We went on another weekend adventure, this time to lighthouses. I like lighthouses.
But, like many of our adverntures, these lighthouses are not in a normal place, like at the end of a spit of land that you can walk to. No, no. They are on Fort Storey. An Army Base.
Now, the army and the APVA came to an agreement that the public could be let in to see the Old Cape Henry lighthouse, provided they consent to a search.
This is an army base search people, not a TSA airplane search. TSA could take some pointers. You must, ahem, "cut off the engine"*, open the trunk, open all doors, step out and pop the hood. There are three gentlemen (sometimes a woman) who do this search, plus the gate guard. They stick their head in, check your stuff out, and then check under your car with that little mirror-on-a-stick thing. When they are done, they each call out what they were checking.
"Trunk Clear!"
"Interior Clear!"
"Engine Clear!"
You are now allowed to get back into your car and go along your merry way with a visitor pass to the lighthouses. Welcome. Speed limit is 25. There was a sign that said, 26 IS ILLEGAL.
Ok. I'm on an army base. I'm doing 25, and that's it.
The lighthouses are really not that far into the base, though it's a little strange to drive through one of these things if you've never been on a base before. Things like signs for Rifle Range are right next to Rec House. Eep.
You round the first corner and there are the two lighthouses: Old Cape Henry and New Cape Henry.
New being relative, of course.
Let's start with Old Henry, first, shall we?
Old Cape Henry lighthouse was the first public works project of the new United States in 1789. It was reviewed by President Washington himself.
It's a beautiful building and it says a lot about it's contruction that it's been standing since 1791. You are allowed to walk up to the top, which we did. It's only got 94 stairs, compared to Old Barney's 217 and High Point's ~270, it's a breeze.
If you're in shape and you don't hate spiral stairs**. Neither of which apply to me.
I had to stop at the top and just start breathing again. And then I had to stop thinking about falling backwards down the stairs and trying to not be afraid of height. I don't know where this came from, but I wish it would go back there.
It was worth it though.
We started back down and down was easier, except for that feeling like I was falling. So when we got back down we started to walk around the building. I had to take one of my favorite persepective pictures.
So, a little on the New Cape Henry Lighthouse.
New Cape Henry Lighthouse was built in 1880 and put the Old Henry out of business in 1891. It was only operational as a lighthouse for 50 years before the light ships started taking over. You cannot climb that lighthouse because of the army equipment. Nor would I want to climb it, really. Old Henry sits on a tall dune, and New Henry on the flat beachhead. It's probably a few feet taller than Old Henry. What does that mean?
More spiral stairs. Thanks, but I think I'll pass.
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*Now, there's a regional expression that just crisp my cookie. "Cut off the ______." Choose: Light, engine, power, gas... anything that the rest of the world would choose to turn off, they cut off. I had to stop correcting people left and right; I was making enemies.
**I don't know if you've read the German Blogs yet, or if I've posted that one, but I mention my undying love for spiral stairs in them.
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