NJ Adventures in Lighthouses Part 1

  A couple of months ago I had come across a flier in my truck about a challenge.  A lighthouse challenge.  Actually my son was playing with it and when he was done he gave it to me.  Right then and there I had decided I was going on this trip!  My family was welcome to come with me but I was definitely going.

  You have no idea how excited I got the closer the date got.  I looked at different hotels in different locations, plotted point of entry into the state, contacted area bloggers, used social media for current local activities and even daydreamed a little.
 The day before finally arrived and I had been tossing around times to leave and when I would arrive and finally decided 2 am it was.  2 am would get me there at 8 am after a 6+ hour trip. Perfect for seeing plenty of lighthouses on day one! Well after going to bed late, I did wake up at 2 and left at about 3 by the time everyone else was dressed, dog walked, rabbit fed, car packed, windows and door locked and breakfast and lunch packed.  Funny how an hour passed with all that.

  It was a nice trip there even better when the daylight appeared.  We were able to see an array of fall leaves in full color.  The closer we got to NJ we were impressed with various bridges and crossed the Delaware river (my oldest is a history buff).

We crossed into New Jersey and after a quick pit stop We decided to go to the two lighthouse stations on the southern west side.  These were a couple off the beaten track compared to the coast where a majority of them were.

First stop was Finns Point Lighthouse. This is not your vision of a lighthouse.

steps: 119

We travel to its location inland.  It was used to guide ships from the Delaware Bay into the Delaware River.  This lighthouse is made of iron!

Second stop down the street also located fairly inland is Tinicum Lighthouse.

steps:112

  Another unique lighthouse.  Which is great because it shows the variety and style compared to what we are used to.  This lighthouse has a fixed red light!

  After these lighthouse it was nice to see the true traditional lighthouse as well.  My eyes were opened on this trip of the style, shape, color and height of lighthouses.

  Sandy Hook Lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse still operating in the U.S. today.

steps:104

Sandy Hook in itself provided an interesting drive to its location.  To get to this lighthouse we went through the gates of a national park and drove onto historic Fort Hancock!

    This is just a taste of our trip.  Follow along for more lighthouse pictures as we spent the weekend in NJ and stopped at 13 various places along the way!