Fire Island Lighthouse, New York

Looking westward

Looking eastward

http://www.fireislandlighthouse.com/

You wouldn't know that just east of New York City there are a wealth of beaches and interesting (somewhat) rural communities.  Fire Island is a sand barrier island that is surprising in its simplicity and rich in scenic views. You can get to it by car for FREE using either of the two bridges that connect it to Long Island or by boat or ferry. (I emphasis free because I'm still realing from sticker shock when I first moved to Long Island from Georgia and only stocked my center console with change for the Toll roads. None of the bridges cost less than $10 to get across!)

The parking lot is located about a 10 minute amble from the lighthouse itself. It is free to park before Memorial Day and is only $8 during summer. The beach has a lovely concrete promenade that leads to the water and has playground and restroom facilities but it does not lead to the footpaths that take you to the light house.  I had to walk to the far end of the parking lot to find the paths. There is a wide wooden boardwalk leading through tall dune grasses that take you straight to the lighthouse, I chose to take the dirt road in hopes of catching nice views of the sea.  Walking on the Dunes is forbidden as "They" are trying to rehabilitate the natural habitat. I couldn't resist carefully stepping of the road to take a photo of this great fence! The boardwalk has several paths that wind around the lighthouse and gives you  sea views both to the north and south. There were many birds twittering about, particularly red-winged blackbirds,  and a sign that told me that if I don't see a white tailed deer that I'm not looking hard enough. While I saw many deer tracks in the mud, I never actually saw a deer. I guess I better go get my eyes checked.

The lighthouse's museum is located in two different buildings. One of them houses the original glass from the original lighthouse. The lighthouse you see today is a 2nd structure built on top of the salvaged stones of the 1st one. They now are the base on which this one now stands. The second building used to serve as the family home for the keeper and his family. It now houses old photos and exhibits of life saving apparatus and methodology of past eras.  The staff in the museum were so friendly and nice. They asked if you wanted to know about the items first and were very knowlegable and obviously loved presenting it to anyone that walked in.There is no charge to visit the museum, but you do have to pay a fee to walk up into the lighthouse itself.

All in all I had a lovely afternoon walking about and enjoying the fresh air of a somewhat warm spring day.

Breeches Buoy is a life saving device that was attached to a rope and pulley system to get passengers off of a stranded ship. I can't imagine that it was very comfortable, especially for men. The placard mentioned sometime two people would even go at the same time.

Original reflector that was given back to Fire Island from another museum, I think in Philedelphia. What made this reflector so special is that it could direct a beam of light 26 miles out to sea which is how far the horizon is.

The family home of the lighthouse keeper now houses photos and exhibits about life saving practices and the history of the lighthouse. It has a small gift shop with the usual books and souvineers. It also has lovely water color prints of various sizes of  the lighthouse and island. The stone patio is made up of the actual stones of the original light house that was built in 1826.