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Special thanks to Bill N, Bill W, Dimitri, Val, Bruce, Wanda and Al for sending photos to include in the tour photo book.

Our group tour photo
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A close up of the tour group and friends
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Our first lighthouse(s) required extensive logistical planning on the part of the good folks of the Thacher Island Association who spent 3 hours shuttling us to and from the island
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Peggy and Diane were rowed ashore from the one vessel that could not land on Thacher Island. Bill is wondering if the anchor he dropped into the water is something they would need!
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On the way to Thacher Island we got good views of the Straitsmouth Lighthouse which is also now under the stewardship of the Thacher Island Association
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The lights at Cape Ann are among the very few twin lights that are still standing. A real treat was the fact that they opened both towers for climbing
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Glen, Val and Dimitri take a break after wandering around Thacher Island
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A good deal of the original tramway that ran to the North Cape Ann Tower still remains
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Motif Number 1, located on Bradley Wharf in the harbor town of Rockport is a fishing shack known to students of art and art history as "the most often-painted building in America
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Problems with accessing the lighthouses in Gloucester were solved by chartering a boat, with a friend for Skip, that took us through the harbor and out to the Dog Bar Breakwater light
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The weather and Eastern Point Lighthouse provided for a great photo opportunity
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Amos Story is best known for having served as keeper of Ten Pound Island Lighthouse from 1833 to 1849 and for being one of many reliable witnesses that reported a sea serpent near the island in 1817
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10 The Cape Ann Museum was closed for most of the year, but opened in the last summer. Diane and Alan pose in front of its most valuable display – the First Order Fresnel Lens from the Cape Ann south tower. Unfortunately, the north tower lens was destroyed
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Our day in Salem began with a breakfast cruise to the five lighthouses in and around Salem Harbor
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Constructed in 1871 at the end of the wharf, the Derby Wharf Light Station is one of only five square plan lighthouses in Massachusetts.
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We had the opportunity to view the Fort Pickering light from the water on our harbor cruise and again later in the day when we stopped at Winter Island on our way to dinner.
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Five new Passport Stamps were created for the Salem Harbor lights. Here Mary Lee acts the official “stamper” during the boat cruise.
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The Hospital Point Front Range Lighthouse is the home to the commander of the First Coast Guard District. The steeple of Beverly’s First Baptist Church served as the rear range light.
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Originally, Baker Island had a set of twin lights but the smaller of the two towers was dismantled in 1926. The taller tower remains active today.
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The 100 foot tall pyramidal, iron skeleton tower at Marblehead was first lit in 1896. The iron cylinder has a 127 step spiral staircase leading to the lantern room. Note the extra leg or brace between each corner support running about half way up the side of each face
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Salem seemed to be primarily about witches and Nathanial Hawthorne.
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Our free afternoon in Salem gave us a chance to visit the House of the Seven Gables, the witch’s memorial cemetery and the Salem Friendship ship. Our boat charter from the Mahi-Mahi Harbor Cruises was roomy and provide a great venue for our on board breakfast.
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Fellow Society member and Australia tour survivor, Guy Stever, joined several folks on the tour to reminisce about adventures down under
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Finz Restaurant in Salem was the site of a traditional lobster dinner. As usual, the primary challenge was getting to the lobster meat!
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After a delay caused by Homeland Security briefly closing Boston Harbor, we boarded our ride to Little Brewster Island.
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The Boston skyline is dotted with tall buildings. We were told that none of these were there when JFK was president
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On the way to Little Brewster Island we passed the Long Island Head and Deer Island Lighthouses.
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Construction delays resulted in the Boston Harbor Lighthouse still being surrounded by scaffolding. Rather than being disappointed, we reveled in the fact that we were the only group that was allowed on the island all year, thanks to the cooperation of the Coast Guard and National Park System.
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It was a beautiful day in the harbor was we relaxed on our ride out to Little Brewster Island.
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Don, Judy, Bill and Wanda pose aboard Miss Peddocks Island a vessel that was recruited after our initial charter boat developed mechanical problems.
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The warm sunshine of Boston Narbor was enjoyed by all, including Leah, Dona and Carol.
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Sally Snowman, the last Coast Guard lighthouse keeper in the country, was a wonderful host and tour guide on the island.
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We were pleasantly surprised to meet Dave Waller, the new owner of the Graves Lighthouse, who stopped by with his family to greet us and help stamp our passport books.
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Wanda and Jill posed before we left the island to return to Boston.
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Tour guides Skip, Mary Lee and Bosley with Sally Snowman and the jug of cookies she baked for us.
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Dave Waller, who lives in a converted firehouse in Malden, is renovating the Graves Lighthouse aiming to covert it into equal parts family vacation home and historic preservation project. If all goes well, he may open the lighthouse to the public.
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Laurel, Marge, Esther, Bill and Peggy show off the hats that were created for them at Dick’s Last Resort restaurant during their lunch at Boston’s Quincy Market. I will leave it to you to read the writing on their hats (except for Peggy’s which says “I’m with stupid.”)
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The free day in Boston began with many trying their luck with the T machines as they worked to obtain a “Charlie” ticket to gain access to the subway system.
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The Old North Church wasn’t a lighthouse, but it did provide a very important warning in our history.
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One day was hardly enough to scratch the surface of all the places to go in Boston, but the Massachusetts State House, Faneuil Hall, Cheers (Where everybody knows your name) and Fenway Park was at least a start.
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Subways in Boston can get crowded – in this photo isn’t “where’s Waldo?” – It’s “where’s Randall?”
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The Lightship Nantucket LV 112/WAL 534 has been restored and is now a museum located at the Boston Harbor Shipyard and Marina.
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We were treated to a great tour of the LV112 by the docents and staff of the Lightship.
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We enjoyed a great trip around Buzzards Bay and the Elizabeth Island on one of the Provincetown fast ferries. Lots of room and very comfortable
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Heading out of New Bedford the first lighthouse we encountered was the Palmers Island light.
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The Butler Flats Lighthouse, first lit in 1898 only has two keepers until it was turned over to the Coast Guard in 1941.
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Darlene, shown here with Nancy, was one of 42 additional people that joined the tour for the one day cruise to the Buzzards Bay lights.
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A set of special passport stamps were made for the lights in Buzzards Bay that do not have official Society stamps. Here Ann works to get them matched up and into her Passport.
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Cheryl and Bob show off the comfortable seats that were available for the 4.5 hour cruise to visit 10 lighthouses.
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Among the lights viewed on our New Bedford cruise were Bird Island, Ned’s Point, Clark’s Point and Monomoy.
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A nice view of the Nobska Lighthouse.
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James “Lighthouse” Hill and Hilari Seery joined Al on the Buzzards Bay tour. James and Al are major contributors to the success of the Passport Program.
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Wings Neck is one of the lighthouses that provide overnight accommodations.
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Cleveland East Ledge Light is a rare example of an Art Moderne light—the only one of its kind in New England, as well as New England’s very last commissioned light.
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Irene and Sally enjoy passing the time between lights on a long cruise.
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Tarpaulin Cove Lighthouse on Naushon Island, part of the Elizabeth Islands, is seven miles long lying just southwest of Cape Cod and four miles north of Martha’s Vineyard. At 7.5 square miles, it is the largest of the islands in the chain.
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The Gay Head Lighthouse has been designated by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places and geological experts advise it should be moved within the next year.
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Thomas, our coach driver, took advantage of our Buzzards Bay cruise to catch up on some well deserved sleep!
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New Bedford Lightship Memorial is “a tribute to the heroes of the United States Lighthouse Service who gave their lives in service to fellow mariners.”
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The Seamen's Bethel in New Bedford was specifically constructed for the many sailors who called New Bedford their home port (mostly whalers), who considered it a matter of tradition that one visited the chapel before setting sail. The bethel was immortalized in Herman Melville's novel Moby-Dick.
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Nantucket Lightship WLV 613 has a unique tripod foremast topped by a cylindrical, lighthouse-style lantern room housing. It is in desperate need of repair and shortly before our trip was listed on E-bay for one million dollars.
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An interesting photo making our coach look like it has its own lantern room!
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Bay Spirit tours out of Hyannis provided us another opportunity to view some hard to reach lighthouses.
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The Channel Point Lighthouse in Hyannis Harbor is a Brant Point look a like.
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The Hyannis Harbor Lighthouse has undergone numerous changes and its new, non-traditional lantern room is only one of those alterations.
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The Kennedy Compound was of major interest to the group as we view homes that were occupied by Joseph & Rose Kennedy, JFK, Bobby and Ted Kennedy
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Although a little windy, our trip to lighthouses around Hyannis was on another beautiful day. Here Al, Dick, Ora Mae, Joanne and Ann enjoy the sunshine.
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The Point Gammon Lighthouse has not been used as an aid to navigation for over 150 years
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So much has been added to the original Bass River Lighthouse, you have to look twice to see the lantern room.
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Randall & Joe enjoy a lighter moment on the Hyannis cruise.
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Stage Harbor lost its lantern room in 1933 following the automation of the lighthouse.
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Al took the time between lighthouses to catch up on some sleep he lost when he went to Faulkner’s Island in Connecticut on his free day out of Boston.
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When the original Bishop & Clerks lighthouse was near collapse, it was dynamited and replaced by this while cylindrical tower with a red band.
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A 1978 blizzard cut Monomoy Island into two separate islands and the only reminder of Monomoy’s original inhabited past is the cast iron lighthouse.
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We had breakfast on a cruise in Salem, lunch on cruises from New Bedford and Hyannis and finally a dinner cruise out of Plymouth Harbor on the Pilgrim Belle.
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On the way out of the harbor in Plymouth we passed the replica of the Mayflower.
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We learned that the rock that is encased in this monument was not really the rock that the Pilgrims step onto after their long voyage – but it does symbolize a very important part of American History.
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Dinner aboard the Pilgrim Belle was an enjoyable BBQ. While there was room for everyone downstairs, the fresh air in the open upper deck was also a treat
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The coffeepot-shaped Duxbury Pier lighthouse is locally known as "Bug Light" or simply "The Bug."
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Tides prevented us from getting too near the Plymouth (Gurnet) Lighthouse, but the view from a distance was still a treat.
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No one seems to know what the story with this picture is – Maybe you should ask Bill what he was begging for!
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On our return to Plymouth we were treated to a spectacular sunset behind the Bug Light.
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When we past a gift shop on the way to view the Plymouth Rock, a sharp gift shop owner saw our bus and opened his doors early. After our gift shop starved group got done, he was able to close for the remainder of the month!
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Having missed it on our way into Plymouth, we stumbled on to the National Monument to the Forefathers, which commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims. It is thought to be the world's largest solid granite monument, and is the third-tallest statue in the United States (after the Statue of Liberty and Our Lady of the Rockies).
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Before we visited the Scituate Mossing Museum, few of us knew what it looked like or what is was used for. It may be in your toothpaste
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Dave Ball not only opened up the Mossing Museum for us, he provided us information about the Scituate and Minot Ledge
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On our last day, folks like Shirley and Mary, took advantage of benches to grab a quick rest.
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The Scituate Lighthouse is where two sisters, turned away a British warship and thus was born the legend of Scituate's "Lighthouse Army of Two."
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When we saw the inside of the lighthouse, we understood why we could not climb the tower. Dick poses in the wooden stair well that has no hand rails.
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Diane strikes a pose in front of the final lighthouse of the tour.
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Our last stop took us to the Hull Lifesaving Museum
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Peggy teaching Bruce the correct method for stooping to pick up heart shaped rocks. Bruce wants to know, “now that I am down here, how do I get up?”
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The coach “bag boys” were honored at the farewell dinner – Glen, Norm (head bagman), Joe, Bill, Don and Alan were recognized for the assistance provided in loading and unloading the bus
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Our friendly coach driver, Thomas, bid us a fond farewell before our final dinner. We accepted his excuse for not joining us – it was his wedding anniversary!
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Also honored at the farewell dinner were Ken and Elaine who only recently again started traveling with us – we celebrated their many years of marriage and gave them the Order of the Wickie award (Ken’s first, Elaine’s second).
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This photo and caption came from Val, who captured Skip’s attitude towards the end of the tour.
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Team Sherwood – grateful for good weather and good friends! Thanks for more memories!
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