Lighthouses

Having neglected my homework before venturing down the Hudson River I did not realize the number of lighthouses Carrie Rose would be passing. In all of our travels from Lake Michigan to here, lighthouses are an endangered species.

Our government is an odd bird. I say this because in some respects it is ruthlessly efficient, as in replacing a lighthouse with a light affixed to a pole or eliminating them altogether despite their historic and esthetic value.

And in other respects, the government spends/wastes billions upon billions on missiles, ships, or planes, which are considered turkeys (no offense meant to the turkey, a superb and functional bird) by the agencies that originally could not live without them.

So, each lighthouse becomes a cause célèbre. The local communities band together to save the it, and then struggle to restore and maintain them. In this, the Hudson River community is no different than the Great Lakes.

The Hudson River Maritime Museum, where we spent a night tied up to its sturdy floating pier, specializes in the tugboats (another endangered species) of the Hudson River. They also had space devoted to their local Rondout Lighthouse, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and the other Hudson River lighthouses.

Today we traversed almost 50 miles in increasing temperatures. When we reach our destination Croton-on-Hudson at the southern end of Haverstraw Bay we were close to heat exhaustion.

After being complimented on how well we docked and a promise that an ice cream parlor was only a quarter mile away, we took a sweaty walk, had some intense ice cream, found a superb Italian deli, bought dinner, met a lovely couple on a 37’ Nordic Tug who gave us all kinds of advice about the rest of our trip, took a shower, had dinner and finally chilled — literally — out.

Let’s see what tomorrow will bring!