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Group photo among the wonderful lenses at the ATON Museum at the Coast Guard Training Center in Yorktown.
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Another group photo, this one on the last day at the Roanoke River Lighthouse replica in Plymouth. Later in the day we viewed the restored lighthouse in Edenton.
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Our first tour stop was at the Naval Shipyard Museum where we viewed the first order lens from Hog Island.
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We learned that the Portsmouth Lightship was never stationed in Portsmouth, but took on the city‘s name and in 1989 was designated a National Historic Landmark.
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A real treat was going through the chow line at the Coast Guard Training Center mess hall.
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Everyone was in awe of the wonderful exhibits of Fresnel Lenses at the Coast Guard Museum. The lens in the upper right is the Cape Charles lens we saw at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News.
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A second order clam shell lens was one of the major exhibits at the museum.
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All types of training aids were seen around the Coast Guard Training Center
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The oldest lighthouse we saw on the tour was the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse, built in 1792.
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Denny & George take a break from touring the Cape Henry Lighthouse while Patt orders a pizza for the group!
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We were able to climb both of the Cape Henry Lighthouses. The 1881 tower was opened just for us to climb the 191 steps.
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Bill & Peggy inside the New Cape Henry lens.
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Mary Lee and tour mascot Bosley at the top of New Cape Henry
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Mini group photo at the top of Old Cape Henry.
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It was a perfect day for a lighthouse cruise as we left Virginia Beach for our trip to the Chesapeake Tower.
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Rick, Kathryn, Debbie, Cheryl & Mary Lee pose with the New Cape Henry Lighthouse in the background.
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The lighthouse cruise provided a great opportunity to get photos of both of the Cape Henry lights at the same time.
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We had a rare opportunity to see the second tallest lighthouse in the country (191 feet). Later in the tour, we climbed the tallest
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The sun was out and the bay was calm. It was a great day at sea!
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The Chesapeake Tower is only one of three remaining lights of this type in the United States
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For over a decade, the Chesapeake Light has hosted a suite of meteorological and climate-observing instruments that take measurements for NASA’s Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) project
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John & Carlene soaking up the sun on a perfect day.
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Our friend James “Lighthouse” Hill who has one of the most impressive collections of lighthouse passport stamps around, joined us on the cruise and helped Mary Lee stamp passport books.
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Bosley and his new friend “Wickie Monster” check out James Hill’s collection of lighthouse stamps.
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Before heading into North Carolina, we made a stop at the Old Coast Guard Museum in Virginia Beach where we learning more about the equipment used to save mariners in distress.
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Our first full day ended in Elizabeth City. Bill & Skip chose to have a small beer with dinner at Montero’s!
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Our first Outer Banks lighthouse was the 162 foot Currituck Lighthouse.
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We climbed the 220 steps to the top to see the first order lens and a panoramic view of Currituck Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and the Currituck Outer Banks.
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Some guarded the gift shop haul, while others climbed the Currituck Tower
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It was an interesting stop at the Wright Brothers National Monument where you could see the markers showing where the first three flights took place.
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The current or third Bodie Island Lighthouse built in 1872, stands 156 feet tall and is located on the Roanoke Sound side of the first island that is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
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Bodie Island was closed to climbing for a number of years, but was reopened in 2013. Our group took full advantage of going to the top.
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Amy & George relaxing at Bodie Island
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Executive Director, Jeff and long time Society member Glen, posed with Melissa at Bodie Island. At the home office, she is known as “The Commissioner” leaving no doubt as to who is in charge.
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A wonderful replica of the Roanoke Marshes Lighthouse stand at the end of a pier in Manteo, on Roanoke Island.
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Most of the group posing in front of the Roanoke Island Maritime Museum.
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Nancy & Shirley check out the offerings at one of the many great restaurants we went to on the tour.
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John, Carlene, Patt & Shannon relax as the end of busy day at Pamlico Jacks in Nags Head.
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We were greeted and entertained by James Charlet, Director of the Chicamacomico Life Saving Station.
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Chicamacomico is one of the few life saving stations that has restored most of the original buildings that were on the site.
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Bruce poses at the entrance to one of the most famous lighthouses in the world.
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When we visited Cape Hatteras, they were painting the tower using blue painters tape to make sure the stripes were straight
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Cape Hatteras now and then. On the left a photo taken on the tour. On the right a photo sent to us by Lilla, our Italian friend, who visited the lighthouse before it was moved 2,900 feet in 1999
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The Circle of Stones from the original lighthouse base were moved closer to the lighthouse just weeks after we visited.
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We were able to shame our coach driver, George, into climbing at least one lighthouse. He chose Cape Hatteras. He chose well!
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Shirley and Mary Ann pose at the top of the tallest lighthouse in the U.S.
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Peggy, Skip, Mary Lee, Jill, Kathryn and mascots atop Cape Hatteras.
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The Hatteras to Ocracoke ferry, while not very large, easily accommodated our tour coach.
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A good shot of Ocracoke from the Visitor’s Center.
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While they allowed us inside and a look up into Ocracoke Lighthouse, it was one of the very few on the tour that we did not climb.
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Lurking around the Ocracoke Lighthouse were a number of Nutria or Russian Rats.
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It was early in the morning when we climbed aboard the Cedar Island ferry to take us from Ocracoke Island back to the mainland.
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Another perfect weather day for the 2 hour trip off the Outer Banks islands.
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You are not allowed to run the coach engine while on board the ferry. It started getting stuffy inside, so Jeff “Macgyver” Gales found a new use for rolls of toilet paper.
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Some folks took advantage of the time on the ferry to catch up on some sleep. A.J. was no exception.
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It was early in the season and we were among the first to use the new Island Express Ferry Service to get us to Cape Lookout.
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Approaching the island provided a nice opportunity to get a good photo of Cape Lookout Lighthouse.
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The Cape Lookout Lighthouse is the only such structure in the United States to bear the checkered day mark, intended not only for differentiation between similar light towers, but also to show direction. The center of the black diamonds points in a north-south direction, while the center of the white diamonds points east-west
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Even George took a turn taking care of our tour mascot. Bosley was thankful because he did not want to get left behind on the island.
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On the way to Cape Lookout we saw the Shackleford Banks Horses. They provide a glimpse into how horses lived in the wild before their domestication.
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Always helpful, the head Bag Boy, Norm, is seen here carrying lunches to a hungry crowd on the coach.
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Some folks are born to work in small places. Jill Nasso is one of them!
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Dinner at The Basics in Wilmington won Skip’s award for, if not the best, certainly the largest martini on the tour.
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The Best Western in Wilmington proved to be in a great location, right on the Cape Fear River.
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Our free day in Wilmington gave everyone a chance to tour the city sight including the Basilica Shrine of St Mary, Bellamy Mansion, Battleship North Carolina and the Federal Courthouse which was used many times in the television series “Matlock” starring Andy Griffith
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Some folks, like these four, spent part of their free day just trying to stay cool.
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Rick, Bob and Dave B. went across the river to tour the USS North Carolina.
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Shirley, Nancy and Dave J. let the horse do the work while touring the historical district of Wilmington.
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At the end of our free day, Lilla and Lisa relax at a local watering hole.
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Skip & George managed to take us to the wrong ferry after leaving Wilmington. It threw off the timing for the rest of the day BUT, it provided the best possible view of the Price Creek Lighthouse ruins. Afterward, Skip claimed it was planned that way all along
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On the ferry approaching Bald Head Island provided our first view of the lighthouse.
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Old Baldy, is the oldest lighthouse still standing in North Carolina (1817). It is the second of three lights that were built on the island to guide ships past the dangerous shoals at the mouth of the Cape Fear River,
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Getting into the lantern room at Old Baldy was easy for some – not so easy for some others!
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Our trip to the location of the Cape Fear Lighthouse was made easier with the aid of some golf carts.
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All that remains of the Cape Fear light station are the footings for the tower and the redbrick generator room.
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The three keeper’s dwellings are now available as vacation rentals and are known as Captain Charlie’s Station after the long-term keeper, Charlie Swan.
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Completed in 1958, the Oak Island Lighthouse is on of the newest lighthouses in the U.S. It replaced the Cape Fear light tower.
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If you climbed all of the towers on this tour, you climbed over 1,330 steps, which are more steps than there are to the top of the Empire State Building! Oak Island, with its 134 steps was the last one climbed.
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Sisters is law, Jill and Joan, celebrate our last night before heading back to Norfolk.
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The Ocean Crest Hotel in Long Beach, saved the day when the Comfort Suites in Southport made a huge error and sold all of our rooms – a fact we only learned hours before check in. Jeff & Melissa scoured the area and despite being a Friday, Mother’s Day weekend and graduation time, found us a place for us to crash for the night.
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Mary Lee and Jill show off their identical t-shirts after lunch at Down On Main in Washington, North Carolina.
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This replica of the Roanoke River Lighthouse is located in Plymouth, NC. We also stopped by the maritime museum across the street where there were exhibits depicting the maritime history of Plymouth.
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Built in 1886, the restored Roanoke River Lighthouse now stands proudly in the harbor at Edenton, NC. When renovations are complete, the Fresnel lens will be returned to the lighthouse.
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Denny, Skip & Kathryn rest up before the final leg on the journey back to our starting point in Norfolk. As you can see, Skip was having another bad hair day!
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Without the “bag boys” our loading and unloading of luggage would have been much more difficult and taken much longer. A heartfelt thanks to these “lions of luggage.”
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Just a small reminder of some of the great food we had on the tour: Shrimp & Grits, Coca Cola Cake, Crab stuffed white fish and Duck and Andouille Gumbo. Everyone’s pants were just a little tighter at the end of the tour.
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Our last night was highlighted by the induction of four new members into the Order of the Wickie. Elaine – Who was moved to tears at Cape Hatteras where she fulfilled a life long dream to visit this lighthouse; Jill – The tour’s energizer bunny, whose upbeat attitude and willingness to help was always welcome; Kathryn – Whose unbridled enthusiasm was contagious while she climbed every lighthouse; and Mary Lee, the tour’s mother hen and the one most responsible for all of the great food we consumed.
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