Barnegat Lighthouse

    We haven’t been venturing too far from the motorhome lately. It’s been too hot and humid to enjoy any outings. Now, I know that it isn’t nearly as hot as back in Kansas, but that is one of the reasons that we are mobile. We came to New Jersey thinking that the increase in latitude and proximity to the ocean would equate to cooler temps. Well, with heat indexes at or over 100 degrees, we have been proven wrong! 

    The weather finally broke this week and the humidity went into the comfortable ranges along with the temperatures. We jumped on the opportunity to get out and sightsee. We drove a little ways north and came to Long Beach Island (aka LBI by locals). This little island is the home to a long eastern coastal beach, thousands of tourists and beachgoers, and the Barnegat Lighthouse. The site of this lighthouse was considered one of the most important change of course points along the eastern seacoast for vessels sailing to New York from Europe. Sailors depended on the Lighthouse as a navigational aide to assist them in reaching their ports and to avoid the dangerous shoals that extended from the shore. In 1856, guided by recommendations from Lieutenant George Meade (soon to be General George Mead and the Commander of Union forces at Gettysburg!), Congress appropriated $60,000 to construct a first class light at Barnegat Inlet. (Lighthouses are rated based upon the type of light they have. Classes range from First to Seventh. ) The beehive shaped Fresnel lens is six feet in diameter, ten feet high, and is formed from over 1,000 separate glass prisms and twenty four bullseye lenses mounted in a brass frame. Turned by a clockwork mechanism, the lens rotated once every four minutes. The speed of the rotation and the 24 individual beams of light from the bullseye lenses gave the Barnegat Lighthouse its characteristic of one flash every ten seconds. The currents in this end of the island cause severe erosion to the banks and have claimed the lighthouse keeper’s quarters. In the 1920’s, local residents raised funds to build permanent jetties to protect the lighthouse. Today is sits a mere 40 feet from the waters edge!

    Since I lived in Kansas for most of my adult life, I haven’t had much contact with lighthouses. I have learned that the lighthouses were all painted differently, using different colors and patterns, in order to distinguish them to sailors. Barnegat sports the red and white halves. The Absecon lighthouse in Atlantic City sports a White-Black-White banding. There are 217 steps in a narrow circular staircase that you can use to climb to the top of the lighthouse. The lighthouse keepers made this journey several times a day carrying oil and maintenance materials to keep the light working in all weather. 

    Working our way up to the top.

    The view out to sea from the top. The lighter colors in the water are the sand bars in the bay. 

    Again from the top, looking out along the jetties that protect the lighthouse. We walked along this jetty to the point and hung out on the beach for a while. 

    Coast Guard vessel cruising the inlet area.

    We watched several fishing boats coming in. Both commercial (like this one) and chartered were doing a brisk business. 

    Up close and personal on the jetty. As we walked along this, you could see the small crabs crawling around at the bottom of the rocks. Once in awhile, you saw the remains of a crab that had become a meal for the seagulls. 

    A view down the beach at the end of the jetty. The water was a brisk 70 degrees, but felt good to wade in.