Romancing of Lighthouses

It has been awhile since my last installment of my Lighthouse series. While I was visiting relatives in California we took a ride down the coast to see the Pacific Ocean. On our travels we came upon this gorgeous lighthouse. Pigeon Point Light Station or Pigeon Point Lighthouse was built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California. It is still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. Pigeon Point Light Station is located on State Route 1, south of Pescadero, California.

Besides looking after the light and fog signal, keepers at Pigeon Point also served as tour guides several days a week for visitors who came to get a look at the lighthouse. At least one keeper found some entertainment in this distraction as evidenced by a reporter’s account of his visit to the station recorded in an 1883 edition of the San Mateo County Gazette. "Our escort was of a very talkative disposition and took great pride in dilating upon the wonders of the establishment. As we stood inside the immense lens which surrounds the lamp, he startled us by stating in impressive tones that, were he to draw the curtains from the glass, the heat would be so great that the glass would melt instantly, and that human flesh would follow suit; we begged him not to experiment just then, and he kindly refrained."

Jesse Mygrants requested a transfer from Point Arguello to a station where his daughters could attend school. The Lighthouse Service complied and assigned him to Pigeon Point in October of 1924. One of these daughters, Jessie, recalls her father helping her with homework at a small desk in the watchroom as the giant lens slowly rotated just overhead.

In December of 2001, two large sections of a brick and iron cornice located high atop the tower fell to the ground, prompting the closure of the tower and the area immediately around its base. The following year, the lighthouse was listed for transfer under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act. California State Parks and Peninsula Open Space Trust filed a joint application for ownership of the lighthouse and received the National Park Service's recommendation in 2004. Two non-profits appealed the decision, but Pigeon Point Lighthouse was officially transferred to the state in May 2005. The California State Parks Foundation is currently spearheading a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign, in partnership with State Parks and the San Mateo Natural History Association, to restore and reopen the historic Pigeon Point Lighthouse.

This lighthouse was a surprise for me in my visit. Being from Massachusetts we have many many lighthouses but nothing as grand as this one. As all have wonderful romantic stories I’m sure this one holds many many also.

references:

lighthousefriend.com and wikipedia

Uncle Steve’s Homemade Pizza

When visiting my Aunt Ellen and Uncle Steve, the one thing you can depend on is good food. Whether it is a huge Brisket meal or homemade pizza. Today we chose homemade pizza baked by Uncle Steve.

Fresh ingredients from the market today.

And the process begins.

Now comes the kneading of the dough. So glad I was watching.

Now for a little surprise.

Did you catch that…….its the surprise. Pepperoni and fresh mozzarella cheese wrapped inside the crust…….Oh I can’t wait until its done.

Add the shredded mozzarella and the pepperoni.

(said with an italian accent)

Ready for the oven on 475 degrees. My mouth is salivating. A few minutes later, DONE.

Can you see the surprise….its there in the crust. Let me tell you, it was scrumptious.

Lets not forget the delicious salad my Aunt Ellen made….tasty orange flavored virgin oil and lemon vinegar with baked beets too. Very different and very tasty.

Traveling across the country to visit family is awesome, and the food that comes with this visit is even better. Thanks Auntie Ellen and Uncle Steve for making me feel at home and for feeding me all these wonderful foods. I’ll be back in a hurry.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

I'm speechless

Still Celebrating 3rd Prize

The Art show was this weekend and there was my photo with the third place ribbon.

When I photograph and someone compliments my work I sort of brush it off.......not actually believing it.  I'm sure all artists are like this....this gives me some nice recognition and a quick thought that maybe some people do like my work.

Yellows my favorite color this month.

This was posted along with my photograph.  All the artwork that was in this show was beautiful.  I was so happy to have one hanging amongst the others. 

3rd Place

Sometimes 3rd place is awesome. 

I usually like to blog about others but today its all about me.  I just received a phone call letting me know that I won 3rd prize in a local Artsfest.  I was shocked and elated at the same time.  I've entered my work for the last two years just hoping to sell some pieces but never won anything.  Now my photograph will be hanging at the Art Show with a big fat ribbon on it.

Here's the photograph.

This was taken on the Jetty on Martha's Vineyard.  The little boy is my nephew who happened to be doing a little jig on the rocks.  I didn't notice the sailboat in the background until I looked at the photo on the computer.

Of course my parents thought it should have been first place, but 3rd place is fine with me.

Wordless Wednesday

Romancing of Lighthouses

In my continuation of writing about lighthouses my next installment is one that I love. When I lived on Cape Cod back in the early 1980’s I would see this lighthouse daily and when I went out boating would pass it on our trips.

Channel Point Lighthouse is a Faux Light, a replica of Brant Point Light.
Apparently, a local resident decided a Lighthouse was needed to mark Channel Point near the edge of the shipping channel entering the Inner Harbor of Hyannis. According to a Hyannis Tourist Information Guide, the Lighthouse was established as a private aid to navigation and is not a official Light recognized by the United States Coast Guard.
Since the Lighthouse is not a official navigational aid, the “Bug” Light has also been called the Lewis Bay Lighthouse and the Hyannis Inner Harbor Light. Lighthouses were named for the geographic location they marked as a general rule. Therefore, Channel Point Lighthouse best describes the location to warn mariners away from.
Unfortunately, there is no information to whether Channel Point Light is actually used by navigation entering the inner harbor, yet when we visited the harbor, the Light was Flashing Green to mark the point after sunset which supports the Hyannis Tourist Information Guide assertions. Regardless of whether mariners are guided by Lighthouse or not, the Inner Harbor is a crowded harbor of refuge with Ferries, commercial fishing vessels, and 180-plus pleasure crafts moored at the Hyannis Marina.

When I was photographing this lighthouse from all angles I realized how different it looked. Tell me what you think.

From these angles it looks congested with city life.

The angles below are my favorite. More solitude.

For me each photograph takes on its own story and they look like different lighthouses. So depending on where I was standing, this lighthouse had many lives.

Wordless Wednesday.

Aren't you glad winters over!!!!!!!!

The Birds are!

The Joy of a Grandchild

To those that really really know me well, they know that babies aren't my thing.  Not only babies but any type of little one. The farther I am the better.  But since having a grandchild I am finding my soft side......softer than when I had my own kids. 

Here's a list of the best part of having grandchildren.

1.  When they poop, I don't have to diaper them, just kiss them.

2.  When they cry I can hand them to their parents and just kiss them.

 

3.  When they are hungry, you guessed it, I hand them to their parents and kiss them.

 

4.  When they visit, I just kiss and hug them and then they go home.

How absolutely fabulous is this.  I can love and kiss and squeeze all I want and then home to my nice quiet home.  Got to love grand kids.

 

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

The Romancing of Lighthouses

My next installment of lighthouses is one that is in Beverly Massachusetts which is on the Northshore.  I found this lighthouse very interesting because instead of being round it was square.

 

Hospital Point, in Beverly on Boston's North Shore, derives its name from a smallpox hospital built there in 1801. The hospital, used as a barracks in the War of 1812, burned down in 1849. It's believed a watch house was previously located there as early as 1711. The area was the site of an earthwork fort that saw action in the fall of 1775 when the British ship Nautilus fired on the town. Cannons at the point and at Fort Lee in Salem were fired at the Nautilus, which ran aground as the tide fell. The vessel escaped when the tide rose again.

Besides its importance as an aid to navigation, Hospital Point became known as a sort of lovers' lane. One local newspaper reported in the early 1900s that "Many a Beverly maid's heart was lost and found on the rocks beneath the faithful light.

 

 

On May 1, 1927, the lighthouse officially became the Hospital Point Range Front Light. A rear range light, created by adapting discarded lightship equipment, was installed in the steeple of Beverly's First Baptist Church, a mile away.

The light, seen through a window in the steeple, is 127 feet above mean high water. The additional light was lined up by incoming mariners with the front range light, as an added guide to Salem Harbor.

The steeple was the only part of the church to survive a disastrous fire in 1975.

Don Decker, a former Coast Guardsman who serviced several lighthouses in the area, says that his least favorite light to service was the Hospital Point Rear Range Light in the church steeple. The steeple was a favorite nesting site for pigeons, making it a very unpleasant place to visit, says Decker.

Arthur Small, whose wife was killed at New Bedford's Palmer's Island Light in the hurricane of September 1938, became keeper in 1939 after he had recovered from his own injuries. During World War II, Keeper Small maintained a shore patrol in the area and had to check the lights at Derby Wharf and Fort Pickering in addition to Hospital Point. The keeper's house was enlarged during the war to provide barracks for 20 men.

The lighthouse was automated in 1947, and since then this tidy lighthouse station has been home to the commander of the First Coast Guard District and his or her family

Admiral William B. Ellis and his wife Dorcas lived at the lighthouse for a time in the 1960s. Mrs. Ellis told the Boston Traveler:

One night the beacon went out, and I felt as though I should put a lantern in the tower, as they did in the old days. But a repair team from the Salem station came over and repaired it immediately.

 

While the lighthouse is easy to drive to, the grounds are not open to the public, with the exception of one day early in August each year, when an open house is held as part of the week-long Beverly Homecoming celebration.

 

Thanks to New England Lighthouses: A Virtual Guide where I got all this information. http://www.lighthouse.cc/
Lots more information is available in Jeremy D'Entremont book, "The Lighthouses of Massachusetts."

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

I do want to shout and scream, but I won't

Baby Jace

I've been Shmapped

I am delighted that one of my photos has been selected for inclusion in the newly released sixth edition of Schmap Boston Guide: The photo is from my flickr page and it so exciting.

My photo is listed under the financial district. How exciting.

Click on the little picture above and go to the financial district, click arrow until you see my photo. My name is there for a credit. yahooooooooo.

Winner Announcement

We had several winners and I needed to use the "Rodometer" and he pulled out AltheaP (Janine)  Congratulations and you have won my Love written in the sand flat Magnet.

 

Here is the full size photo.

I want to thank everyone who entered and left comments.  Once again you all have left me hysterical.  I was hoping this was a cupcake.

February Contest !!!!!!!!!!!

Another Contest, yeaaaaa. I love them.  Being a photographer of course my contest is related to photography as always.  I have posted a photograph of part of an item.  I will let you ponder over the object below and leave comments on what you think it is.
After 2 days, if nobody has guessed it, I will post another photo of the same object only a bigger area. Again you can leave comments and ponder over that one.
Then on Saturday,  February 7th I will reveal the complete photograph and hopefully the winner.  In case of a tie, I will use the Rodometer*..........that is my Boyfriend who will pick the winner out of a bucket very fair and square.
Here is the first photo.

 

 

 

Winner will receive on of my magnets.

Thanks for entering.