West Point Lighthouse

I think I could start every post with "today was a crazy" or "fun" day, because it is always one of the two, or more often both.  Today we ventured out to Discovery Park in Seattle. Originally we were going to head to Alki, but got a late start and if you get a late start to that beach there is no point at trying to park within 3 miles.  We promptly got our permit from the education center so we could park in one of the 6 or so spots right down by the beach, otherwise it would have been a long, steep hike.  The boys wasted no time in enjoying the beach.

 

I think they picked up or touched every rock and shell on that beach!

Taylor was no doubt grinning under that hat. That wake is from a huge rock he just chucked in there.

Nice view of Mount Rainier in the background.

All of my boys skipping rocks, haha!

 



Out of nowhere all of these sailboats appeared, made for some great pics!

 



 

The boys watching the master :)

 

Shells way cooler than a lighthouse, no I will not stand still for you to take a picture.

 



 

Let him use the piece of driftwood to ring the bell one time.  Not all lighthouses have bells, but I believe all in the Puget Sound and surrounding area do because we do get fog.  These were pre-foghorn era :)  My Dad can correct me if I'm remembering that incorrectly!  You can also just barely catch in the very back, a glimpse of chain link fence still holding strong after about 25 (give or take) years. Keep going to read about how I know this.

 

 

West Point Lighthouse stirs up a lot of memories in me, that I didn't even realize were there, until I saw it and realized I had been here before. Most of you know I'm quite proud of being a Coast Guard brat and one of the most memorable times in my life was when my Dad was the caretaker of Alki Lighthouse for the US Coast Guard. So upon seeing West Point and remembering being there when I was a little older than Sean, I had to call him and chat. He told me about how, yes, we had been there a few times. If the keeper and his family were on vacation he would check the fuel, etc and make sure everything was in order.

 

The boys are sitting on the porch of one of the two houses near the lighthouse.  One was always for the caretaker and his family and the other used for an admiral or another personnel that needed housing short or long term. 

 

There is chain link fencing between the beach and the lighthouse property, though a gate allows access at one point.  I guess since the City of Seattle Parks & Rec Dept. has owned it via the National Lighthouse Preservation Act since 2004, there isn't really a need for the fence now.  But I found out today that my Dad and a couple other guys installed that fence in the 90's.  The concrete in each post no doubt why it still stands today :)  The fence was needed back in the day because as it was US Coast Guard property, unauthorized access to the lighthouse grounds was prohibited.  I know this very well because living at Alki we had strangers hopping over the fence all the time.

 



 

The houses are in disrepair and I hope they continue to maintain and possibly open them during limited hours to the public.  It was a cool era that due to new technology has come to an end.

 

I'm blessed to have experienced living on the grounds of a lighthouse as a child and grateful to hear the stories of us visiting other lighthouses in the area as well as the work my Dad did on them all.  Sounds like I need to head to Point Robinson next, as we took a ferry over there as kids there. Now getting to share this with my kids, seeing them be in a place I was so long ago is a very surreal experience.

Well past lunch and naptime we hit up Red Mill Burgers on Dravus Street, staying in the interbay area, also known as Magnolia neighborhood.  This is a great action shot of the boys right before Taylor's colossal meltdown :)  Poor guy needed sleep and food and not in that order.

After a nice car nap, the timing for me to make this sand playdough while the boys splashed in the kiddie pool out back with Dad was perfect. 

I bought a bag of shells at the craft store so they could make sand castles :) You can check out the recipe here: http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2011/06/sand-play-dough-recipe/