A Lighthouse, a Lighthouse, and Oops
By
John W. Vander Velden
Friday was our third day on the Emerald Coast. I woke up early because I wanted to photograph the sun’s rising. But when I opened the balcony door all I saw was thick fog. Hmmm…decision time. The warm bed called…loudly, but I wondered if I could use the morning’s mist. Bare feet, swim trunks and tee shirt, kissed Jackie good morning, grabbed my camera, and I set off. I ran down the ten flights of stairs, walked quickly around the hotel, past the pool, crossed over the dune on the board walk, and went to the shore. The sand felt cold, but the water was not.
Though there were not many on the beach that morning,
I was not alone. There were couples
walking at the water’s edge. A fisherman
setting up for his morning’s task. I was
kept company by the sandpipers nearby but always dashing away as I approached,
and the pelicans that flew into view and then absorbed by the fog.
I have never walked at the water’s edge in the mist
before, but if the opportunity arises, I will not resist. The photos I took were unique…at least when
lumped into my other work. Perhaps I
walked a mile that morning…a very pleasant mile.
At breakfast we discussed the day…what we might
do. Those who know us understand that
lighthouses have a draw upon these particular Vander Veldens. I mentioned San Bas Point to Jackie and told
her it was two and a half-hours east.
Seemed pretty far but it was the closest now that we had seen
Pensacola’s light.
So began the real beginning of that Friday. Traffic was heavy most of the way, we stopped
for lunch in Port St. Joe, just a few blocks from our destination. Fact is we could see the lighthouse from the
McDonalds.
Now San Blas Point Lighthouse is an open frame steel
structure. If you think that makes it
relatively new or short, well think again.
I thought the same thing before we went to see the lighthouse at
Whitefish Point. Michigan. That one was,
and this one as well is neither. But
though it looks nothing like the other lighthouse we saw on that day it had one
thing in common. It had been moved. San Blas was moved some twelve miles. Just set on its side and hauled to its new
location. Kinda’ amazing since the thing
is ninety feet tall. So it stands on a
secure place away from the worse weather in a picturesque park in the small town
of Port St. Joe.
We climbed that lighthouse. I mean, what’s the point of going to a
lighthouse if you don’t climb it.
Actually most are just gorgeous to look at and that is worth the trip. We wandered the grounds and met some really nice
folks from the area on what was a beautiful afternoon.
Now we had gone our one hundred miles, but there were
two other lighthouses within thirty-five miles.
So onward, first to St. George Island.
It takes two bridges to get there.
The second is nearly three miles long.
But right at the island’s center stood their lighthouse. It actually had been reconstructed. A storm had toppled the structure, so they
found the original plans, cleaned up thousands of brick and wa-la, St. George
Point Lighthouse stands once again. The
unique thing about this light is the wooden stairs. A beautifully made wooden spiral to the lamp
room. Since it no longer had a lamp, I
could enter that space…a first for me.
The view was, once again, marvelous.
Jackie talked weather with one of the ladies in the museum…you know…tornadoes
verses hurricanes…contrast and compare.
In regards to the third lighthouse we saw that day, I
must say oops. The internet can be a
wonderful. And either the site I visited
failed to tell me or I failed to see an important fact. I will not blame that particular site or the
internet for that matter. The fault is
mine…and none other. And so I apologize
here and now to the owners of the St. Joseph Point Lighthouse. Please forgive my ignorance.
We took the side road on our way back from St. George
Island to see the last lighthouse of our trip.
Another unique structure that resembles a house with the lamp room set
at the middle of the roof. Beautiful
grounds on a beautiful afternoon. We
parked the car at the edge of the property and wandered around the yard. That’s right the yard. I had assumed…now there’s a bad word…that we
had come at the wrong time. After all,
Amelia Island Lighthouse is only open for two days a month, and it had taken us
three trips to Point Betsy to arrive at a time it was open. So silly me did not notice the basketball
hoop…oops.
We were not there long, perhaps fifteen or twenty
minutes, but again I apologize for wandering around YOUR yard…whoever you
are. Sorry.
The fact is that this lighthouse’s nickname is the
moving lighthouse. It had been built for
service in 1902 but the site washed away, so it was replaced. The structure was moved…repeatedly. It served as a farm building and finally as a
private home. (OK I apologized already).
The present owners have restored it to a grand state. And though it would not fit the mental image
we have of a lighthouse, St. Joseph Point Lighthouse is simply beautiful.
Having completed more than we had expected we drove
the hundred plus miles back to our base camp on the shoreline. We finished the day as I had begun, with a
stroll on the beach as the sun slid down behind the row of hotels, tired but
amazed at what we had seen.
(973
Words) 5-9-2017
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