We awoke to another foggy morning…really socked in this time. The early morning temperature was 61 degrees and it stayed that way all day. From prior research, this is the average temperature for June in Crescent City. No wonder we see so many guests from Arizona and New Mexico!
The access path washed over at 10:30 AM… Not a lot of sheep-dogging in the morning (that is what I call my twice daily walks to recommend to tourists unaware that they may be stranded here that they may want to consider returning to the main land). There was a nice couple from East Central Illinois who were the last to exit.
Due to the timing of the tide, the lighthouse was not open for tours today. The combination of a closed lighthouse and no visitors was a perfect opportunity to do some work. After breakfast it was chore time. This is the other reality of being a lighthouse keeper…the lighthouse is a museum, gift shop, national historic site, a working lighthouse, a tour destination April through September, and our home. It needs cleaning on a regular basis due to the foot traffic and the environment.
Teare tackled the two story stairwell while I cleaned all the glass on the outside and inside of the lighthouse tower. Next she cleaned the bedrooms while I did all the transom glass and all the windows on the second floor. She continued to wipe everything down and dust as I moved outside and mowed the grass. This is not like mowing a conventional yard…as there are places where the area to mow is only as wide as the mower itself, and the 30 foot cliff is unforgiving if you are not careful.
After mowing, I weed-wacked areas that are too uneven and rocky for a lawn mower. Teare continued cleaning. We worked continuously until after 3:00 PM. We cleaned up and went into town for a grocery run and dinner out. We went to the Chart House, a local sea food favorite, and had a great dinner.
We returned with time to make the crossing. There were three groups walking around the lighthouse when we arrived. The last off was a group of college students from Oregon. They had been climbing on the rocks and thankfully, all were accounted for as they left.
I fed Fred and he gave me the treatment for being late tonight… After Fred flew away, I observed his nightly ritual. He, along with a few other gulls, will fly down to the foot ramp and beach and hang out to see what the tide delivers to them. They work us for appetizers and let the ocean deliver the main course. The gulls know exactly what they are doing here.
The fog has returned and the Western sea has an orange hue but no trace of the sun.
So today was dominated by chores. Sorry this could not be more entertaining. At least it’s realistic. Even as I write Teare is back upstairs cleaning. Woo Hoo - Saturday night in the Lighthouse!
Here’s a few photos of a new extreme sport called cliff mowing followed by a shot of the light providing safety and navigation for ships at sea on a foggy night. The last shot shows the tide closing off the exit from our beautiful Battery Point… Let’s revisit later…it’s bound to be more interesting…
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