Anytime we visit the seashore, my family looks for lighthouses. Samantha, age 10, Annie, 8, my husband, Jeff, and I love climbing the steep metal staircases, checking out the giant lamps and lenses at the top, and scanning the skies for interesting birds. So we decided to take the Long Island Lighthouse Challenge, in which participants are rewarded with souvenirs for visiting nine sites in just two days. It was a race against time -- and it was tons of fun.
What we did: The Long Island Lighthouse Challenge is an annual event (May 17 and 18 this year). Participants visit nine lighthouses or lighthouse-related sites within two days, collecting commemorative stamps (stamp books cost $9) and free souvenirs at each stop.
What we paid: Entry fees at the sites range from free to $7 for adults, $3 for children. The boat ride to Huntington Harbor Lighthouse costs $10 per person (no kids under age 6).
Want to try it? Go to lilighthousesociety.org for details. Other 2008 challenges will be held in Maryland and New Jersey.
1. We're off! The action begins aboard an 8 a.m. ferry across Long Island Sound when, from afar, we spot our first lighthouses: Orient Point and Plum Island. Back on land, we drive to a Challenge information table and from there, through binoculars, we see Long Beach Bar. We also each collect a souvenir and some stamps for our U.S. Lighthouse Society stamp book.
2. History lessons. Our next stop is the East End Seaport Museum, not exactly a lighthouse but worthwhile nonetheless for its collection of lenses and World War II naval memorabilia. Then we hit the Horton Point Lighthouse, where we climb a spiral staircase and two short ladders to the top. At the oil house next door, we see a display of whale bones and listen to a tape of whale sounds.
3. To the point. At the Cedar Block Lighthouse, we hike down the beach but don't go all the way to the lighthouse at the end of the peninsula (sometimes it's roped off to protect nesting shorebirds at this time of year). Our day ends at Montauk Point Lighthouse, the nation's second oldest, commissioned in 1792 by George Washington himself. We climb 137 steps to the top, then head for the beach to watch surfers ride the waves.
4. Last light. The second day begins with a pleasant boardwalk stroll and then a 192-step climb up the Fire Island Lighthouse. After lunch, we board a shuttle bus to see Eaton's Neck, an active U.S. Coast Guard station. On our last stop, we take a short boat ride to the Huntington Harbor Lighthouse and get our final stamps and prizes, happy that we took on this very enlightening challenge.
