermin Light. Unfortunately, when we were in the area the light was not open so we walked along the water to see the light and get a few pictures. (Hopefully my facts are correct.)

Very nice, Dave. Both are simple but very beautiful. Thanks for letting us see these shots. Pt. Vicente reminds me somewhat of Eluanbi in Taiwan.

Thas pretty cool father and son keepers. I like that! Thanks guys.

Tom,
You are right that is pretty cool.
California is now on my list of lighthouses to visit.
HCS

Here we are in California ... we had been looking forward to escaping the winter... and ...

IT SNOWS ???

54 degrees tops and we saw snow yesterday. Appart from the rain that was a big surprise!

Still CA is lovely! And we are happy to be here! Lighthousing starts on Thursday!

Welcome back, Margret! It's good to see you posting from California. Hopefully, you will have a little time at the end of the day to tell us a bit about your adventures - lighthouse and otherwise!

No real adventures yet, Grace. We went for a bit of retail therapy yesterday... bought a lightouse lamp

I am still getting used to driving here and today I will venture into the traffic chaos that is San Diego. See how that works out.

Tomorrow.... Point Loma ...

Phew... we are back home and hopefully tomorrow I will get round to posting some pictures...

California was GREAT ... except the rain...
If anyone else tells me "We never get rain like this, this late!" I will scream

But we had a great time!!!!

Glad to hear you are home safely.
Hope you enjoyed California - look forward to seeing some of your photos.

HCS

Welcome back, Margret! We sure missed you! I'm glad that your trip was safe and uneventful. Get over the jet lag before you start fretting about posting. We do look forward to seeing your pictures and hearing about your experiences, however.