Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Lighthouse Renovation & Fog

For the last several weeks workers have been on the island making long-overdue repairs to our 186 year old lighthouse. They are sandblasting metal parts; welding railings, steps, and other rusty areas; rebuilding portions of the dome; replacing glass in the lantern; repairing the lightning protection; and replacing the ground-floor wooden door.

I understand that the crew is experienced in the renovation of historic lighthouses.

I rode my bicycle down to the lighthouse a couple of days ago to capture the scene on my camera (I really did!), but they had removed the scaffolding. However, I mentioned it to Dale at the Post Office. And he was kind enough to email me the following photo.



I'm sure that the few (very few!) visitors to the island have been disappointed by not being able to get the typical picturesque photo of our lighthouse, but we are all happy to have the needed repairs made (and thoughtfully, in the off-season).

Speaking of the paucity of visitors, the few tourists on the island yesterday were stranded since ferries were not running most or all of the day because of dense fog. For us islanders (at least for me) the fog made for a peaceful winter interlude. It felt like a soft blanket had been wrapped around the village, protecting us from the rest of the world.

Our latest Ocracoke Newsletter discusses place names on Ocracoke. You can read it here: http://www.villagecraftsmen.com/news113009.htm.

Click on the photo below to view our assortment of fun and exciting kaleidoscopes:

2 comments:

  1. Love the imagery of a blanket wrapped around one of my favorite places in the world. Thanks Phillip

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  2. Anonymous8:07 PM

    Thank you for giving your camera a ride on the bike. I'm sure it enjoyed the special time the two of you spent together. Dale at the Post Office "We Deliver" -- a great picture.!! Any openings at the PO or closings ??? OI PO is not slated to close in the near future ??? would you have to go to the mainland to get your mail ?? is there some sort of protection of your delivery service being so isolated or does that isolation put your route at risk? I bet there are transfers to OI in the PO er ah what is the name of the Postmaster??? I'll put my name in the Hopper.

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