Father's Day on the Road: Lighthouses, Rain Storm, and More Piney Woods

We awoke this morning with lighthouses on the mind. We thought we were headed to Bald Island Lighthouse using our navigational device. Instead we arrived at Oak Island Lighthouse, the next one on our list. The small parking lot was full, but I got out of the car and took pictures.

This is the most modern of the seven, six still working, North Carolina lighthouses. It was built in 1958 and cost one hundred ten thousand dollars. built of poured concrete, the colors are permanent. The first 40 feet are poured grey Portland cement. The next 50 feet are white Portland cement with white quartz aggregate. The top 52 feet are grey Portland cement with black coloring. Oak Island lighthouse looks like a huge tube with a light on top, quite modern. Instead of a spiral staircase, there are ships ladders leading to the top.

The Garmin told us to continue on the same road to the ferry. So we continued to the end of the road where we found the Baptist Assembly Grounds who had a helpful guard at the entrance. He said he had been getting people who were using gps, Mapquest, and other directions who were all being sent to the wrong place. He gave us good instructions which got us to the Deep Water Marina in Southport.

The Bald Island Transportation Company operates the ferry which is strictly a passenger ferry. The tickets are not cheap, but this is a business, not a state run service. We were on the 12:30 ferry and could watch the lighthouse getting closer and closer as we curved around by Oak Island on the right and another island on the left before we docked 23 minutes later. We left the ferry and walked to the lighthouse in the 90 degree plus sunshine.

The Bald Island Lighthouse, "Old Baldy", the oldest working North Carolina lighthouse, was built in 1817 for sixteen thousand dollars. It is 109 feet 10 3/4 inches tall, built of bricks, and covered with cement. The spiral staircase is yellow pine. It looks like a large hexagon on the outside and the walls are extremely thick. Some of the cement is worn away on the outside which makes it look like it has bald spots. The name Bald Island actually came from the shape of the dunes on the south beach.

Less than five minutes after walking back to the dock, we were boarded on the next ferry. We stood on deck enjoying the wind and watched the lighthouse recede into the distance as we wound our way back around the islands to Southport.

Two minutes after we left the terminal the skies opened up, drenching us on our way back to the car. Fortunately we had made our trip in just under two hours, so our parking was free. It was raining so hard as we went back through town that we didn't stop for lunch. We finally found a place to eat in the edge of Lumberton on NC Hwy 41.

Pier 41 is a place frequented mostly by locals. The owner stopped by our table and gave us directions to where we could find motels. He told us that they tried to serve 1000 patrons each Saturday and Sunday. Their prices are quite reasonable, their portions large, and their service friendly. It is a place we would frequent if it were close to home, but we would order less food!

Klep enjoyed Father's Day phone calls from his sons. He says he has had a good day.