Take the Time and Take a Look At Some Lighthouses!

 

I live in New England, and I love lighthouses.  Fortunately, those two things go together like peas and carrots as Forrest Gump would say.  There are well over 200 lighthouses in New England, at least 20 around Long Island and 7 on the Hudson River.  We have lighthouses.  Add in the lighthouse on Roosevelt Island and the harbor lights in New York City and you have an enormous collection of watchful lights.  With even more on islands like Block, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket and wow, what a collection.

In the summer, I like to visit the areas where the lighthouses are, especially places where there are a collection of them or where you can tour the lighthouse itself.  In Connecticut, we have both occasions in many ways, and it's a great way to spend your spare time in the summer.

You can see lighthouses in many ways.  I recommend a boat.  I like to take the ferry.  You can see a couple of lighthouses just riding the Bridgeport to Port Jefferson Ferry.  One of them sits in the middle of Long Island Sound.  It's a beautiful rock lighthouse that used to house a caretaker.

If you'd like to spend that weekend on Long Island, they have plenty of gorgeous lighthouses to look at and a lot of them are open to the public.  It's a great way to spend the day.

In Connecticut, there are also the tours.  Norwalk has a ferry tour to Sheffield Island.  New London has all kinds of lighthouse tours with the Cross Sound Ferry.  Most tours take 2 to 3 hours and the ones out of New London showcase at least 7 lighthouses; some tours see more.

The best part about visiting lighthouses, is that they are mostly each truly unique.  They were built in the late 1700's through the 1800's by many different people, so they each have their own distinct character.  Whether it's the coast of Maine, Cape Cod, Long Island, Rhode Island, the outlying islands off the coast or here in Connecticut.  There are many and they are amazing.

Don't forget the Hudson River Valley.  This area has so much to see and do; most of it historic.  The lighthouses really stand out.  There are boat tours out of Kingston, New York.  You can walk to one in Saugerties.  You can view the one in the river at Athens.  It's a great collection, and that's just a few.

No matter what lighthouse or lighthouses you visit, you'll enjoy them all.  From ancient to semi modern, house or tower, even that one on Orient Point with the disco ball that was an Air BNB.  They all have something significant.  Even the Statue of Liberty is technically a lighthouse.  Most of the lighthouses we all like to visit are not currently in use.  The ones that are, are typically maintained by the Coast Guard.

Gone are the days of people living their lives in a lighthouse, raising their families with live in teachers and such.  The modern time is that of automation and utility.  But make sure if you happen to be here on the East Coast; take the time to take a boat or a walk or a drive to see one of our magnificent lighthouses and take a trip back in time to when so much more was art. 

You can watch some of the tours I take to the lighthouses on my YouTube channel; Adventures for Anyone!  Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/@ninakindred9466

https://www.zazzle.com/store/imagings

https://www.longislandferry.com/Common/Help.aspx?page=lighthousecruise

https://www.seaport.org/

https://www.88844ferry.com/

http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/

https://www.hudsonriverlighthouses.org/

https://hudsonrivercruises.com/sightseeing-cruises/?campaignid=17130356047&adgroupid=136826429752&creative=596034361835&matchtype=b&network=g&device=c&keyword=boat%20cruises&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=17130356047&gbraid=0AAAAADAjm7mwOy3MULCMWcG8wu-4jT73l&gclid=CjwKCAjw4efDBhATEiwAaDBpbgSBgj_bQDfXFwQVaGCBgBUbOzDmlRNQmsR1LTcpgJRtqY0FU5SvShoCsiUQAvD_BwE

https://www.hrmm.org/solaris-cruises.html

https://www.capecodlighthouses.info/