Lighthouses / LSS Of The Hampton Roads, VA Area

[wheland]

Esther and I spent a long weekend in Virginia Beach last weekend.

We had driven through the Hampton Roads area before on the way to or from Williamsburg but had not seen any of the lighthouses in the area - except for a distant few of Thimble Shoal.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express at 26th & Atlantic Ave literally right on the beach. I highly reccomend it - the only downside is the line in the morning for the free breakfast (not bad as free ones go, either).

Here's the view from our 3rd floor balcony -

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The first night we were there they showed a film for free literally beneath our room on the beach (Madagascar 2).

They also provide a shower to clean off before coming into the hotel.


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The beach and the boardwalk are wide and well kept. There is very little commercial activity on the boardwalk- the stores are on the street side of the hotels lining the beach.

[wheland]

We decided to take a ride on Saturday 8-7 National Lighthouse Day to see a few lighthouses.

Our first stop was at Fort Story for Old & New Cape Henry Lights.

We went through an extensive security check upon entering the Fort which is actually an active Naval Base (part of Little Creek) at this time.

The security officers doing the search discovered a pair of needle nosed pliers that the honda service department had left in the engine compartment earlier in the week. They joked that they would have to take me into custody for attempting to smuggle them into the base.

We were cleared and given specific instructions as to which parts of the base we were allowed to be in and went on our way.

The base is also the site of the first landing in Virginia and there is a monument to that as well.

We drove on our way to the lighthouses. here are various views of the 2 lighthouses - individually and together.

New Cape Henry LH as you first drive up to it.

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Old Cape Henry LH from below at the gift shop - missing a pane of glass and showing some cracks as well.

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New Cape Henry lens from the gift shop area across the road.

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Another view of Old Cape Henry from below.


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Old Cape Henry from it's base after climbing the steps up to it.

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New Cape Henry from Old Cape Henry base.

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Old Cape Henry from the steps going down.

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Here's a shot of both taken from near the First Landing monument area.

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We had a very nice conversation with the volunteers in the gift shop about the lights here and in NJ- I was wearing a sandy hook t-shirt - and the lights in the US older than the ones here and in NJ.

Somehow the subject of National Lighthouse Day was not brought up by any of us, though.

We left the lighthouses here and continued on our way to the next light- Thimble Shoal LH .

[wheland]

We stopped for lunch on our way to the next LH- Thimble Shoal- and Esther took this photo as she thought a friend of our's would get a kick out of the sign.

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I didn't do a Brady and take photos of our meal, though.

We drove over the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel and got this distant view of Thimble Shoal LH.

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We continued on to Fort Monroe and while there got this slightly better view of the LH.
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[wheland]

We had to go through another security check to enter fort monroe- where Old Point Comfort LH is located. It was a bit simpler than the one at Fort Story- just some questions and showing id's.

We had no problem finding the LH- just follow the road to it from the checkpoint.

Here's a few views of the LH and the area around it.


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This view shows the mound where some of the gun emblacements of Fort Monroe are.

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Here is one of the guns on that mound.

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This ship was sailing out to sea while we were there. Does anybody know what specific type of ship this is-

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I got a closer view of it a few moments later.

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We left Fort monroe and made our way to Newport News for the next light on our list- Newport News Middle Ground LH.

[wheland]

We continued on our way and following the directions on the Lighthouse Friends site i drove to Jefferson Park in Newport News where you are supposed to be able to see the Newport News Middle Ground LH.

Unfortunately it did not seem to be in view. In retrospect I believe the fishing pier was blocking the view of the LH.

We got back onto the road to travel to Portsmouth for our next stop the Portsmouth Lightship.

I had actually put my camera in the back seat and turned it off when the thought that the LH might be visible as we entered or left the tunnel portion of the Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge tunnel that goes from Newport News, VA to Suffolk, VA.

I saw the LH as we came out of the tunnel and grabbed the camera and quickly turned it on but i was only able to get this poor shot of the LH.

I didn't have time even to zoom in much.

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However on Sunday while Esther was at the beach I took a ride and got a slightly better (in some ways) photo of the LH. The weather was a bit hazier on sunday, unfortunately.

I had to make an illegal stop on the bridge portion traveling from suffolk to Newport News to get the photo- no police descended and I was there for literally less than a minute to get the photo.


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We continued on our way to our last stop of the day- the Portsmouth Lighthship on Water St. in Pourtsmouth.

[wheland]

We lucked out most of the day and ran into no major traffic jams- luckily we were traveling in the right direction. If I had started in Portsmouth we would have hit a 5 mile backup on our way to Fort Story.

Unfortunately we got to the Lightship 15 minutes after closing time for the day. Luckily we got to speak with some of the volunteers there as they were packing up.

The gentleman we spoke to was wearing the uniform of the Lifesaving Service that day. He rotates the uniforms he wears to include the others used at the various types of stations involved with lighthouses. life saving and the coast guard.

He aslo gives tours at the Old Coast Guard Station in Virginia Beach (which actually started out as a LSS prior to being a CG station)located about 2-3 blocks away from our hotel.

It is very difficult to get a full shot of the lighthship due to where it is berthed.

Here's what you see as you drive up to it-

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Here are some side shots that allow you to get the entire ship in them.

This one shows the volunteers packing up.

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I also saw another ship that I hope someone can identify for me-

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This completed our trip around Hampton Roads to see the local lighthouses.

[wheland]

I walked down the Boardwalk Sunday morning to get some photos of the LSS / Old Coast Guard Station. It was a bit foggy at the time, though.

The gentleman i spoke to on Saturday had told me that it was originally built as a Light saving Station and that it became a coast guard Station and was in use into the mid 20th century.

It was closed down and a new station built further up the beach. It was moved - and turned sideways- due to the land being sold for a hotel to be built. The hotel deal fell through so the city bought the land and made a parade ground out of it and added some other buildings in the same architecture style 9one of which is public bathrooms).

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[Grover]

Dennis ..

I made it to the Old LSS on my last trip that way ... what
a worthwhile stop that was!

Thanks for sharing your trip ...

[CHUCKX53]

Wow, Dennis, loved the photos ("Eat Or Be Eaten" was the coolest).....The Fort Henry ones were fantastic....Great to see the Lightship, even though the hard angle.....I used to live in the Portsmouth-Norfolk-Virginia Beach area, some 38 years ago, but haven't been back since....

Illegal Stops ? I've made a few of those.....

[wheland]

Wow, Dennis, loved the photos ("Eat Or Be Eaten" was the coolest).....The Fort Henry ones were fantastic....Great to see the Lightship, even though the hard angle.....I used to live in the Portsmouth-Norfolk-Virginia Beach area, some 38 years ago, but haven't been back since....

Illegal Stops ? I've made a few of those.....

Thanks. I'm not one that does illegal stops or trespassing - especially trespassing. I was very sure to be as far off the road as possible and very careful when I went back onto the road.

I do not advocate anybody do what I did, though.

Dennis

[MontaukPoint]

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That's a Wasp-Class Amphibious Assault Ship (LHD). Looks like that's the USS Iwo Jima. These are also known as helicopter carriers, although they do tend to have USMC harriers onboard. They also serve to directly launch amphibious vehicles onto the water (such as the AAV-7 and the future EFV).

[wheland]

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That's a Wasp-Class Amphibious Assault Ship (LHD). Looks like that's the USS Iwo Jima. These are also known as helicopter carriers, although they do tend to have USMC harriers onboard. They also serve to directly launch amphibious vehicles onto the water (such as the AAV-7 and the future EFV).

Thanks. I appreciate the assist.

Dennis

[tinypiney]

Nice photos! I can't believe I live in Virginia and have never seen any of these lighthouses/lightvessels!
(except for Newport News, I have seen it when coming back to Richmond from Cape Hatteras )


As for the first photos... THERE ARE PALM TREES IN VIRGINIA???? How the heck did I not know this?