Thursday, September 12, 2013

Ledgie My Ledgie

It was a gorgeous day on the water . . .

. . . and one of my wildest dreams came true.

See her out there at the mouth of the Thames River?

It's true, my friends. Mistah and I took a trip out to visit ol' Ledgie Light last weekend.

Excited? Oh, we were excited.

Because we were on a *boat* . . .

. . . and we were going to finally meet our friend.

You see that tallest, highest, most intriguing part up there? 
You'll want to remember that.

We were warned that on the way out to Ledgie, when we'd arrive at the mouth of the Thames River where it met the Long Island Sound, the waves would be "aggressively splashing." They were and it was fun. And then before we knew it . . .

. . . we were *on* Ledge Light.

On Ledgie!

We kept looking for Ledgie, to get our bearings about where we were in the River, but we couldn't see her. Because we were *on* her.

And then we went inside.

It's a gorgeous building, built in 1909, in the French Second Empire and Classic Revival style . . .

Well wait, let the walls tell you:

The architecture is stunning . . .

. . . and so are the displays:

My favorite is #5. You can't sell booze, but if a stranger arrives bearing booze? Well, be civil and attentive.

And the photos of the Keepers?

They are pure awesome.

I'm not sure . . .

. . . but I think those guys had some fun out there.

And then, up to the top, to the Lantern Room . . .

. . . up where they put the Light in Lighthouse . . .

. . . right up on top of the world.

The lens is just a light bulb now . . .

. . . behind a big reflective thing.  And yes, that is the technical term.

"How do you like the Ledgie Light tour, Ellie?"

"Only one thumb up?"

"Now you're talkin'."

Mistha loved it too.

Well, what's not to love?

We stayed up there a long time, watching the ferries from our new vantage point.

And finally, we headed back down . . .

 . . . and back outside . . .

. . . where Project O was waiting patiently for the likes of us.

(We spied on the crew when they weren't looking.)

It was the most beautiful, magical afternoon out there,  and we hated to leave. . .

Good bye for now, Ledgie.

See you in the Loo.

6 comments:

mom said...

Awwww Ledgie love, I knew you were going on a Ledgie tour, it's so beautiful. thanks for sharing. love, mom

Beth said...

What?????????? You were actually out on Ledgie?! How awesome is that?! I don't even know what to say. (Other than I think the crew *did* know that you were spying on them, and that there should be some sort of Brokeback mountain-type movie made about those lighthouse keepers ;)

What a cool post! Bet you two are wondering why you didn't make the trip out there sooner?

xoxo,
Beth

Me, You, or Ellie said...

WAY beyond awesome. Good on ya for making a dream come true!

love you

xo

Jacquie

Me, You, or Ellie said...

Well, there are only three trips out there a year, Beth, through Project Oceanology, all in the summer months. We booked the last one, for my birthday weekend, hoping for good weather........

We didn't get good weather; we got absurdly awesome weather. There were a party of two couples on the boat who were on the boat for the fourth time -- we nailed it on the first try.

Love!
E.

Noelle said...

Congrats Ellie! Dreams really do come true!

Pickles and Dimes said...

This is an honest-to-god bucket list item for me: visit a lighthouse.

I looooove lighthouses. (True story: I used to collect lighthouses and finally had to get rid of them once their numbers filled THREE giant plastic tubs.)