Located on the grounds of Fort Monroe, you have to pass through Army security to get close to this lighthouse.
I jumped out of the car and set Tinky Winky on a fire Hydrant wanting to get a shot before the wind blew her off her precarious perch. When I traveled to the Yukon, I prepared for the possible problems of shooting in cold weather because the lens can fog-up when you return indoors. I never had a problem, but this day...when I went to shoot TW, it was sooo hot and humid, that my lens fogged instantly. While TW fell to the ground, I had no option but to sit and wait for my equipment to return to normal. It took over 10 minutes sitting in the heat, waiting for the sun to warm my lens, inside and out. Even the internal SLR mirror was fogged!
During the Civil War, Fort Monroe was one of the few Southern forts that remained in the Union's hands. It served as a staging point for attacks on Richmond.
In 1891, the new keeper's house was built. Today it serves as housing for an Army Major. 54 feet high, it is not open to the public, but I found this description of the inside: "the tower possesses a spiral staircase composed of hand-cut stone, stacked strategically on top of each other. The stairs lead to a ladder that ascends to a trap door, beyond which is the lantern room. Eleven oil lanterns, which consumed 486 gallons of oil each year, were set in fourteen-inch reflectors to produce a light that could be seen from fourteen miles at sea." (Ref: www.LighthouseFriends.com) I wasn't sure what this ruin was...
...until I read the sign:
With your back to the Water Battery, you see this WWII battery, which I had to climb to get a view of the turrets.
