Time for a bit of a deviation...does that make me a deviant? hahahaha

Mostly I talk about horses, both real and model, on my blog but today I want to talk about another passion of mine...lighthouses.

1st Order Fresnel Lens

2nd Order Fresnel aka Clamshell

 Unlike with horses, I can't exactly say I've liked lighthouses since the "beginning of time".  In fact, I can't pinpoint when I started liking them or even why I started liking them.  I know that around 2002 I met a girl at an NHL player appearance and it turned out she liked lighthouses and that may have sparked an interest or a renewed interest.  I can't say for sure, but I know that I like them.  I guess it doesn't really matter why I like them, huh?  Some things, though, are nice to know because it's a pretty big hobby for me...going lighthouse hunting.  I also collect the statues, although I haven't gotten any in awhile and unfortunately the company that made them closed up shop a couple of years ago so the owners could retire.  In 2004 I visited my first lighthouse in person.  Even though I'd been to San Diego many times, I had yet to visit either of theirs and it would be another year or two after the February 2004 trip to the Bay Area of northern California to finally see them.  I only got to see a couple of the ones in NorCal, unfortunately, due to my traveling companion not wanting to do much of anything except sit in our hotel room, watch TV and eat "gold fishies" and while without her I wouldn't have been able to make the trip at all, it was a bit of a disappointment.

In September 2004 I went on my first lighthouse hunting trip.  Well, it wasn't just for lighthouses, but also to return to where I was born and to go on a whale-watching cruise and see orca (killer whales) in the wild.  I did get to see some of the lighthouses of Puget Sound and the Straits of Juan de Fuca, but it was all from boats.  Hahaha.  The one lighthouse I had the potential to see in person and on dry land, Alki Point, I kept getting lost trying to get to it.

Since that first trip in 2004, I've seen maybe a total of...10-12 lighthouses, but they've all been on the West Coast.  Not that it matters where they are.  Hahaha.  I've never been to the East Coast or the Gulf Coast or anything.  Not because I don't want to but because of the length of a flight to get there.  I'd LOVE to see the lighthouses in New England, but that's not likely to happen.  If my before-mentioned lighthouse friend gets married and invites me to her wedding then I'll get a chance to see some of the North Carolina and Virginia lighthouses, but again, that's not likely to happen.  Not because I don't think she'll get married, but because we're not really in a place right now where she'd even invite me.

But I digress.  Lighthouses come in a variety of shapes and heights.  Something that is popular to photograph is the stairs inside when the lighthouse is open to tours.  Some lights are still active Coast Guard bases and are closed to the public while others are owned and operated by a private group and have tours all the time and then some lights are a combination of the two.  So when you're able to actually go inside the tower and climb the stairs, it's popular to take pictures.  Short lighthouses, like what are mostly found on the West Coast due to it's terrain, have shorter stairways

Point Fermin, San Pedro, CA

Old Point Loma, San Diego, CA

and taller lighthouses have long staircases...dizzying staircases...

Bodie Island--North Carolina

Currituck--North Carolina

Hunting Island---South Carolina

The stairways are as unique and varied as the lighthouses themselves.  None of the above photos were taken by me, but I have been inside and photographed Point Fermin and Old Point Loma, I just don't have them accessible right now as they're on an external hard drive and I don't have computer abilities at home anymore to get photos off of it whenever I want to.

Well, that's it for now.  I know this post wasn't very exciting, but I wanted to blog about something other than horses.  My next blog post will likely be about lighthouses again with some of my own pictures and tales, but I'll also put in a little bit of horse talk since that's probably why most of you read my blog.  :-)

Happy Tuesday!