Esther & I went on the NJ Lighthouse Society Tour of Staten Island today.

We got to 8 different Lighthouses- I use that term loosely in some cases. The weather was great- Sunny and high 60's.

We were doing the "overflow" tour. This was run last October and so many people signed up for it they had to run it again in april.

The day started out at Ft Wadsworth which is at the base of the Verrazano Narrows Bridge. We met and got a little bit of time to explore the Museum and see a short film on the Fort before we went on our merry way.

Here's a photo of a model of Ft Tompkins Lighthouse that is in the museum lobby.




We had a small problem to start the tour- the buses were late. We decided to walk on over to Weed Battery to get started. The buses showed up by the time we got to the road down to the Battery.

We got a chance to climb up to the top of the Battery, but not into the Lighthouse. They have done extensive work to this Lighth and are in the process of doing a good bit of work to the Fort itself.

Here's a couple of photos of the Weed Battery Lighthouse-







We left here and made our way over to the Terminal for the Staten Island Ferry. You can get a very good look at Robbins Reef Lighthouse from here. Unfortuntely there was a barge parked right by it making it very difficult to get a good picture of the Lighthouse and the Statue Of Liberty behind it.

Here's a photo-



We continued our tour of Staten Island by going to the one light I had not been able to find on my own- New Dorp Light. I know why now- I was looking in the wrong place.

This one is a private home and the people do not like anybody on their property at all. It's up on a hill in a thicket of trees so winter is the best time to see this one.

Here's a photo of it-




We left there and went to the best of the lot- the Staten Island Rear Range Lighthouse. It sits high atop the hill overlooking Richmondtown. It also ahs the Neighbor From Hell.

This lady made things miserable for the people touring the Island in October and had an even worse effect on our tour. We were unable to get into the Lighthouse because of her complaints. The entrance to the Lighthouse requires that people pass over a portion of her driveway and the Coast Guard chose not to challenge her for our benefit.

We were very careful to stay in the street and not touch an inch of her property.

Here's a photo of the Lighthouse-





We left this Lighthouse and wnet to lunch. I'll finish up our day in Part 2.


Dennis