Tenth Lighthouse Expedition

July 19-26, 1991
East Coast – Virginia & North Carolina

July 19, 1991, Friday

7:41 a.m.: We left home and drove to Chris & Jer Hawkins home in Marion, Virginia. We drove 600 miles and arrived at 5:47 p.m. We spent the weekend with them. Andrea is with us on this trip and enjoyed playing with the Hawkins boys – Grant, Trevor, Wade and Drew, as she was their former babysitter.

July 22, 1991, Monday

10:15 a.m.: We left the Hawkins in Marion, Virginia and drove to Virginia Beach, Virginia. We will stay at the Fairfield Inn. Andrea has a friend here so they will have some time to spend together.

July 23, 1991, Tuesday

10:45 a.m: We left the Fairfield and arrvied at the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse and New Cape Henry Lighthouse. They are located in the Fort Story Army Base. The Old Cape Henry was the first lighthouse to be built by the United States in 1791 – it is now 200 years old. We climbed the tower to the top. We had lunch in the state park and then drove Andrea to meet her friend. We went to the beach to swim. We then had the bright idea to head to the Cape Hatteras Light in North Carolina. We returned to the Fairfield to rinse off the salt water.
4:20 p.m.: Left the Fairfield Inn. We were at the Virginia-North Carolina state line at 4:55. The woman in the Welcome Station thought we were nuts to try and reach Cape Hatteras before dusk. But she’s not a lighthouse nut either!
6:39 p.m.: We reached the Bodie Island Light. While our goal was to get to Cape Hatteras, we can’t just by pass another lighthouse, now can we? We left at 6:44. We flew along the outer banks and past Kitty Hawk, but we made our destination on time.
7:30 p.m.: We arrived at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. We took pictures and left at 7:56, wasn’t even dark yet.
10:55 p.m.: We arrived back at the Fairfield Inn.

July 24, 1991, Wednesday

This was a day on the beach, shopping and a bus tour of the Norfolk Naval Air Station.

July 25, 1991, Thursday

We went to the beach in the morning.

2:30 p.m.: We went to the Old Point Comfort Lighthouse in Hampton, Virginia. The light is the oldest standing structure at Fort Monroe and was built in 1802. The lighthouse keepers home is now owned by the Army as it is located on the Fort Monroe Army Base. It started raining just as we finished taking pictures. We tried to get to the New Point Comfort Lighthouse but did not make it because it was pouring rain and we ran out of time. We had dinner that evening with Andrea and her friend.

July 26, 1991, Friday

7:00 a.m.: We left the Fairfield Inn in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
8:42 p.m.: Arrived home after 710 miles of driving.

Trip Totals: 5 Lighthouses, 2,453 miles, 8 days

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Lighthouses: A Photographic Journey
Conceived and Developed by David S. Carter
Photographs by Donald W. Carter
Text by Diana K. Carter, Donald W. Carter & David S. Carter

Copyright © 1995, 1996 David S. Carter, Donald W. Carter, & Diana K. Carter. All rights reserved. Reproduction by any means, physical or electronic, in part or in full, without the express permission of the authors, is strictly prohibited.