Well you see Dave, I kind of think of Sapelo as a "Hard-to-visit" Lighthouse also. I know that I could get us all onto the island and in the lighthouse, but couldn't make it to Sapelo and NE FL all in the same day. I figure that if people are interested in Sapelo, then we could do Sapelo in the morning and St. Simons on the way back. (No use driving by a lighthouse, with plenty of light to spare, and not visit it!) That is what I was really proposing with the two day trip.

The NE FL lights:

Amelia - we will not be able to climb because the granite stairs are in bad condition, but I know I can get the CG there to open up the doors so we can see the inside and take pictures of the really cool granite steps. Plus I know that I can get them to show a slide show on the history of the lighthouse and their research on it (includes lots of old pictures), plus the daughter of the very last lighthouse keeper (if I can get her there) can tell you some great stories about the light and her father.

St. John's Lighthouse (old one) - there is no way to get into the light because the Navy removed the attached house and buried the door under 7 feet of dirt that they had when they redrudged the river. If I can get the president of the Mayport Lighthouse Association (a good friend of mine), I may be able to get him to let us in through the lowest window by ladder. Of course, don't get your hopes up too much, since the Navy will have the final say in that - it may be too dangerous for some or someone might fall off the ladder, etc.

The St. John's Light Station is too. . . modern for my taste. I have visited it and have climbed it. I know that I will be able to get us permission to climb to the top of this tower (in small groups) if we get on base. I spoke to the Air Force Personnel that operates it last time I was there and he stated that he loved showing off the light to people that are interested.

I made a big deal in my last post about the bus option because I've had quite a few of you email me and ask if I could just get you permission to visit the lighthouses on your own time in your own vehicle. It's hard enough to get one person on the base to see the lights, much less 20+ people in 20+ different cars throughout a three day weekend. Not to mention the hated neighbors at the Amelia Island Lighthouse.

I think Friday will be the best day to tour the 3 NE FL Lights. Saturday will be a ruined day because it will take 3 hours to just see Ameila Island and watch the History Presentation. Not to mention the hour it takes to get to St. Johns, the time it will take for everyone to get pictures of the St. John's LH, and the time it will take everyone to climb the St. John's LS. Plus I will be setting up a table again for the Cedar Keys Lighthouse, so I have to be there before the HL event begins. Another thing, I believe the AF is only in the SJLS Monday thru Friday.

From your responses so far, I will see about getting us a bus on Friday to tour the Amelia Island LH, the St. John's LH, and the St. Johns LS. If we have time left over and still have light, we may even shoot for St. Augustine as a little bonus. How does that sound to everyone?

Please note that I will be away this weekend - the Florida Lighthouse Association is meeting in Jupiter, FL for their Quarterly Meeting. I will be back Sunday evening. So discuss this among yourselves and I will review this thread when I get back on Sunday.

I know that I have been offline here on the Forum for a bit, but promise to get back online as soon as I get time. Plus I have a lot of lighthouses to tell you about. I ended up seeing 21 Lighthouses and 1 Lightship on my travels to Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Canada.

Chat at you soon!