The first lighthouse I ever visited was Cape Henry in Va. I remember my parents took me there when I was about 8 years old just a few years ago lol. We were on our way to Virginia Beach. I thought we would never get to the top. Have always been intrigued by lighthouses.
Hal

My first was Admiralty Head on Whidbey Island in Puget Sound, Washington State, in 1974.

At the time I was interested in seeing Fort Casey, the fortifications which guarded Puget Sound from Spanish invasion during the Spanish-American War in 1898.

The concrete casemates with the large coastal rifles (read....CANNON..as in very large)which are on disappearing carriages were fascinating.

Also at Ft. Casey State Park was this Spanish style lighthouse, well maintained, colorful, and in one of the most scenic locations I could imagine. Situated high on a bluff overlooking Puget Sound, with the snow-capped Olympic Peninsula far across the water, I found myself wondering if, sometime in the future, I'd be more interested in lighthouses.

Many years and $$$ later, I'm pleased (??) to report that I am. :-)

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Bob Steinbrunn
Nautical Research Guild

The first lighthouse I visited was Fire Island. My family had a bungalo in Ocean Beach and my cousin and I walked the beach from Ocean Beach back towards the Robert Moses bridge and causeway (the West end of Fire Island where the lighthouse was located). We were about 15 years old at the time and if memory serves this was approx an 8 to 10 mile trek each way. Needless to say we were both exhausted by the end of the day, but the experience of standing at the base and looking up at the latern room was extraordinary. I also remember how old and weathered the structure looked up close while standing at the base. The lighthouse has of course since been restored. Since then, while my return visits are becoming fewer in number with each passing year (now live in MA), every time my family crosses Great South Bay via the Fire Island Ferry on the way on Ocean Beach, the Fire Island lighthouse still looms tall and holds great memories.
Len Ariagno

My first was Patos Island, Washington in the mid 1950's when I was a teenager. My family was on a boating/camping vacation and we camped on Patos Island in the San Juan Islands. Of course, the station was still manned by Coastguardsmen and they invited us in for a tour. I've loved lighthouses ever since.

Larry

I can't recall visiting any lighthouses when I was a kid. I remember seeing various ones from a distance as I traveled with my parents. I do vividly remember going into a lighthouse (unauthorized entry at that)back around 1981 or so. It was the North Light on Block Island. The place was not open to the public, but it wasn't secured either. I had anchored my boat just off the beach adjacent to the North Light. My wife & I, with my youngest son, went into the unsecured light and climbed a darkened staircase by feeling the stairs with our hands. We climbed to the top and even went outside the lantern room. It was a great experience with a spectacular view. This was done before the renovations were done to the North Light. I'm happy to say the light has now been restored and you can legally climb to the top. I'm glad no one called the police back then.

Bob

My first Lighthouse was old Point Loma in San Diego. Took the kids to Sea World and just had to find the lighthouse. That would have been back in 1993.

Dale

The first lighthouse I ever visited was Cape Arago Light when I was about six years old, a long time ago. I was so proud of myself when I climbed all the way to the top all by myself, then I looked down. I had to be carried down the stairs, I could see through the grates and it terrified me! My cousin had made friends with one of the "Coasties" stationed there. The men of the crew invited my family to have dinner with them and to have a tour of the station. I've never forgotten how nice everyone was to a curious little girl. At the time, the only way to get to the island was a swinging bridge. That was also pretty scary. The lighthouse is now closed, but I understand there is some talk of returning it to the Native Americans in the area for use as a cultural center. The island has eroded over the years due to the weather and surf, but it is still a beautiful place to me. I was there three years ago and took some photos of it from the nearby beach.


[This message has been edited by D'Wanda (edited 11-08-99).]

The first lighthouse I ever visited was the Long Beach Bar Light (Bug Light) in Orient Point, LI, NY. My parents had a cottage on Gardiners' Bay and I would go out with some other kids to climb in the abandoned light. Seeing remnants of families that had lived there (wallpaper on the walls, the old stove in the kitchen, etc.)really started me dreaming about lighthouses and how neat it would be to live in one. I'd still like to at least stay overnight in one someday.

Barb

My first lighthouse visit was to Old Point Loma way back in the summer of 1971. I spent 6 weeks in San Diego and tried to explore as much of that beautiful city as I could. Didn't have a car, so walked and used the city bus to get out to the Point. Every time I have visited since then I have made a return trip to the beautiful setting of Cabrillo National Park.

The whole setting is magnificent, from the beauty of the Rosecrans National Cemetery to the views of Cornado, SD Bay and out across the Pacific. On more recent visits (when I had wheels) also made the trip down to the New Point Loma light and the tide pools around it.

Last time I was there was 3 years ago for a week of meetings. Played hookey one afternoon and took some friends from around the country out to visit. Much better than stodgy old meetings!

Dave

[This message has been edited by Dave H (edited 11-08-99).]

Yaquina Head Light, Oregon when I was nine years old on a field trip in the fourth grade...we bussed there from Portland and were allowed to climb to the top of the tower and then follow trails down to the beach to look for critters...it was a blast!

But what really hooked me on lighthouses was summer vacationing in Seaside every summer and staring out at Tillamook Rock.

My first was Marblehead in Ohio in 1968. I went to Bowling Green State and when fall break came I was looking at a long summer of summer school to do some catch up.

So . . . my boyfriend and I got on his Honda 50 and made a trip to Cedar Point. (Obviously my younger days, not necessarily my wiser days.) (I still remember the Honda going from the road into the fields next to the road when a eighteen wheeler would pass us. Am I really sharing this!)

We made a sidetrip to Marblehead. It wasn't until a few years later at Old Point Loma that I realized how hooked I was on lighthouses.

Karen

The first lighthouse that I visited was on the island of Nassau in the Bahamas in the summer of 1969. I don't even recall the name of the lighthouse. I do remember that it was fun and that you could see out across the wonderfully blue water seemingly forever. I was 8 years old at the time and it seemed that I was in the most wonderful placed in the world. It was my first plane trip too. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit another lighthouse until August 1998, when we visited Cape May, NJ. As we arrived at the light, an ambulance was arriving too. It seems that it was so hot that day that someone had passed out while climbing the light, so we opted not to climb up. This summer, we visited 3 lights and made my first climb as an adult- to the top of St. Augustine light. What a view! A storm was rolling in and the sight was magnificent! I am terribly afraid of heights and climbing St.Augustine was not the easiest thing that I had ever done, but I now know that I am ready (and able!) to do it again. Too bad St. Louis is so far from any lights!

My first lighthouse was Saugerties. It was about ten or eleven years ago on my birthday, which by the way falls on Lighthouse Day (Aug 7th).We also visited the Rondout Lighthouse on that day. Here are links to the lighthouses.

Saugerties Lighthouse
http://www.saugertieslighthouse.com/

Rondout Lighthouse
http://www.ulster.net/~hrmm/rondout/light.htm


"TheLightkeeper"

My first lighthouse was Montauk Point. When I was a little fella (a long, long time ago) my Mom & Dad used to go fishing off the point and I would always explore the grounds. The station was still manned by the Coast Guard and you couldn't get inside.

About 15 years later I spent my honeymoon at Virgina Beach and my new bride and I visited and climbed Old Cape Henry.

The visit that really got me going however was a trip to Fire Island last October. That was it, I was HOOKED!!! From that day on lighthouses became my passion.

This is for Mr Brady!
My first lighthouse that I visited and climbed was the Statue of Liberty. Probably 2nd or 3rd grade class trip. They actually let you go up the arm in those days!(OK, there's 2 openings for shots from you guys!)
My first visit and adult climb had to be Montauk which continues to be a major part of my families summer vacations for the past 20 years

The first Lighthouse I visited was Montauk Point. My parents used to like to take me out there in the summer time when I was out of school and I used to love climbing the tower.

The first lighthouse for my wife and I was Point Reyes, CA. We visited it as part of a
long weekend trip to San Francisco six monthes after we married. It was part of the spark that awakened our love for lighthouses and eventually lead to Harbour Lights.

My first was the Chicago Harbor Lighthouse.
I was on a buying trip for the gift store I worked for. I knew there was a lighthouse in Chicago but when I got to Chicago and inquired as to where it was... No one in town knew it was there!! Even the trolly tour guide didn't. But while taking that trolley tour one of the stops was Navy Pier... And guess what was just off the end of that pier. I was ecstatic. That was in March of 98 and since then I have now seen 21 and counting.
Pam Baggett

My first was Bolivar Point, Texas when I was a child, in the 1950's. Our family had rented a beach house near Bolivar for a week in the summer. Bolivar was (and still is) privately owned and my Dad knew the owner. I remember standing at the base and looking up at the lantern room; it seemed soooo tall (still does). Another memory of that visit is that I found an antique wood stove wrench on the grounds.

My first as an adult was Old Point Loma, California in 1991. I was in San Diego for a convention and I took some time off to do some sightseeing. I love the location. I've been back twice since then.

The first lighthouse I visited and climbed was Barnegat Light. It still is my favorite for a lot of reasons, but it was also my first.
George

[This message has been edited by QC (edited 11-10-99).]

I was going to say Statue of Liberty, but Bob beat me to it! For the purists in the group I guess it would be Oswego last March although only from a distance. The other 42 you know about, as we've visited them together.

Mombo

The first lighthouse I ever "visited" was Scituate Light. I stayed at Scituate Harbor on a number of business trips to Randolph, Mass in the early eighties. Later, I took my wife and son to visit the area. We stayed at the Clipper Ship Hotel there several times, but probably didn't out to the Light every time. I've never been there on the one or two days a year when it's open to the public.

The first lighthouse I ever "visited the inside of" was Gibbs Hill Light, Bermuda, about 5 years ago. Spectacular view from the top!

The first lighthouse that I ever visited was St. Simmons, GA. I lived near there so I saw it quite often. The beach isnt very pretty they have the gray waters but the lighthouse is BEAUTIFUL!!!! My dream vacation is to visit the Cape Cod area. The lights up there sound outstanding. I keep hinting to my husband ( Nice Christmas present)!!

Take care,
Amber

My first lighthouse visit was to Old Point Loma during the 97 HL reunion. Two weeks later, we left Utah to take my son to Williamsburg, VA to attend college at W&M. We stayed in Virgina Beach and climbed Cape Henry. During that week I made a quick day trip to the Outer Banks to Currituck, Bodie, & Hatteras. I would have liked to seen more but daylight was gone by the time I was done at Hatteras. Another trip is needed for the lower Outer Banks. Each year I now plan at least one vacation around lighthouse touring.

I think that I went to Marblehead or Fairport Harbor as a kid, but I don't remember them. The first lighthousing experience that I do remember was Nobska: I did summer stock on Cape Cod for two years, and on foggy nights we would go up to Nobska after the show and stand across the street from the fog horn -- very relaxing!

My first lighthouse visit came in the early 70's. My family owned a jeep, and we always vacationed at the Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Michigan so we could go dune riding.

Right down the street from our campground was of course Little Sable Point. Back then the tower was painted all white. There is a lot of pictures of my brother and I standing around that lighthouse. Lighthouses must have been implanted in my brain those 25 years ago!

-Todd

My first lighthouse was Marblehead which we used a a guide to Sandusky Bay when out boating on Lake Erie. Although it wasnt until my brother moved to St Augustine that I got hooked. Since then it is every lighthouse that is on the way to anywhere I am going.

The first lighthouse I visited was Thomas Point. I spent 21 years in the Coast Guard and about six years of that was around the Cheaspeake Bay on buoy tenders which also were used to resupply the lights in the bay. I had hoped to be assigned to Thomas Point but it was automated before I had the chance.

Bodie Island, NC and still one of my fav's

Lonnie

We always vacationed in the same Cape Cod town since I was two. Right between Nauset & Highland lights. So I remember as child visiting the grounds around them. (You were not allowed to climb the towers on either until the past few years.) In fact when I was ten my parents were considering buying the keepers house at Nauset which was up for sale at that time. I was devastated, didn't want to leave NY or my friends. We stayed in NY.
The first tower I recall climbing was Heceta Head on our 1996 Oregon trip. But Cape May in 1997 really started the lighthousing. The gift shop had books, my husband bought me Ross Holland's "Great American Lighthouses". It was all over after that, so many to visit, and we have!

Donna

If my old memory is working I would say that the first lighthouse I visited would have to be Old Mackinaw Point at Mackinaw City, MI. Since that was a good vacation spot to go with my parents 40 years ago, that probably was my first. Even then I was probably more interested in seeing the Mackinaw Bridge than the lighthouse.

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Jim

Dr. Who ?

First Lighthouse I visited was Cape Henry, VA, when my dad was in the Navy stationed out of Norfolk. I was about ten or eleven years old in the mid sixties. But all time fav is Cape Hatteras, NC.

Kat {=^+^=}

My first lighthouse was Point Reyes, I was about 8. My Dad did salvage work and a boat had run ashore on the beach just north of the lighthouse. We spent a few days in the area and I got to see the light from a boat and in person.

The first lighthouse I remember going to was Portland Head. I did not realize it was also one of the most recognized at that point. I was in Maine on vacation in 1995 and we went to Portland Head, Cape Elizabeth, Pemaquid , Owl's Head and Marshall's Point. Strange as it may seem I did not realy get the LH/HL bug until this year when I visited Sea Pines on Hilton Head. We have made it to a toltal of 47 LH's as of October 1999. Portland Head emains my favorite , so far.

Sorry for the double post.

[This message has been edited by wheland (edited 11-13-99).]

The first lighthouse my wife and I visited was Sanibel Island Lighthouse when we were vacationing on Marco Island. We were disappointed that the property was closed off and we couldn't get to the water side of the structures, but the experience did start us on our lighthouse collection advertures.
That afternoon we returned to a collectibles shop on Marco Island, saw our first Harbour Lights piece, and had four shipped back to St. Louis.

Gary

My first lighthouse memories are of Nubble (Cape Neddick Light) in York, ME. As a child we would rent a cabin from a Mr. Duvall every summer and during the day we would play on the rocks and beaches near the lighthouse. My mother would always tell us the story of how, when she was a child, her father knew the lightkeeper and she made a visit into the light. I remember being fascinated with the yellow box which hung from a cable stretched between the mainland and the tiny island where the lighthouse stands. It was how the people got to and from the light in bad weather and also how they transported supplies from time to time. Even though my brother and I never went into the light I remember the Nubble as being "my first lighthouse experience".

The first climb that I remember was of St. Augustine in Florida. It was years after Mary Jane and I got married and we were visiting relatives. MJ stayed in the car and I walked up without her. It is because of this climb that we bought our first Harbour Lights which, of course, was St. Augustine.

Since then she has climbed most of the other lights that we visit. It's something we love to share doing together.

Ron
(CT Keeper)

This one's easy. Montauk Point. I grew up on Long Island. That's just the law 'round these parts. Besides, it's a family tradition (see the family photos on my site going back to 1939).

Barb, I envy your visit to the old Bug Light. I wish you ha some photos. Perhaps next time you visit LI, we can get you a trip out to the new Bug.


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Bob Muller
Stony Brook, NY
wildbird99@aol.com
www.longislandlighthouses.com

When I was a young girl, my mother and I went with another family to Nags Head, NC. I can close my eyes and see the sight of the Wright Memorial light as it shined out over the Atlantic at night. We are talking about the 1950s. Only recently when I read an article in Lighthouse Digest by Cheryl Roberts did I find out it was an official lighthouse at one time. Many years later on a family vacation I went to Bodie and Hatteras.

My favorite spot where a light is located is Heceta Head.

Bob, I really enjoyed your photos of Montauk.
Derith

[This message has been edited by Derith Bennett (edited 11-21-99).]

I remember seeing Whitefish Point (Michigan) when we were first married - too many years ago! A few years later I saw my 2nd. I had already developed an interest in tall sailing ships and no longer lived in Michigan. Little Sable (Michigan) became a favorite - we found it while camping at the state park.

Kathy

My first lighthouse visit was to Old Point Loma. My wife, when we were dating almost 19 years ago, took me there . This was also our first Harbour Lights LE piece that was purchased. I gave it to her for Christmas of 95. That's what started it all.

Foggy


1 Foghorn





[This message has been edited by 1 Foghorn (edited 11-28-99).]

My dad was an avid fisherman and I can
remember looking at the Buffalo lighthouse
from his fishing boat as a kid. I can also
remember my parents taking us to a local
state park - Old Ft. Niagara.

Cape Hatteras was my first, and will always be my favorite! I am terrified of heights (a bad phobia for a lighthouse lover!) but wanted to climb to the top. So I latched onto the back of my husband's belt, and kept my eyes squarely on his butt as we climbed the circular stairs. I was so pooped by the time we got to the top (the beacon room and platform was closed)I was able to briefly admire the view from the window before turning around and heading back down as fast as I could!

The first light I ever saw was Montauk Pt. in 1989. Since then I have been to more than I can count. I have always had some sort of attraction to them though. My mother has most of my early art pictures, and I have them from high school on. In quite a few pictures that I had either drawn or painted there are lighthouses, but I don't remember ever visiting one as a child, and my mother does'nt remember ever bringing me to one.
All I know is that something has always attracted me to lighthouses, even if I only found that out 10 years ago.

The first lighthouse that I visited was Bodie Island. That was in 1990. I remember reading about The Outer Banks and the Wright Brothers when I was a kid. I knew nothing about lighthouses at this point in my life. After seeing the lighthouses of The Outer Banks, I was hooked! Shortly thereafter Harbour Lights started finding their way into my house!

The first I visited was Cape Hatteras. I distinctly remember beginning the climb and turning around to go back before reaching the first landing. I waited with my mom while my dad and older sisters finished the climb. I was around 4 at the time (summer of 1965 or 66)...within a couple years I was no longer intimidated with the height and climbed it with no problem...and have done so about 25 times since. Because of the move, this summer was the first in about 10 years that I didn't climb it.

Doc John

Working on Lake Erie, I had the pleasure to visit Ashtabula Lighthouse first. Climbing Assateague this past summer when it was 98 degrees was the hardest. The lens room had to be 150. See Ya!

My first interest and climing was Cape May. The sad part is that it was just last year and I have lived in New Jersey all my life. But now within this year we have visted about 25. We have the fever.

The first lighthouse I visited was Montauk. I was probably around two or three, so I don't really remember it. Does the little house at Old Mystic Seaport count?? We visited Judith Point and Old Field this summer. I was bitten by the bug, too. Now I want to visit all the houses in New York and Connecticut and Rhode Island and.............you know how it goes. However, I promised myself that I would collect only those I visited, so I'd better hurry up before the LE's are gone from the shelves.

Anyone on these forums actually LIVE in a lighthouse? What a dream come true that would be.



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~Dale

Here's an oldie-but-goodie that could use some responses from some of our newer members.

What was the first lighthouse YOU visited?

The first that I remember is Bolivar Point. I lived in Chicago for a long time so I've probably seen Chicago Harbor and/or Grosse Point but thought nothing of it.

The first lighthouse I ever saw "up close" was the one on the Island of Borkum in the North Sea off the coast of Germany. But in those days "the bug" had not bitten me yet and I did not take much notice.
The first lighthouse I realy enjoyed was St. Catherines Point on the Isle of Wight on the south coast of the UK.
My first US lighthouse was "Half Moon Reef" wich is now on land at Port Lavaca, TX

The first light I have a good recollection of is Peggy's Cove light in Nova Scotia. We took a driving trip up the coast of Maine in 1975 ..... also remember going to Campobello Island (Roosevelt Compound) but neither of the Quoddy lights are remembered

I also have a vague recollection of visiting St. Augustine light as a kid but that was a millenium ago, ha

Dan

My first climb was Cape Henry Va. when we went to Va. Beach for vacation. I was afraid of heights then and it seemed that it took me forever to climb it and longer to get down but it was sure worth the view. It seems like that was another lifetime ago. Since then I have climbed and or been to over 200 lights .

In 1978 Stan asked if my then 13-year-old daughter and I would like to "go to the Cape" in February or March (everything's less expensive "off-season" and us old Yankees are known for tight purse strings). I thought he was referring to Cape Cod until he suggested I pack a few sandwiches to eat along the way. It wasn't until he said the trip would be about ten hours one way that I realized he meant NC, not MA. He'd vacationed in Cape Hatteras frequently in a prior life and wanted us to join him that year. We have photographs of Cape Hatteras Light before it was moved to its present location. If memory serves, they had just finished placing a wall of bags of sand in front of the lighthouse in an effort to protect it from the ocean. I wasn't into lighthouses at that time, but I do recall saying it would be a terrible loss for all of us if that lighthouse couldn't be protected.

Dan, Would that be the old, original Saint Augustine Light (the one HL made a few years ago)?

I visited St. Augustine 1n 1953, as my first lighthouse visited, then Ponce second, and as my parents, my brother and I went on a Winter vacation down the east coast of Florida..

But the first lighthouse I ever saw was Pigeon Point lighthouse the Summer before and actually shot a picture of it with my families camera (Argus C3) from the road as I was with my Mom and three other women from the Evansville Boy Scout office.. My Dad and brother went to the 1953 Boy Scout Jamboree in California by train and we went by car to visit with them and spent two weeks on the road going and coming.. I still have the image..

Yes, Dave, they had camera's back then!! Film too!! And that as Dave will say is Ancient History!!

I was 20 and going back to Virginia Beach for a visit (I lived there from 3 to 12 years old). I saw and climbed Old Cape Henry, which of course means I saw New Cape Henry. I had a sticker to get on base since I worked part time at the NTC base in Orlando. There was no one to greet me, no pamphlets and no gift shop/museum. The door was open and near the top you had to climb through a very small hole. On the way out I picked up the trash someone had left from McDonald's, but all and all the lighthouse was in pretty good shape. The year was 1978. OH, and how could I forget my former neighbor Vicky went with me, we later saw a new movie, Animal House. We enjoyed that too.

The first lighthouse I ever visited was Wind Point. I was in the eighth grade. My class had a picnic on the grounds.

Why visit Wind Point? It is located in Racine, Wisconsin -- and that's where I grew up. Or tried to.

bobo

The first lighthouse I ever visited was Pemaquid Point Maine. I was 5-6 years old.
My parents went to Maine every summer to visit my mother's family.
My father liked to go to Pemaquid to sit on the rocks and just watch the ocean. I played on the rocks and once found a harbor seal.
I also remember going to a lobster shack somwhere nearby where you would sit outside on the dock and I would feed the seagulls the lobster shells from the lobster dinners. They would catch them right out of the air wherever I threw them. Once when I left the table to get napkins a sea gull took my entire baked potato.
Every time I'm in Maine I return to Pemaquid and now enjoy the museum, being able to enter and climb the lighthouse and enjoy the beauty from a new and adult perspective. Oh yeah and eat lobster!
Soon I hope to be able to begin bringing my grandchildren.
Rick

Pigeon Point in California on our honeymoon after not wanting to spend the time or money on Hurst castle. Back then, unfortunatly we we're really into lighthouses yet, but we still like it.
Mike

Waaaaaaaaaay back in the mid-20th century, we would frequent Atlantic Beach in NC since we lived about 90 miles away. Beach front cottages or trailers could still be rented cheaply and even the word "condo" hadn't been invented. Sitting on the beach at night you could see the sweep of Cape Lookout's light. We never went their because you had to have a boat. I finally made it their in 2000. The first light I climbed was Cape Hatteras about 1960. It wasn't near the beach then but it was getting closer. My parents decided not to join me so I waved at them from the top (I think it was them, it was a long way down). I didn't climb it again until after the move. All climbs since then have been down hill. We also visted Bodie Island on that trip but it wasn't open. It's time for a trip, the only lights I visted last year were the Point Lomas. Perhaps the San Francisco area.

Barnegat Light, NJ when I was seven or eight years old. Then I don't think I saw another lighthouse for twenty years.

Old Mackinac Point. Ate picnic lunch on the grounds. I was young and could have cared less about that funny looking castle.

My first was Point Isabel; it was so long ago that I don't remember if I climbed it. After the bug bit me, I visited several lights before I finally was able to climb one - that was Ponce Inlet. The sea and eveything related to it has always been in my bones. Unfortunately, I don't get to spend much time near the water.

My first was St Joe Pier. My family used to picnic at Silver Beach and walk out on the pier. As I got older, it became more special. Even today it still has a comforting effect on me.

My first was Chicago Harbor when I was in town on an overnight business trip in December 1999. The bug had already bitten two years earlier, and it was a relief to get the first out of the way!

I sort of remember seeing Cape Henry when I was very young, maybe 5 or 6. Then I know it was Peggy's Cove in 1968.