26 June - Sea Girt Lighthouse and Beach

26 June
Today we headed towards Sea Girt NJ to relax at the beach and later to visit the Sea Girt Lighthouse, which did not open until 2 pm.  Parking was a premium and we ended up about five very long blocks away.  It was a warm, sunny day so the walk was good and on-street parallel parking was free and ensured no one would park aside of us.

The beach was a little busy, but it is obvious in the peak of the summer it would be exponentially busier.  I think we picked a nice time of the year to be here.  Some of the beaches along the Jersey coast are private and some are public.  Some are free and some require a fee.  This one was $10 USD each.

The tide was high at approximately 1 pm and the waves were crashing in pretty good.  We really enjoyed the surf and also just laying on a beach towels and soaking in some rays.

About 2 pm we left the beach and walked across the street to tour the Sea Girt Lighthouse.  This lighthouse was completed and flashed it's first beacon in 1896.  There was apparently a blind spot between the Navesink Lighthouse, which is the Twin Lights lighthouse we visited yesterday, and the Barnegat lighthouse which we visited a few days ago.   They are separated by 38 miles.

Because the fourth-order Fresnel lens rotated and the kerosene wicked lamp burned red, it appeared to be a flashing red beacon to approaching mariners.

This lighthouse also used a weight which drove gears that powered the rotating mechanism.  This seems to be very common since we have seen it at several of the lighthouses.  The keeper had to retract the cable every 7-1/2 hours to keep the lens rotating.  The weight assembly is still visible today.

The lighthouse served as a home to the keeper and his family.  This is the living room area, heated with coal.  

One of our tour guides explaining the history of this lighthouse.

They have preserved many artifacts and photos that tell the history of the Sea Girt.

Dining table.

More artifacts in the living room.

This is the keeper's office.  The desk, log, and ink well is original I believe.  They still have the logs, which were maintained in detail.

A view from the top towards the beach that we enjoyed earlier.

Selfie with the light in the background. Doreen climbed to the top of the lighthouse but to enter the lookout you needed to climb a 10 rung ladder which she did not want to do due to her knee.

 Tomorrow we plan to head towards Philadelphia and scope out the train/parking, the ball field and the historical area.