North Head Lighthouse

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting this beautiful old piece of Washington State history last month.

Although aged architecture in decay makes for a neato artsy photo-op, it's not necessarily the respect that should be shown to our historical monuments.

There is a wonderful group, "Keepers of the North Head Light", who are working toward properly restoring the old beauty.

You can see some of the masonry work already done by students from the Historic Preservation Field School at the University of Oregon.

I'm not sure exactly why, but I seemed to have gotten giddy enough while there that I forgot some very basic and vital information about myself. I have extreme acrophobia. Like, standing-on-a-chair-is-too-high-phobia. But caught in some sort of moment - most likely I was out of my mind from the tsunami-advisory-excitement of the day - I seemed to be determined to go up inside and see it for myself.
Halfway up the first flight of stairs, it struck me, "holy crap girl, just what do you think you are doing?"

Those of you who know me well, feel free to answer aloud, in unison:

What is the one thing in the world I hate more than anything else?

"Stairs you can see through."

And what else?

"Stairs with no railings."

Thank you.

Once started, though, I couldn't exactly back down on my hands and knees (you think I'm joking?) and ask for my donation back. I'm sorry, I've changed my mind. I don't really care about your dumb old lighthouse any more. I'm going home now. So I looked up and kept going.
It was worth it. Really cool.

I hesitated for only a second looking at the stairs below, realizing I pretty much had no other choice but to take a deep breath and step down

but that's the only good thing about stairs-that-you-can-see-through - you can see-through much less going back down. And even better, point-and-shoot digital cameras can be held out from one's body while one is firmly pasted to the wall (look at me, I'm wallpaper. I dare you to peel me away). I had no idea what these next 2 shots looked like until I was back down on level ground.

If you're in Southern Washington it's worth a visit, and the folks who are organizing the fundraising/restoration efforts are super nice and are passionate about what they're doing. For more info about their organization or to find out about making a tax-deductible donation, you can contact:

The Keepers of the North Head Lighthouse

PO Box K, Ilwaco, WA 98624

or email them at KeepersOfNorthHead@gmail.com

Comments

[Sue]

WOW that's just beautiful and intriguing! Thanks for sharing!
I am proud of you for facing your fears!

[amber]

At my core I always feel like I was meant to man a light house. Maybe it's just a remnant of my "Anne of Green Gables" fantasies.

I know this might sound crazy-putty but I used to have this same scary problem -- to the extreme. I was in college before I saw a football game from the bleachers because it was just too much of a risk to go all the way up there on those see-through stairs. Once my dad made me wash our floor to ceiling windows, requiring me to use THREE WHOLE STEPS on a step ladder. I actually cried. It was quite the ordeal.

Two Summers I got hypnotised as a last ditch effort to deal with it. It was keeping me from an exboyfriend's roof-top garden and more than the fact that I wouldn't be able to save myself in the case of a fire that required a nyc fire-escape, I refused to miss out on a roof-toop BBQ. Anyway, now I'm hot to trot on all manner of see-through stairs with just the slightest bit of apprehension. Just sayin'

I'm glad you braved this for our sakes. Your pictures are all manner of swoon-worthy. xo

[Shelly]

Hey Beth!! What a beautiful place and such beautiful pics! I have never been out west (Anaheim, CA - doesn't count) and always wanted to.. this makes me want to even more now! And good for you for tackling those stairs.. not sure if I would have LOL!

[Diane Knott]

GREAT photos, Beth!
Diane