Keepers Log Tuesday, September 18

The sun was shining, and the morning sea air was cool as I moved about outside during my morning routine.  I came in to do some insurance work correspondence and have breakfast.  As we were enjoying our coffee (and tea for Teare), the light went out in the radio room.  Of course our first thought was the impact on the tower light.  All the other lights were out and this included the tower light.  I was on my way to the basement to throw the tower light circuit breaker when the lights came back on.  I climbed up the tower and was happy to see the tower light on.  We returned to the radio room, and approximately 25 minutes later the lights went out once again.  This time the power interruption lasted longer.  I repeated my steps to the basement and cut power to the tower light.  We contacted the Coast Guard and Dottie, our friend and mentor.  When the power was restored some 15 minutes later, we turned the breaker back on and held our breath...the tower light was on, and apparently, none the worse for the outage.  The fear is that a power surge may blow out the fuse or light when the power is restored.  Fortunately all was well...except after all this excitement my coffee was cold... It would have made an interesting video of us checking lights and climbing up and down the tower steps throughout this little non-crisis.  Kind of like "two stooges at a lighthouse"...

One of the simple pleasures here is watching birds in flight.  Most every time we see birds fly, it is from below.  Most birds are gone behind trees or disappear from view so quickly.  Here, some 34 feet above the ocean surface, the birds are many times flying at eye level or actually below us.  Because we have a virtual 360 degree view from the top of this rock, we can watch birds until they are so small against the ocean or sky, they simply disappear.  We are talking about an abundance of sea gulls, huge black crows, pelicans, and heron.  During our duty two years ago, I observed a bald eagle over the harbor beach.  When you factor in the variable winds,  you see some serious gliding and tense touch downs on the rocks or poles!

We were closed for tours but I met two ladies from Denver and a young couple from Seattle and we provided a private tour.  It was especially gratifying to surprise each of them with this tour as you can tell who is really interested and appreciates the historical significance of this landmark.  Afterwards, Teare and I took advantage of a few hours of available low tide to walk the nearly 2 miles to the Chart Room restaurant.  This walk takes you past the marina.  The Chart Room is known as one of the better sea food restaurants in town.  Here, we enjoyed a cup of clam chowder and seafood combo with prawns, scallops, and cod.  This would be our dinner for the day.  We followed that up with blackberry cobbler.  Blackberries are abundant in this area.

                                                          Fishing boats in the marina


After lunch, we watched some sea lions and then hiked to a grocery store for a few items.  The walk home from there virtually ensured we would attain our Fitbit steps for the day!  I had a backpack full of groceries and carried two bags...nothing but a pack mule, but I now know my station in life.

                                                        Sea Lion basking in the sun


We returned and chatted with a few visitors to the rock.  Later on, those conversations turned to warning of the returning tide.  Not long after that, we had the island to ourselves.  We both read and Teare found a less windy spot outside to read.

We had our usual two friends to share the sunset with.  Janice actually hung around with us long after feeding.  Fred had some other business to attend to, as he went in pursuit of other gulls who violated his restricted air space.

                                      Battery Point Lighthouse from our usual sunset perch

                                                   Janice watching the sunset with us


It was another great day on the rock, despite the morning excitement.  We are grateful for every single day here.  We wish you well and thanks for coming along on this experience.  The light is operational against the dark ocean sky and the winds are steady.

This is Keepers Bill and Teare signing off from high atop Battery Point.  Good Night.