Crescent City Lighthouse

Crescent City

June 16, 2021

This morning was a bright, sunny morning so I headed over to the lighthouse to take some photos, expecting that the light would be excellent. I was correct.

I was a bit groggy this morning and really did not want to walk the 1,000 yards round trip to the lighthouse. My System 2 told my System 1 to get over it and so I made the walk. And I was glad I did.

The keeper was out in his yard and we exchanged "Mornings." I surprised myself by asking him how long he had lived at the lighthouse. His answer surprised me. The lighthouse is "manned" by volunteers, each volunteer staying for a month. In this case, it is this gentleman and his wife. What month they get varies from year to year -- in their six years of volunteering he has never had the same month. They live in the Bay Area and clearly really enjoy this month. They are responsible for giving tours and doing routine maintenance around the property.

Just think. If my System 2 had not kicked in and I had not said hello, I would not have learned about this cool experience these folks have each year. My walkabout has helped me recalibrate my perspective on talking to folks. I have found that if instead of just saying "hello," if I asked sincerely how someone's day is going, I'm likely going to learn something I did not know. That may sound like common sense, but I'm an introvert and shy.

It was a beautiful evening yesterday when I snuck over to get photos of the lighthouse. The orientation of the lighthouse and the sun made it challenging to get good photos -- here are the best of what I took.

Here's this morning's data.