Lighthouse Trip - Point Arena Lighthouse

If you want to learn about lighthouses Point Arena is your stop. The visitor's center has the six foot diameter, over six ton Fresnel lens on display. There was also a volunteer who initiated his lighthouse history with, "Let me begin with Charles Dickens...". Sold! It was the most interesting visit we had. Plus one actually gets to climb to the top of the tower for breathtaking views.

What was once accomplished with fire and a huge lens is now done with a small light bulb and a rotating lens about ten inches tall.

It was quite the view. During the 1908 earthquake the light keeper was actually at the top of the tower. The tower guide read us his account of what it felt like to experience it at 115 feet. Apparently he had the iron stairs to thank for keeping the tower upright.

A thing of function and beauty. The double lens was Point Arena's unique light signature - two flashes every six seconds. Would you like to know the appraisal value - over $3.5 million.

Here is where I started having a total To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf moment. It was a Lily Briscoe kind of day.

I love GPS.

At this point I waxed ridiculous getting excited about the fault structure and how the earth had been almost lifted almost perfectly vertical, creating the visible layers here. Which leads me to recommend John McPhee's Annals of the Former World. Dickens, Woolf, McPhee, a couple books T mentioned. A lighthouse book club is basically what we were during this visit.