Long Island Lighthouse Challenge (Part 2)
Yes, the weather held up for us. We had only three stops left on the second day and we finished easily.
The seventh stop of the challenge was Old Field Point Lighthouse. Apparently they used to bus people to this stop. This year we drove right to it. Through a quite lovely neighborhood that my mom went ga-ga over. She had decided that the Hamptons were too snobby, too remote, and too lacking in fast-food restaurants. Old Field, with its lovely yards and gardens and beautiful homes, I think she could take. Old Field Point was climbable, even for my parents, and had a nice view of Long Island Sound.
Huntington Harbor Lighthouse was the eighth stop and we actually reached it by boat. It rests on a caisson and has its own dock. So we were able to explore this lighthouse, unlike the other off-shore ones. We all brought our coats with us but the weather was still being mild and we hardly needed them. The people working on preserving the lighthouse had many interesting stories to tell about its history. There was a picture of someone (a keeper’s family member) with a cat at the lighthouse. I’ll bet that cat moved there under extreme duress.
The ninth and final stop of the challenge was Fire Island Lighthouse. This lighthouse is part of Fire Island National Seashore and reachable from Robert Moses State Park. I had actually been to the state park before to go to the beach but had realized you could visit the lighthouse from there. Fire Island was the tallest of the lighthouses on the challenge, I think. I climbed it, my parents sat it out. It had already been a bit of a hike from the state park parking lot. And the climb was a little on the tough side. I took breaks on the landings and looking up it seemed like I would never reach the top. But I did, finally, and the view was tremendous.
The rain started as we left the parking lot for our trip home. Perfect timing! The drive home wasn’t much fun, but all-in-all, it was a fun trip. Now my mom is excited to try the Maryland and New Jersey challenges. We’ll see!
