Lighthouse History - New London Ledge

Since I was a child, I have always been fascinated with lighthouses. My father used to have a large collection of miniature lighthouses in his office, and they always intrigued me - their shape, size, color, etc. I've been fortunate enough to see a "few" lighthouses over the past few years, and I thought it would be neat to share some of those with you, along with a little history about each.

One of the most unique lighthouses that I have ever seen was the New London Ledge Lighthouse. This is not your typical lighthouse that stands tall along the seashore. Instead, this is a small, almost house-like, size lighthouse that sits literally in the middle of the water (almost like a buoy).

I was able to see it in August 2008, while cross the Long Island Sound onboard a ferry (which is really the only way to see the New London Ledge - via boat). At first, I didn't really think much about it and only snapped a few photos, and now recently, I have done a little research into the history & importance of this light.



The New London Ledge Lighthouse is located near both New London & Groton, Connecticut. When talk came around the town about building a lighthouse to help guide vessels from the Atlantic thru the Long Island Sound and eventually onto the Thames River and into the New London Harbor, many townspeople did not want a tall structure amidst their historic & large homes. Initially the lighthouse was created onshore in 1801, but it did not aid the vessels adequately. The present-day lighthouse (or light-station as some refer to it), was built in 1909. There are rumors that this lighthouse is haunted by a ghost named "Ernie" (after a former lighthouse keeper who reportedly killed himself), this is of course, is all rumored, but Coast Guardsmen, who used to be stationed inside the lighthouse, reported hearing strange sounds & knocks upon their bedroom doors! (Woooo, spoooooky!!!)

Eventually, it was deemed that the lighthouse no longer needed manning. And in 1987, the New London Ledge became the last remaining lighthouse on the Long Island Sound to be manned before switching over to automation. Today, the lighthouse is cared for by the New London Ledge Lighthouse Foundation; and it is also used occasionally as a maritime classroom by the United States Coast Guard, which continues to maintain the automated light.

I think this is one of the most unique lighthouses that I have seen in many years. And if you happen to be visiting up "North" and decide to take a cruise across the Long Island Sound from Connecticut to New York, be sure to be on the lookout for the New London Ledge!

It's the most wonderful time of the year ....

Okay so I really love that Christmas song "It's the most wonderful time of the year", especially sung by the great Andy Williams! I do love Christmas time and all the lights and decorations and time you can spend with family & friends. (Though I think the State Fair might be my FAVORITE time of the year, ha!)

But the Christmas season brings out a whole different side of people - it's the caring and giving side, the joyful and mostly happy side. Why can we always be like that?

So far this Christmas season has been super busy but fun for me! Have been to see the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Vince Gill & Amy Grant all in concert -- both concerts were amazing. If you get the chance to go see Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO), you should definitely go ... the lights, pyro, etc., it's just unbelieveable that they can do so much! Vince & Amy did an awesome concert, as well. I'm so grateful to have been able to go to both of these concerts with my sis, too :)






I was also happy to attend the lighting of the official State of North Carolina Christmas Tree on the Capitol grounds in Raleigh. It's always so neat to see that tree each year. I think growing up in the Capital City, I sometimes take that for granted. I know there are some people in my state who may never even get a chance to see the Capital City or else it's a huge treat for them to be able to visit it. Yet for me, it's less than 10 minutes from my house. I think this year I really tried to make myself realize how fortunate I was to live in such a great place and be so close to so many things.





Take time this Christmas to spend time with those you love and care about, AND when you're with that person (whether it's a family member or close friend), rather than getting all excited about opening presents and such, why not take a few minutes to just sit and talk to each other and name a few things that they have done for you in the past year that has meant so much to you. Presents and gifts are awesome; but our family & friends should be the presents we treasure second most. The most important present ever given was Jesus and because of Him, we can celebrate and enjoy all the other things of the season. Don't forget the real meaning of CHRISTmas!

Two Weeks

In two weeks, I will be in Heaven ... okay not literally (well, who knows, I might be if the Lord sees fit!) ... but I'll be close to Heaven on Earth - put it that way!

I'll be seated inside Neyland Stadium getting ready to see the Tennessee Volunteers take on the Kentucky Wildcats. Honestly, I don't have high aspirations that Tennessee will win this game. (As Rissy would say, I need to think positively (ha!) but seriously, we've only won three games!) They are having a rough season with all that happened last year; and it's a bad sign when Kentucky has already won more games than the Vols. We're in a rebuilding time, but one day, the Vols will be the Tennessee of old.

Neyland Stadium is one of the largest college football stadiums in the United States. I have been inside the stadium once before but not for a game & I was just overwhelmed. The sheer sign of the stadium seen from the highway is just unbelieveable. I've never been to a Tennessee game and have heard it is unlike anything you've ever experience; so I am stoked!

I am so excited. I pray for a victory but even if the Vols don't score an actual victory on the field, it will still be a victory for me to be at the game, see Smokey on the loose and sing "ROCKY TOP" at the top of my lungs!

My co-workers even got me an orange & white cake for my birthday to help me prepare. So let's go Volunteers. If you don't win another game this season, try hard to beat Kentucky for my sake!!!

Paint it Red, White & Blue ...

Election 2010 proved to be very interesting in North Carolina. For the first time, since, I believe what I heard on the news this morning, the Spanish-American War, the Republicans now control both the NC House & Senate. Wow!

Now, I will admit that I am neither registered Republican nor Democrat; I am Unaffiliated. I do not vote based on the party alone (many will disagree with me on that). I research a person and their stance on issues, and review their education & prior experience (particularly for judges). Once I have done my research, then I make a decision that I feel best aligns with how I feel personally or how I believe it will impact our State and Nation.

I voted bright and early yesterday morning (voter # 152!). And after a super long day at work, I went downtown Raleigh to the Election Victory Night at the Marriott City Center. That was a unique and fun experience to mingle with all sorts of people and watch results both local and nationwide come in.


One of my close friends' husband was running for Wake County Commissioner. I'll admit that I was quite worried about whether he would win or not since he was challenging a pretty popular incumbent. But the announcement was made that my friend, Phil Matthews won. I was happy to be there when that announcement was made and be one of the first to congratulate him, have my picture made with him AND even found out later be on the news with (thanks to NBC 17)!!



So a very exciting night ... shall be interesting to see what transpires down the road and what changes are made. For those of you that voted, thank you; you did your duty, your voice was heard and I applaud you. And for those of you that didn't vote, that's your loss and in my view, you have no right to complain in the future because you could have done something about it!

God bless America!!

Days 8,9 & 10 equal the end ....

Well the day has come where the State Fair has officially ended and while that saddens me, I am also very excited and happy that history was made and I was there to be a part of it. Yesterday afternoon the North Carolina State Fair had its one-millioneth visitor. What an exciting event and milestone for our state and its history. I am proud to say that not only was in I attendance and on the fairgrounds when that happened, but I also had a spectacular year at the Fair myself -- going each day with some incredible friends & family, entering in competitions and eating foods I never thought I'd do before. This year I truly celebrated what was great. Sure the Fair itself was awesome but being able to spend time with those you love to be with and share in excitements, laughs, and new adventures is what made the experience great. And even though I didn't attend every single day, I came close enough. I'm proud of my Honorable Mention Ribbon for my scrapbook entry; I'm really proud of my State Fair Adventurer Ribbon; and have now been deemed by one of our clients as the State Fair Doctor. Below are some pictures from the last three days and a few recaps in between. I'll miss you NC State Fair but I'll see you soon (next year October 13th thru the 23rd!)



Each day I had to go by and check on the "status" of our incredible watermelons. On Friday the 22nd, Phyllis snapped this picture of the 4th place watermelon; the one to the left is 1st place -- what happened to 2nd and 3rd place you may ask? Well as the little space in between says "they weren't feeling well so they had to go but they enjoyed their experience" -- needless to say those two watermelons (and 6th place, too) weren't able to make it thru the whole Fair experience and ended up "popping". So I kept going back to see if 1st and 4th would last (fortunately they did!)


For FOUR of my TEN days at the State Fair, my sis was able to come along with me -- I think that set a record for her (and she doesn't even like going!) Friday the 22nd, we went over before we went to Steven's (her sons) football game. The weather was good and we had a great time playing some games and just seeing sights.


On Saturday (the record setting attendance day with over 150,000 visitors!!), Julie & I went over mid-afternoon and took her kids Chase & MaKayla. We had a lot of fun with them riding the ponies, eating hot dogs, seeing the animals, and riding some rides. I enjoyed spending some time with these little cuties! MaKayla is the little one whom I did my ribbon winning scrapbook entry on. So that was neat to show it to Julie in person!




Later that evening, Julie & I were joined at the Fair by Phyllis (and eventually Dwayne & Steven after they got out of traffic). We had tickets to see Darius Rucker and were so glad that Phyllis was able to join us. Darius did an AMAZING show at the Fairgrounds and it was well worth the cost. AND to top it all off, our seats were on the FOURTH ROW from the stage. How awesome!!


After the concert, I got some Deep Fried Oreos (ack!) and then we met up with Dwayne & Steven and watched the fireworks. Once they were over, we all headed towards our vehicles (not before the girls stopped over for pretzels!) and then we ended the night at Krispy Kreme (well, they did ... I ended up laying down in the back of the car trying not to puke!)


Sadly, the last day of the Fair had to arrive and I was none too excited for it to go. I still was suffering from my "Fair hangover" at church on Sunday morning but after church, Mom, Dad & I ventured over to the fairgrounds. Where I was giving goodbye hugs to everyone, even the pigs.


We covered the entire fairgrounds one last time on Sunday, and even after going 10 days, I managed to go to some places yesterday that I hadn't been to during the week. I willingly went to the Folk Festival and Bluegrass shows with Mom & Dad; even ventured in the Village of Yesteryear. It was a very long day but a lot of fun! Here are some of my farewell shots ...

Mooooo......I am NOT 42

Well, I took a day off from going to the Fair but made a return trip on Thursday the 21st, along with everyone else in the State of North Carolina. It was slam-packed with people last night, but good for the Fair -- maybe we'll break an attendance record (I always like to say I was part of that!)


Last night, Tiffany & I went over after work to walk around. We'd both already been several times so it was primarily a night to eat, play games & see some sights. I was very happy to be able to see the cows. During the middle of the week, they rotate the "cow barn" and switch them from beef cattle to dairy cattle. Personally, I like the dairy cows better. So I was glad to go in and see them (not really the smell!)


I didn't eat very much -- a small bite of Tiffany's KK burger and then I had another pretzel (yummy!). We played quite a few games ... I won on the first try at Whack-a-Mole (love that game!) and got a really soft little giraffe whom I named Geoffrey (after the Toys-R-Us giraffe!). We tried the Kentucky Derby game and the I got it games but didn't win any prizes. Later Tiffany had the age-guesser try to guess her age ... she won because he guessed 15 (and she's 24). So that inspired me to give it a shot ... i knew they'd guess me older but not 14 years older than what I am ... he guessed me as 42 (No, I am only 28 -- or will be in a few weeks!). My heavens!!


But we had fun with our animals - Geoffrey, Opie & Madeline (aka Maddie). We enjoyed a nice fireworks display amongst some 125,000 fellow fairgoers! And of course, because I am such a nice person and a loving niece, I visited the Red Man booth and got my uncle some tobacco products -- hurrah, my NC driver's license have now been scanned that I have gotten tobacco products. Lord help me, I'm becoming "red"

Here's to more days at the Fair -- it's coming to a close soon and I'm beginning to get sad.

It's all about the food ...

What's better than going to the State Fair than eating and particularly trying something new?


Last night (Tuesday the 19th for those of you keeping track!), I went with my good friend Beth. We rode the bus from downtown Raleigh, which was cool, and got over to the Fair around 6pm.

We strolled the fairgrounds and looked at some exhibit halls and all the variety of food options. I don't think I ever truly paid attention until recently just how much food and how many different types of things you can eat! I stayed pretty simple last night and just got two ham biscuits, a Diet Coke & eventually a frozen
cheesecake dipped in chocolate (sidenote: the cheesecake was from the Cheesecake Factory!!). Beth tried some tempura veggies, the Texas Frito Pie (which turned out to not be what either of us thought!) and the Deep Fried Reese Cups.

I told someone today at work that I wished the Fair was here every day. It is so nice for me to leave work and go walk at the Fair and just relax and get my mind off things. Now I probably don't need to eat all that food daily but I am walking so that should count for something, right??

I had a great time last night -- not too many people either so that was good. Great times are had. The midway lights were beautiful last night, as well. Enjoy some pictures.





And for those of you keeping track, so far I've eaten: 2 footlongs, 1 hotdog, 1 fry, 1 deep fried reese cup, 4 small ham biscuits (ha!), 1/2 Krispy Kreme burger, 1/2 roast corn, 1 popcorn, 1 cheesecake on a stick and a TON of DIET COKE (haha!)

Concert time ...

So I'm a little behind in my Fair recaps ... but better late than never, right?

Shortly after getting off from work, I ventured back to the Fairgrounds on Monday the 18th. Initially I was going to meet up with my friend Julie & her family and then later go to the concert. Well, as it turned out, my cousin Jeremy also had tickets to the concert and he offered for us to sit with him -- sure why not, it was only the FRONT ROW after all :)


So he & I went over and looked at some of the exhibits and did some "people-watching". If there is one activity you want to partake in at the North Carolina State Fair, it is "people-watching" because Lord have mercy, you will see all sorts and all kinds of sights! But it was fun to be able to go with you cousin with whom only two months separates our age (he's the oldest!) -- we had fun and it was neat to see Dale Earnhardt Jr's race car, which is my cousin's favorite!!


Julie eventually joined us and we enjoyed the concert by Easton Corbin. He's a new up-and-coming country artist, who sounds similar to George Strait (but nothing will ever compare to him). So that was such a highlight to be able to sit on the front row for a concert, and a big thanks to all the wonderful Agriculture Officers who took care of helping me get my cousin into the arena and down to our floor level seats!






Another favorite thing I realized I really love about the Fair is the colors --- it is so much prettier at night to see all the colors from the rides and the lights. I'm glad I was able to go with my cousin & Julie -- we had a good time and shared some laughs!

Day Two ... So I tried it ...

Saturday the 16th was my "official" day two to visit the State Fair, and it was interesting. The weather was glorious & it couldn't have been a better day. Rather than there being two of us going, we helped to increase attendance at the Fair and doubled up and it became four (Phyllis, Dwayne, Steven & me!).


Needless to say the weekends are always slam-packed with people ... we couldn't even find a parking place! But we finally arrived and our immediate need was FOOOOOOD!! The guys decided they didn't want to be adventurous; they just wanted a hamburger. Well Phyllis & I wanted to try something new and did we ever ... So yes, I tried it -- what's it? The BIG talk around the State ... the Krispy Kreme Hamburger! Yes, that's right -- two Krispy Kreme donuts used for buns with a hamburger pattie in the middle and you can customize however you like. AND (hold on tight), it was GREAT!!!

After eating, we walked around and looked at some of the exhibits before finally heading down into the Midways. I'm so grateful to have had Steven along again for the journey at the Fair because I know he'll be adventurous and ride some rides with me. We rode quite a few and really enjoyed them.







After finishing our riding, we strolled around a bit more to find some more "snacks" to eat. Eventually the Fair day had to wind down, we left the guys at the Tractor Pull and we went to get dinner before heading home.

But even with all the crowd of people, it was a beautiful day at the North Carolina State Fair to Celebrate What's Great with some awesome people. The highlight of this day was obviously riding the rides (especially when we got Dwayne on the Freak Out!) but it was just fun spending time with you second family & friends!!

Nothing could be finer....

Well, it is that time of year again when I start singing "Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina at the State Fair" ... so hard to believe it is already time for the North Carolina State Fair to be in town, but I LOVE IT.

Many people have given me the nickname the "State Fair Queen" or tour guide or whatever due to the fact that I tend to go to the Fair on numerous occasions. I've already been two, well I guess three times, and it just opened on Thursday the 14th.

Our office went over on Wednesday for lunch; then yesterday was "Preview Day" and last Friday, I dropped my first official State Fair entries off. I have always wanted to enter something in the Fair and have dreams of winning a ribbon. Well, this year, I finally entered two scrapbook entries and can proudly say I won a ribbon. I honestly did not expect to win a ribbon or anything. I didn't win first place, but that doesn't matter, it's a ribbon and that is exciting to me!!


My first day at the Fair was a blast -- the Fair with your sister and bestie equals a great combination, and it surely was an adventure. We even participated in the State Fair Scavenger Hunt and we completed that and both got ribbons, hurrah!!




So the highlight of Day One (aka Preview Day) was seeing my entry and realizing I now have a ribbon that I can display. The Scavenger Hunt is great because you get to learn a lot about the Fair and North Carolina.





To wind the night down, I rode two rides (including the brand new one, which wasn't that great); we ate some Deep Fried Reese Peanut Butter Cups, a Cinnamon-Sugar Pretzels and a RED Foot Long (woo!!) ... the night ended with a bang with an amazing fireworks demonstration!

Go out and enjoy our North Carolina State Fair. It's in town (in Raleigh) from October 14th thru the 24th. There's something for everyone and this year we made history (again) being the nation's # 1 Fair with the most rides!! Way to go, NC!!

I'll be skipping going back today but more to come later. Enjoy some sights.

Hello Mr. Washington

If you ask me why I like this place so much, I honestly won't have an answer for that question. But one of my favorite places to visit is Mount Vernon, the home of George & Martha Washington in Virginia.

I remember when I first visited there back in high school. You know when you're in school you really don't have an appreciation for places you visit -- it's just a day off school and who really cares, right? Well that was true on our trip to Washington, D.C., but when we stopped over at Mount Vernon, something just struck me about the place. Maybe it was its location near D.C. or maybe because it was a beautiful estate situated exclusively along the banks of the Potomac River. Either way, I have no idea why but I just liked it there.

In 2008, when my family took our trek northward for my cousin's wedding, I kept telling my parents on the way home we HAD to stop at Mount Vernon. Neither of my parents had been there and they probably thought I was a bit crazy for really wanting to go to this place.

We made our stop and rather than just buying the passes to tour the estate, I scaled up and also bought the boat tour on the Potomac River. I initially thought we'd be boarding this small rowboat or something that would just take us out and show us the estate from the river, but no ... Rather,you board this huge yacht (The Spirit of Mount Vernon) and it will take you almost into D.C. and gives you a tour of Mount Vernon from the riverside.

If you've never been to Mount Vernon, I highly encourage you to go. You can go inside the home of our FIRST President,you can visit his tomb, the gardens of the estate and so many other sites or you can just kick back, take it easy and sit on the massive porch in a rocking chair and watch the boats sail by. It is well worth the visit; I knew that even back in high school.

A Day at the Seaport

As many probably know I am collecting points from Coca-Cola to cash in for various prizes. Well in 2008, I cashed in enough points to get three admission passes to Mystic Seaport in Mystic, Connecticut. Our family was en route to my cousin's wedding on Long Island, so we thought we'd take a detour and check out this place.

Isn't it always amazing how places you have no idea what to expect, they usually turn out to be really neat places. Mystic is right off I-95 and it is a very quaint little town comprised of Mystic, Mystic Seaport and Old Mystic. There are a lot of shops and places to visit along the riverfront.

Mystic Seaport is comparable to an interactive museum. It is a restoration museum of sorts. Back in the 1800s the Mystic Seaport was a big area of trade in the Northeast. As with time, things erode and deteriorate or the city expands. Mystic Seaport is a restoration of what the seaport was like in the 1800s. You can visit the Mystic Bank, Pharmacy, Restaurants and even homes from that time. But one of the highlights for me was where you can climb aboard fully-restored (and even some of the originals) ships from that day, including the Charles Morgan. They have an active shipyard within the seaport that restores ships from all over the world.



We spent two days touring here and really enjoyed it. If you're ever in Connecticut, I highly recommend you visit the town of Mystic, even if you don't go to the actual Seaport, the town itself is so quiet and rustic.