Craighill Keeper’s bLog

Gradually, bluish light began appearing over the horizon and the meteors appeared less and less. I walked around the deck to look toward the west, but stopped short when I spotted a fat seagull sitting up on one of the davits. Good, maybe they don’t like the fishing line on the railings after all, I thought. Just then, an osprey flew off the roof directly over my head like he’d been sitting there watching me. He startled me so much, I gasped out loud and jumped back. I think he may have tried poop-bombing me and narrowly missed my face as I found splotches down the lapel of my jacket once the sun rose further. I wonder if he sat glaring down at me from a perch on the dwelling roof the whole time I sat in my chair counting meteors? Spooky. Tyler stayed in bed for a while playing with the wind-up radio and flashlight. I brought out the lemon muffins for us, noting there were tons of ants all over the floor of the kitchen, crawling into our bags, and running single file between all the floorboards. How in the world do so many ants get two miles off-shore? I’d really like to know! We ate breakfast and then Tyler stole my chair to do some early morning ship spotting with the binoculars while I cleaned up and stored all the sleeping stuff away. Eventually, we hopped in the boat to head back to the marina where Capt. McBride had promised to have some real coffee waiting for me. Mmmm! I wanted to get there early enough to savor the coffee and relax a bit before heading back out. The water was finally calm (calmed around 8 AM) and I figured we could zip back pretty easily without getting too wet. As we dropped down into the boat, the temperature was warming enough to not require a jacket. I knew I’d be changing out of my long-johns and jeans into shorts and a t-shirt when we returned. I also happily noticed the black dock line was in fact still intact and holding up fine. For the first time, I hadn’t lost a thing from the boat/lines. Woo!

We pulled into the marina and I made a wide u-turn so the bow of the boat was facing back out and wouldn’t require ‘reverse’ to turn around when we departed. Since the motorshaft isn’t quite long enough for the height of the boat fully inflated, it tends to stop sucking water through after I use reverse for some strange reason. Three impellers later (not to mention all the time lost while the boat was in the shop), I’ve learned to just avoid using reverse at all costs unless absolutely necessary. It also means I have to keep the motor tilted as far down as possible at all times underway. Terrence met us at the pier with coffee and hot chocolate. Woohoo! My elation over coffee turned to embarrassment as Terrence pointed out I had an ant in my teeth. Ewwww! Tyler giggled and relayed how I had pulled one out of my ear earlier in the morning! As we walked up to shore, I saw Marty from Chesapeake Bay Magazine was already there and her photographer joined her shortly with her gear. So we were back on the water after “real” bathroom breaks and headed out. The chop started picking up a little and we got splashed a bit along the way. Tamzin kept her camera snapping most of the ride out as the lighthouse became larger in view, with the silhouette of the Bay Bridge in the distant background. I sported my goofy bicycling “Ride Like A Girl” skull cap that I like to wear to keep my hair from blowing in my face and since it doesn’t have a bill, I don’t risk it flying off like the visor I lost last time out. I can’t wait to see how those photos turned out!

We arrived at the lighthouse and tied up (I had left my lines and one ladder where they were since I knew we’d be right back). I shimmied up and Tyler followed before I was ready for him by leaping onto the ladder and swinging widely on it. Little monkey! He thought it was a riot but it sure scared me! Normally I grab the handle on his life vest in order to spot him up, but he didn’t give me a chance. Naturally, he made it up just fine. Next, I grabbed bags and handed them to Tyler up on the deck and we were ready for them to board. The ladder proved a bit too awkward and I was worried about Marty. I mounted the original fire escape ladder to the eyelet so that it would stand rigid up against the lighthouse and she made it, followed by Tamzin, the photographer.

We led them on a tour of the light, describing each room, going all the way to the lantern gallery and the basement. Then, Marty volunteered to be put to work, so I showed her how I start out each trip by “swabbing the deck” and with Tyler helping to pull the buckets of water up, she got to work. Wow, that was awesome! I was freed up to check other things off my list. I set about drilling holes in the bottoms of the windows (something Cullen Chambers suggested) in order to allow trapped water to evaporate rather than further rot the windowsills. Tamzin and I chatted about bicycling and triathlons while she continued shooting photos. Then she got in on the action and washed the windows. Holy cow! I could see through them! I had forgotten. I hung the “No Trespassing” signs, still cracking up over the “NO HUNTING” portion of one of them. Originally, I had planned to hang it on the door, but being steel, I wasn’t sure how - so with the window clean now, I just stuck it in the window next to the door.

I took some pictures of Marty and Tamzin, but they ended up either having their eyes closed or not the best shots, so unfortunately, I didn’t post them. Hopefully they’ll be as kind to me in the article if I look goofy in any of the photos! I don’t have a mirror on the lighthouse, so I have no idea what I looked like. I did contemplate putting lipstick on for the occasion, but seeing as I don’t normally wear any out there (it’s camping!), I decided it would look pretentious and silly. Still…

While Marty was cleaning the deck, the handle ripped off the bucket and it drifted away. A fishing boat nearby was kind enough to rescue it and I got to climb down the recently installed ladder to retrieve it from them. Thanks! I fashioned a new handle out of excess rope and they got back to it. I felt kind of guilty for not also doing the hard manual labor that I normally do. I felt like a fish out of water without my usual task to do! I bet she was sore the next day! I was and I wasn’t even doing that this time. I was, however, very relieved to be able to get other tasks accomplished. The deck looked fantastic too!

We sat down in the “living room” to eat lunch and I answered questioned about the lighthouse and our routines for the story. Tamzin recommended some ant traps that she swears by and we added them to my list. The water was getting rough again. I decided we should clean up and get ready to head back. I emptied the grounds out of the percolator into the trash, then rinsed it out outside. As I poured the water out, the grounds basket fell off into the water because I forgot it wasn’t permanently attached. Argh! And here I was so proud I hadn’t lost anything on this visit! My precious coffee maker!! Of all things…

We headed back, dodging the crab pots in the “minefield” as I call it. I can’t wait to read the story, but it doesn’t come out until April! Thanks to both of them for all their help and I think they definitely got to experience “being me” for a day! Especially the ladder part. Now, to call about that boat lift proposal…

I had mentioned making a checklist for arrivals and departures because I inevitably forget something. I triple checked to make sure I had all the bags I needed back in the boat and had put everything inside the lighthouse that needed to be. Once we were back at the marina, I realized I had forgotten one thing on the deck. Eek. Time to make those check lists.

Captain McBride and Jesse posed in the “lighthouse boat” before we pulled it out of the water. Always good to make new friends!