The Cape Henry Lighthouses are located on the Fort Story Naval base near Virginia Beach. Old Cape Henry was the first lighthouse authorized by the US Government and was built in 1792. It was a great drive from Fort Monroe to Fort Story, crossing the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel; 3.5 miles of bridges, trestles, man-made islands and tunnels, at one point driving under the water.
You walk into a lovely air-conditioned gift shop where they charge a small fee for admission to the lighthouse. Out the back door, into the grueling heat, up a long flight of stairs, to the base of the lighthouse. Another 12 steps up the front stairs and you enter the original doorway which puts you at the base of the internal cast iron spiral staircase, at the and of which there is a ladder type climb to the very top.
When you get to the top there is a wonderful view that you can not enjoy because it is all enclosed and the heat is stiflingly. Quickly returning to the gift shop, it took 10 minutes for the AC to cool me down.
In 1872 a routine inspection found large cracks that presented the question of stability and safety which lead to the building of New Cape Henry Lighthouse in 1881, which stands 350 feet high.
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| New Old Cape Henry Lighthouse | |
On the way back to the highway, my navigation system started acting up, directing me to side streets that made no sense, until I saw this mail box and realized there are no mistakes, just adventures!
