Detroit River Lights

Well, it has been awhile since I have had the opportunity to post on this blog. I apologize. With our pending move later this summer, things have gotten a little behind. Unfortunately until we move, I don't see much improvement. I apologize and I will do my best to post as I can.

Recently, Lori and I had the opoortunity to travel to Detroit, Michigan for a friend's wedding. While there, we decided to visit some local lighthouses along the Detroit River. With varying degrees of success, we managed to see two lighthouses and a replica of a third.

The first lighthouse we attempted to see was the Grosse Ile Lighthouse. We drove down to the Detroit River after the wedding reception in hopes of getting some night photographs with the lighthouse lit up. It would be a very romantic end to what had been a very lovely evening and we don't have too many nightime photos. Fenwick Island on the Delaware - Maryland border is the only one I can remember taking a picture of at nighttime. Unfortunately, the Grosse Ile Lighthouse sits on private land and is only open one day a year, the Saturday after Labor Day. I actually knew this, but had forgotten about it until after we returned to the hotel. We attempted to see the lighthouse from the street, but it was not possible. A residential area blocks the view and because it was getting dark, we didn't want to ask permission to see the lighthouse, lest the homeowners think we were some sort of burglars. We left disappointed.

On Sunday, on the way home, we drove along the Detroit River and visited two lighthouses and a third that turned out to be a replica of the Tawas Point Lighthouse. The replica does not appear to be an actual working lighthouse. Below are pictures of the three lighthouses.

Windmill Point located between Windmill Point Park and Riverfront Lakewood Park

William Livingstone Memorial Lighthouse on Belle Isle where the Detroit River meets Lake St. Clair.

Replica of Tawas Point Lighthouse located at the Tri-Centennial State Park Harbor

Cleveland East Breakwater Light

On Sunday, Lori and I drove to the Cleveland area for a work related conference. We decided while we were in the area, we should check out some of the Cleveland Lighthouses. We had seen the Cleveland Lighthouses about 9 years ago on a trip back from Chicago to Morgantown, but it was pretty hazy on that particular day and we did not get a good view of the lighthouses.

Our trip got a little interesting when we pulled out the Garmin GPS. We had yet another experience with the GPS that was not exactly to our liking. See our Garmin post. We had driven to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and then used the custom point of interest (POI) file I had originally downloaded whe I bought the Garmin. The Garmin got extremely confused with all of the roads near the Cleveland waterfront and on several occasions put us on the wrong street. It also kept telling us to make turns where there were no roads - only concrete barriers. We finally put the Garmin away and went back to the Cleveland Browns Stadium, next to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The view was much better this time around as we had a bright sunny day with clear skies and temperatures in the mid 80s. But we were disappointed that we could not get any closer than we did because of the fences surrounding the docks. We had forgotten our regular camera, and had to use the cameras on our cell phones, which didn't work out very well. Those cameras don't have a strong enough zoom to get a really good picture. Also because of the fences, we were fighting to get a picture that didn't have the fence covering up the lighthouse. On top of that, the sun was hitting the water just right to put a glare on the lighthouse. Needless to say, we saw the lighthouse, but did not succeed in getting any great pictures. Maybe next time we will rent a boat and go out to the lighthouse to get pictures.

After the disappointing results at the West Breakwater Light, we decided not to go see the East Pierhead Light.

We have a trip scheduled in June to attend a wedding in Detroit. We are hoping to see the Toledo Harbor Lighthouse and the Port Huron Lighthouse, two new lighthouses for us. Hopefully, we will have better luck (and remember our camera) on that trip. Until then.....

Where it all started

Well, I have to apologize for missing this post on Tuesday. It seems while we were out of town this past weekend (sorry, no lighthouses viewed), our cat Socks decided to attack all the wires and cables connected to the computer. She completely destoryed the cable between the computer and printer and the cable for our internet access. So please accept my apologies for the lateness of this post.

I was inspired by one of my reader's posts on their blog, about where their love of lighthouses started and decided to post a similar story on my blog.

Although I can remember visiting lighthouses in Georgia and Florida when I was a kid, I can't really say I took much interest in them at the time. Mom and Dad always vacationed in Florida and we stopped to see the lighthouse in St. Augustine (pictured left) and Jupiter Inlet on the Atlantic coast. We also stopped to see Tybee Island in Savannah because my uncle lived on Tybee Island for a while. On the Gulf side of Florida, I remember stopping near Carabelle. I believe we saw the lighthouse at Crooked River and St. George Island. (The lighthouse at St. George Island collapsed into the Gulf in October 2005.)

It wasn't until much later, when I became an adult that I first realized my love of lighthouses. I remember visiting family and friends in South Haven, MI and visiting the lighthouse there. I am not sure what sparked my interest, but from there I went to see the light in St. Joseph / Benton Harbor, MI. Later I would visit the lighthouses in Michigan City, IN. With each lighthouse, my interest grew and I began buying books about lighthouses and their locations. A few summers later, I took a trip up the west coast of Michigan and saw every lighthouse from St. Joseph / Benton Harbor, to Point Betsie. I attempted to make it as far as the Grand Traverse Light, but for some reason which I now don't remember, turned back before reaching it. Of Michigan's west coast lighthouses, the one I remember the most was Big Sable Point. I remember this lighthouse most because after parking in Ludington State Park, you have to walk 1.5 miles over a sand dune trail to see the light. It was well worth the trip, but come prepared. Walking 1.5 miles isn't that bad, until it includes walking over sand dunes.

After that, the rest is history. I have now visited Lighthouses in 18 states and 2 Canadian provinces. Some day I hope to make it out to the Pacific Coast and Hawaii, but for now, I still have a lot to see on this side of the world.

Looking Back: My Most Memorable Lighthouse Experience

My most memorable lighthouse experience came over Memorial Day weekend in 2001. I was at a low point in my life because of my divorce a year and a half earlier. I was trying to sell my house and move on, but I wasn't having much luck. My stress level had gotten to the point that I told my boss to take a hike (in more unpleasant terms) and lost my job. The only thing I had going for me was the support of my best friend Lori, whom I had known since high school some 15 years earlier. I decided to spend some time with Lori and we took a little weekend trip to Lake Erie in Pennsylvania. (Lori is originally from Pittsburgh.)


While we were in Erie, Pennsylvania, we saw three lighthouses. Presque Isle was the most interesting. It sits right on the beach, in Presque Isle State Park, but it is a private residence and not open to the public. At the time of our visit, it was also overgrown and not well cared for.

While sitting on the beach, Lori closed her eyes to enjoy the warmth of the sunshine. I began reading a poem I had written for Lori to thank her for her support and the many years of her friendship. When I finished reading the poem, I asked Lori to marry me.

My proposal took her completely off-guard, mostly because of the timing. She knew I was having a difficult time financially with selling my house and putting my divorce behind me. She didn't know that I had bought the ring before things got really tough and that I just hadn't found the right time to proposal. The experience became my most memorable when she said YES!(The poem was later printed in a book of poems we gave away as our wedding favors.)