It's time for our 2nd lighthousing trip this year, leaving tomorrow. We will mostly be concentrating on Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey, and should hit 22-24 lights if things go as planned.

We will first visit a few northern Chesapeake Bay lights before crossing into northern Delaware.

We will then try to visit a majority of the lessor known Delaware River range lights from the Philadelphia area south, on both banks of the river. Many are on industrial properties, and may take some clever maneuvering/ tresspassing to get close.

Eventually working our way south along the Delaware Bay, we will end up in the Cape Henlopen area, then crossing over to Cape May.

The final leg of the trip will be to work our way up the Jersey coast to Sandy Hook & Navesink, then over to the Poconos for some nature and a soak in a hot tub (I wouldn't doubt if it is heart shaped).

In addition to all the well known lights, we will be visiting some lessor known ones such as the Old Ludlam Beach Light (now without the beacon), Tuckerton Seaport replica light, Conover Beacon, Cape Henlopen replica, Liston Range, Marcus Hook Range, Bellevue Range, Chapel Hill Range, Tinicum Range, East Point, New Castle Range, Mispillion, Reedy Island Range, Finn Point Range, etc.

Beyond all the lighthousing, we will be spending a night gambling in Atlantic City. We are staying one block away from the intersection of Park Place & Boardwalk, and I will probably loose all my allocated HL money (wish me luck). I have my "stay out of jail" card in the wallet already. Will tell Donald you all said hi. Another night will be spent on the boardwalk at the Wildwoods, riding the coasters, eating salt water taffy, and watching fireworks on the beach. Of course some Blue Crab, whole lobsters, and plenty of double Cafe Mochas will keep us going on my typical "slavedriver" schedule. Will let you know all the lights we hit upon our return. I'm looking forward to trying out 3 new lenses I recently picked up, hopefully I'll have a few nice shots. Bye Bye.

---

Rod Watson
[This message has been edited by Rod Watson (edited 08-22-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Rod Watson (edited 08-22-2000).]

Safe Journey to you and Becky, Rod. Bring back lots of great pictures and good luck at the Casinos.

John

Have a great trip Rod! Derith and I will be looking on with great interest as we may try to duplicate your trip in November. Please make copius notes of all the nooks and crannies in finding the lesser known LHs.

Will do Robert. Could even mail you my detailed computer printed maps of the trip if you want (detailed turn by turn maps with mileage between turns, topography & nautical maps, satellite images, etc.) They detail the exact locations of almost every single front and rear range light on the river, even some that may or may not still exist. The question is whether I can get onto a few of the properties for photos, etc. Will soon find out.

Have a great trip Rod! It certainly sounds as though you are well prepared. Will anticipate reading and seeing all about it. Hope you can get photos of Harbor of Refuge light.

Will sure try, Sue. We originally intended on taking a short sunset cruise close to Delaware Breakwater and Harbor of Refuge, but it just didn't pan out with the schedule.

We will be walking the beach at Cape Henlopen State Park to as close to the lights as possible from shore. I recently picked up a 500mm lens, so it will be a great test for it. It is supposed to be a very sunny day while there, at around 2:00 PM, so I should be able to get a half way decent long distance shot at a quicker shutter speed (with monopod), without too much camera shake. We will see.

A successful trip! We ended up at 27 lights overall, and climbed 6.

Maryland:
Concord Point Lighthouse
Turkey Point Lighthouse

Delaware:
Marcus Hook Rear Range Light
Bellevue Rear Range Light
New Castle Rear Range Light
Liston Front & Rear Range Lights
Reedy Island Rear Range Light
Mispillion Lighthouse
Delaware Breakwater Light
Harbor of Refuge Light
Overfalls Lightship
Cape Henlopen "replica" Light

New Jersey:
Tinicum Island Front & Rear Range Lights
Finn Point Rear Range Light
East Point Lighthouse
Cape May Lighthouse (climbed)
Hereford Inlet Lighthouse (climbed)
Old Ludlam Beach Light (what's left of the keeper's house)
Absecon Lighthouse (climbed)
Tucker's Island "replica" Lighthouse
Barnegat Lighthouse (climbed)
Sea Girt Lighthouse
Sandy Hook Lighthouse (climbed)
Navesink Lighthouse (climbed north tower)
Conover Front Range Light

Highlight #1:
Bellevue Rear Range Light- The light is located on the south side of Cherry Island, in Wilmington. The entire island is a VERY large landfill, which has grown to almost 50 ft. in height in places. Due to the landfill's incredible height, the historic lighthouse was supposed to be moved to the north side of the island this year, since it can hardly be seen from the north (the direction it ranges from). We had to check in with the main office for permission to visit the light up close. It took alot of begging, and I had to sign a special release form in order to enter the property. We also had to check in/out at the weigh station when entering and leaving. The office said they were not allowed to move the light due to it's historic stature, so they were required to build a brand new light tower on the north side of the property (the foundation only is completed so far). It was a 1 1/2 mile drive around the dirt road perimeter to reach the south side of the island. A continual flow of gigantic dump trucks were racing in and out as we drove along the precarious so called "road" (thank God for SUVs). It was worth the hassle though, as we ended up within yards of the light for some nice photos. We passed by the newer light's foundation also on the way out. Another interesting adventure added to the annuals of our lighthousing memories.

Highlight #2:
Liston Front Range Light- This is a beautiful and well kept keeper's house with a "coupola" style lantern room on top of the roof (Old Point Loma, Selkirk, etc). The problem with this light is that it is located within a private community, with "no tresspassing' signs all over the place. Against Becki's wishes (as usual), I slowly drove through the community to the very end. The light is the last house on the road, with a nice culdesac style turnaround at it's entrance. I quietly jumped out and started snapping off shots, when I quickly noticed someone exiting the home, and glaring at me from the porch. I don't think he was all that happy, so I left rather hastily. I should probably feel bad for the tresspassing, but I guess moving into an historic lighthouse should have been the first clue that this would probably happen to them occasionally. I'm a harmless little fuzzball, and was actually quite proud of myself for getting some shots of it.

Highlight #3:
Mispillion Lighthouse- How Sad . This is such a beautiful structure, in such terrible shape. Large holes in the roof, crumbling fireplace chimneys, veneers and wood siding peeling away all over the place, shattered lantern room glass, etc, etc. If you want to see this light in person, you better get there soon. I don't think it will take too many more storms. It seems the only way this one could be restored is if a replica was built from scratch. It was a very bright, sunny day, and I snapped off what is now probably my most favorite photos of a lighthouse to date. They turned out very sharp and contrasty, and the bright red colors contrasting with the crumbling light is kind of neat. I really enjoyed this visit, and glad I didn't skip it!

Highlight #4:
Absecon Lighthouse- This is the 3rd tallest light in the US, and it was a very humid 85 degrees during the climb. The breeze at the top was well worth the trek though. The lightkeeper let us climb up into the lantern room, and inside the 1st order Fresnel. A motion detector sounds an alarm when someone tries it, but he temporarily turned it off for us. The light is in a not-so-nice neighborhood, so be a little cautious for those who visit. The torched keeper's quarters will be re-built soon, and Bill supposedly promised a sculpture of it in 2001.

Highlight #5:
I only lost $60 in Atlantic City...I guess I could call that a highlight?

Someday I'll add some more highlights of the trip here, and eventually add the photos to my website too.

BTW, Sue. Due to alot of traffic in the shipping lanes, the Cape May ferry took a slight detour from it's normal route, and cruised right by (within 50 yds) of the Harbor of Refuge Lighthouse! (and I didn't even ask them to. LOL) I got some really close shots with the 210mm zoom lens.
[This message has been edited by Rod Watson (edited 09-03-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Rod Watson (edited 09-03-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Rod Watson (edited 09-03-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Rod Watson (edited 09-03-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Rod Watson (edited 09-03-2000).]

Sounds like it was a great trip Rod. Every trip needs a few "odd" happenings to make it even more memorable. Nothing like signing a waiver to drive through a gigantic landfill to visit a light! What us wacko's won't do for a photo.

Thanks for the report on your very ambitious trip, Rod!

-Todd

Knowing your penchant for details and timing, Rod, how about making available your moment-by-moment schedule for this trip? Perhaps as a downsloadable file?

It will give others of us something to aspire to when 'planning' our lighthousing trips.

John

No way John, it would be way to big of a file and slow the forums down to a crawl!!
LOL!
SaintWackoPaul '
Keep the Flame

You done good Rod! Looking forward to more of your terrific photos!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You, Rod. This will certainly make our trip in November so much easier. Now, we are waiting for photos.
Derith