Lighthouse Challenge 2013....Almost

Last weekend was the Lighthouse Challenge of New Jersey.  I've lost track of the number of years that we've done this, but I think it's our 11th year and the first time we started but didn't finish.  We got an early start on Saturday morning but had to make a stop on the way to the first lighthouse that took longer than we expected which put us behind schedule to begin with.  

Below you will see Tinicum Lighthouse.  I haven't seen this light at night, but the information on it says the light is red.  It is a Rear Range Lighthouse that is still used in helping navigation on the Delaware River.  Not all lighthouses are on our ocean coast.  

The next stop was Finn's Point.  This lighthouse is no longer active as a navigational tool.

East Point below, is to me, one of the most picturesque although I had a bit of difficulty getting a clear picture from the road as my camera kept wanting to focus on the grasses that were blowing in the wind.

The information on this lighthouse says that it is the most remotely located one and that is true.  It takes the longest to get to and from there. It still guides those who sail this portion of the Delaware.

As we traveled on to Cape May it began to drizzle and continued for much of the rest of the day.  It was at this point that we decided that we would eliminate the Life Saving Station stops and the lighthouse in Absecon to avoid going through busy Atlantic City in the rain.

So from Cape May we headed northward to Hereford Inlet in North Wildwood.  Another of my favorites because of the surrounding garden.  But we didn't venture into the garden that day because of the rain.

Between Hereford and Tuckerton, with HWNSNBP at the wheel, I was able to secure a little nap.  I usually try to stay awake during this journey to enjoy the fall foliage, but with the cloud cover I gave in to a little shut eye.  Thank goodness that HWNSNBP doesn't mind driving.

There was something else going on at the Tuckerton Seaport that I think might have had something to do with Breast Cancer Awareness, but we never did find out exactly what it was before we left.  

Our next goal was to get to Old Barney, a familiar sight if you follow.  Surprisingly the water in the channel alongside the lighthouse was relatively calm and we only saw one diving bird in the area of which I didn't get a good enough picture to share.

You can see all the cloud cover below.  

On Sunday morning, though the weather was much better and the sun was shining, we decided to forego finishing the last three visits that would have taken us most of the day.  We figured that since we had skipped a lighthouse and more the day before that the challenge wouldn't be a complete one anyway and we could take advantage of the beautiful weather and gets some things done around the house.  

We do seem to have a never-ending supply of leaves to gather, and HWNSNBP got to some of that.  The two of us even managed to get over to the school to clean up and clean out the beds that we had planted there.  I picked what I could of the zinnias for a bouquet to take to work on Monday knowing that this past week would bring us a frost that would take them.... that was a good decision.  I got to enjoy them all week long on my counter and brought home the remnants this weekend.