St. Simons Island Lighthouse

Now that I've scaled our post-vacation mountain of laundry, I finally have the chance to upload our photos and blog about our trip!

I've mentioned before that St. Simons Island, Georgia, is one of my favorite places on earth. I visited family there nearly every summer of my childhood and looked forward to it each year. I fell so completely in love with the island that I moved there my first year out of college. I only lived there for a year, but returned to visit a couple of years later as a new bride, and later as a new mother. Superman, Giggly Girl, and Sweet Pea each experienced the ocean for the first time at East Beach on St. Simons.

Aside from the personal memories that this place holds for me, the island is steeped in beauty, romance, and history.

One of the island's most famous landmarks is it's lighthouse. Built in 1872, it replaced the original light that dated back to 1807, which was burned during the Civil War by evacuating Confederate soldiers so that Federal troops could not use it as a navigational aid. It stands 104 feet tall on the south end of the island and continues to serve as a fully functional lighthouse, shining seaward every night and during inclement weather.

This is only the second time we've climbed the light as a family. The last time was when Superman was three years old and not so much the history buff that he is now. (Any guesses on where he gets that from?) Needless to say, we had to visit the lighthouse, and the kids were begging to climb it.

Here are a few pictures from our day:
In front of the Keeper's Cottage at the base of the light. Inside we got a glimpse of how the lightkeeper and his family lived.



From the looks of the parlor and bedrooms, and from seeing pictures of the elegantly dressed families who lived in the house, we got the idea that this was not a bad job to be had in the 19th century.




After our tour of the home, it was time to climb!

This was Giggly Girl's and Sweet Pea's first trip to the top, and they had a ball!


One-hundred twenty nine steps later - we made it! This view is looking east out into the Atlantic.


This marker at the base of the lighthouse marks the site of an old British fort. I'll post later about our visit to Fort Frederica, which is mentioned on this sign.


This cannon is similar to the ones that were used to defend Fort St. Simons. For some reason, our kids love to crawl all over cannons. You'll see similar pictures in another post!


A walk on the beach with Daddy after our tour.

This photo is from last summer, but I wanted to give you an idea of how the lighthouse looks from a distance.

Thanks for indulging the nostalgic, history-lover in me. I hope you've enjoyed your tour!