Thanks, everyone. I love looking at lighthouse pics, and showing mine.

Now, the story continues....

3 weeks ago, I had a family emergency in Florida. Megan was not able to come down with me, but there were lighthouses to shoot, so I left a day early.

First stop on the trip,

Amelia Island. I had a difficult time finding it because I had written the directions wrong. I finally found Ft. Clinch St. Park, and drove to the viewing point. It was not the best time of day to shoot because the sun was directly overhead, which causes the sky to appear white in your photo. I was not satisfied with the shots that I got, so I drove into the neighborhood nearby. I found a spot where I could get about 20 yards from the light, but there was a huge oak tree right in the way, as well as a locked gate. I guess I'll have to go back down there when I can take the tour, but for now, this photo is the best I have.

Amelia Island..


I took A1A down to Jacksonville to shoot the St. John's river, as well as the St. John's lighthouse on the Mayport Naval Base. You can get a day pass to the base, and shoot both of them, however, it was getting late in the day, and I still had to go the bank before they closed. I got to the Mayport Ferry, and could see the St. Johns River light closeby. I figred that if I could get a good shot of it without going onto the base, that's what I would do. I took the ferry across, and drove into the historic Mayport town, drove to the end of the street, and sure enough, there was the lighthouse. There was a fence with razor wire too, but that gives the photo a different feel to it. I'll get the other lighthouse on the base, as well as a better angle for this one the next time I go down there.

St. Johns River Lighthouse...


On my way back up, I decided stopped in Daytona Beach to shoot the Ponce Inlet lighthouse. As I drove down Dunlawton Dr. I began to hear thunder. Lots of it. It was a beautiful day though. I'm not talking about a storm's thunder. I'm talking about rolling thunder with chrome and steel. It was Bike Week. I drove to the lighthouse, and there were bikers all over the place. I wish I had more time to stay a while. It was a great festive party atmosphere with them. There were even some lighthouse enthusiasts among them. I spoke with one guy who had a mohawk, and was covered with tattoos, who had traveled to get 33 lighthouses over the years. Ponce Inlet was numer 34. I don't climb lighthouses very much because I have a very bad knee. The only lights I've climed are Harbour Town and St. Augustine. But, I did go into the Ponce Inlet light, and looked up. I saw a biker struggling on the stairs, and finally he yelled down to his wife who wasn't climbing to catch his leather chaps. He took them off, and threw them down to her, and resumed his climb. "Much Better!" he called down. There is also a museum there with a working Fresnel Lens on display.

Here is the Ponce Inlet lighthouse, which is also taller than Tybee.


I still had a day left, and Megan had a day off, so we decided to go up to Myrtle Beach, SC to shoot the Governor's lighthouse. There's something strange about that one, and I don't really know what it is. Megan finally worked up the guts to use my Nikon D70S and take some pictures. She was still intimidated by it though. She was afraid she would break it. This is one of the photos she took.

Governor's Lighthouse...


That's it for now. Next stop, in 2 weeks, all the lighthouses in North Carolina.