Nancy and I enjoy visiting lighthouses. I enjoy photographing them. Here are some of my lighthouse pictures.
These are lighthouses that Sonja and I saw on our trip down the coast from South Carolina to Florida, in May of 2000.
We went to the coast at Charleston, and I shot Morris Island Light. aka: Old Charleston Light. I think this is my favorite light. It stands in the bay, abandoned, and lonely. Sonja and I watched a pod of dolphins swim past in the river channel between us and the light. In the first picture the spot of light to the left of the light is the sun. The day was cloudy and cool making the lighthouse look that much more lonely. Out on the east facing beach the dark clouds and the even darker ocean were foreboding and I was glad I was getting back in the van, and driving down the coast, not in a boat, and going out to the sea. I hope you enjoy the desolation of the Old Charleston Light, Morris Island, SC.
Here's a picture of Sonja, on the beach at Morris Island. This picture is taken about 180 degrees from the preceding one. This is the Atlantic Ocean. The air temperature was cool. The water was COLD.
Next as we drove south, Sonja and I stopped at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. The lighthouse here was built as a tourist attraction. It has never been used as a navigational aid. It is however, a beautiful lighthouse. The light is set on a small point of land at the southeast end of Hilton Head Island, and with the river on one side, and the yacht harbor on the other, it truly is a beautiful location. Sonja and I climbed the stairs to the top, for a marvelous view of the island, river, and boats. We ate at the restaurant at the base of the light, and generally had a great time. Here is Hilton Head.
Our next stop was at St. Simons Island. First completed in 1810, the original tower was destroyed during the civil war. It was rebuilt, and put back into service in 1872, and is still in service. The original third order Fresnel lens can be seen as far as 18 miles out across the ocean, and has been the way home for countless mariners.
Progressing south in Georgia we stopped at Tybee Island. This lighthouse is set back a bit from the beach and has buildings all around it. On the west side of the lighthouse there was a new house under construction. - a three story house. I was able to go to the top of that house and get what I thought was a different perspective of the lighthouse. Here's Tybee Island Lighthouse.
The southernmost light we saw was actually the one we saw first. St Augustine Lighthouse is only a few miles from Marja's home. We went there with Marja before we went north to see my parents. We also went to the old Spanish fort. There are those who would argue that the fort at St. Augustine is the oldest fort in the New World. Completed in 1695, The Castillo de San Marcos protected the people of the longest continuously occupied settlement in this country. In the first picture you can see the St. Augustine lighthouse, over top of the cannon which guarded the fort from attack from the river. Here's the St. Augustine Light.
Of the pictures on this page, this last shot is the first one I took. This is Marja (our oldest) and Sonja (our youngest) in one of the trees on the strip of land between St. Augustine Light, and the Atlantic.
More to come.