Lighthouse Adventure
Many people are fascinated by lighthouses, their construction, and their importance to our shippers and history. South East N C is fortunate to have three distinct and very different styles of light houses that have played pivotal roles in the history of our state and country. The dangerous coast of N C is known as the ”Graveyard of the Atlantic” and rightfully so, therefore our number of lighthouses. Here in South East NC which is referred to as the “Southern Outer Banks” we still have one working USCG maintained lighthouse but our lighthouse history is strong and very historical!
This trip requires a minimum of 5 hours to complete due to the distances we must cover. We can arrange a longer trip if you wish and have lunch at a island restaurant or an “over the water” bar and grill eatery! We will visit “Old Baldy” on Smith Island, home to an exclusive resort, and climb and explore this nonworking historical lighthouse, it’s oil room, and the lighthouse keeper’s residences. This is truly a wonderful historic preservation of a former true working lighthouse that played a major role in the helping guide the ships around the deadly “Frying Pan Shoals” of the Cape Fear River. There is a wonderful museum and gift shop with many lighthouse and historical themed items, charts, books, artwork and figurines for purchase. We highly recommend your purchasing some of these items or making a donation to the museum to help this volunteer nonprofit group so they can continue their work. Just adjacent to the lighthouse is the “Old Church” which is quite beautiful and very photographable. After departing “Ole Baldy” and Smith Island, we proceed to the Oak Island Lighthouse where we view and photograph it strictly from the water (Since it is currently a USCG facility we are not allowed to land). From there we then travel up the Cape Fear River to the site of the historic and little known “Price’s Creek Light” which played an important part in our river history and most important as a “signal light” during the Civil War! A beautiful structure on private land, we can photograph from the boat but we may not access it by land.
For the true lighthouse aficionado, because of our different and unique structures, this is the trip of a lifetime…..it is one of the few places in the world where three distinct lighthouses are visible at the same time! There is more but it is so special it only occurs at the end of your Lighthouse Excursion! Be sure to ask me about my daughter-in-law……..
To make sure the Old Baldy tour is exceptional, please plan this trip well in advance so I can properly line up our dockage, lunch (if requested), our tour guides at the museum for the “Old Baldy” tour on Smith Island, and scheduling. Sometimes we can arrange this trip in a few hours, but it is much better with advance notice….Many thanks for your patience.
