A few words about our blog...

Lone sentinels that stand against the night.

Beacons of hope for wayward mariners.

Silent witnesses to the jubilation of finding safe harbor.

      

       Lighthouses fascinate and intrigue people for many reasons. For me, I find that they are a unique reminder of a bygone era…a time when the seas were a more dangerous, treacherous place to travel without the benefit of GPS, sonar, radar, or telephone. The desperate, tempest tossed sailor of past centuries may have had a compass to locate latitude and longitude, but a spinning magnetic needle offered little comfort in the middle of the night during a monsoon. The possibility of shipwrecking upon hidden cliffs or outcroppings loomed ever present in the minds of these men. And it is here that lighthouses proved invaluable in guiding ships toward safer shores…and seaman toward longer lives.

       In a less practical sense, I just think these buildings look amazing! There’s a sort of childlike wonder I feel when looking at a lighthouse that I don’t get when traveling through our 21st century world of drab, angular, cookie-cutter architecture. Give me an 80 foot tower with a 4^th level fresnel lens over a duplex any day! I look at each lighthouse as a work of art and, with that in mind, try my best to learn as much as possible about each one.

       My decision to embark on this great lighthouse hunt began in Maine. There I visited the Wells Lighthouse Depot, hailed as “the World’s Largest Lighthouse Gift Store!” And that’s no understatement. Anything lighthouse related can be found there, from mugs to towels to miniatures to cutlery, etc. For me, the key purchases were a set of giant guidebooks to the lighthouses of New England and the U.S. Atlantic Coast. I spent hours studying painstakingly researched descriptions and directions to hundreds of lighthouses stretching from West Quoddy Point, ME to the Florida Keys. For a self-respecting nerd like myself who loves giant compendiums of accumulated data, this was nirvana.

       After finishing the book, I began to dream of a time in the distant future when I would embark on a journey taking me up and down the eastern seaboard to personally catalogue each lighthouse listed in my guides. Of course, such a vision seemed like a pipe dram without the proper motivation and somewhat dull without someone to share my excitement upon locating each lighthouse. However, my problems were soon solved when I hesitatingly mentioned this quirky dream to my girlfriend Jen after dating her for some time…and feeling safely convinced she wouldn’t spurn me for conceiving of such a nerdy excursion. To my pleasant surprise, she was completely on board and our journey began.

       Now, almost 3 years and over 25 lighthouses later, we invite you to join us as well. Each lighthouse will get its own special entry along with photos, history, directions, and “awesome anecdotes” related to the day’s hunt. Jen and I hope that you enjoy the blog and stop by often…because we still have so much more to explore!

-Rob