Lori Sweeney
Ever open to unique adventures, my ears perked up late last summer when I learned about the chance to spend a week “lighthouse keeping” from another guest while we were sailing on a tall ship (I wasn’t kidding about those unique adventures!). I looked it up as soon as we had cell service and sure enough, it WAS possible to spend a week 5 miles out on a spit near Sequim, Washington, and greet visitors, learn lighthouse history and kick back in the keeper’s house in between low tides. Of course, there were some hitches in THAT giddyup.
The New Dungeness Lighthouse is an icon on the Juan de Fuca Strait and right across from Victoria, BC. The lighthouse is depicted on every tchotchke in shops around the Hood Canal and Sequim. It was the first lighthouse built on the Pacific Northwest coast and has been in continuous operation since, not an easy feat given that fuel and food, not to mention numerous lighthouse keepers and their families, had to be delivered by boat or on horseback. And the history of lighthouses in the US in general is an interesting journey through government agencies, various lens mechanics, storm-watching and shipwrecks as well as regular life which had to be accomplished on a sand spit.
When the keeper’s house was built in 1904, it was built sturdily and thanks to the efforts of the New Dungeness Lighthouse Association, a group of committed volunteers and one overworked paid “director,” the house is in good order, complete with Wi-Fi and smart TV (electricity was laid across Dungeness Bay in 1934). The artesian well drilled in 1930 bubbles over in the massive yard and keeps the lawn green. While the property is well-appointed, the keepers must be driven in every Friday at low tide, a partnership with the Fish & Wildlife folks who manage the reserve that surrounds New Dungeness Lighthouse. So part of the adventure for volunteer keepers is that you are driven out along the beach, whenever low tide is (which might be 2:30 am).
Ever the travel planner, I proceeded to pummel the New Dungeness Association director with communications about our interest and that we could stay, even on short notice (which is sort of a joke, because did I mention I was a planner and my husband likes to be warned of all upcoming activities, most notably conversations or activities that involve money?). Because, yes, you “rent” the keeper’s
house for the week…so as my husband says now that we’ve logged a week, “we paid to water the lawn, greet guests and haul our food out there and cook it.” Maybe he’s not into “unique” as much as I am…. Spousal grumpiness aside, it was a magical week. First we got the call on Tuesday, drove out that Friday with our stuff in big plastic bins and enjoyed several hours in Sequim, a charming town with delightful shops and good restaurants. Just being that spontaneous in our household was a feat! Then we met our driv-ers and headed out over the sand and to the lighthouse, where the departing keepers gave us a quick orientation and we waved goodbye before the tide started lapping at the wheels of the departing Suburbans. After a crash course in lighthouse history, and New Dungeness in particular, we greeted 33 guests who either kayaked or hiked in during our week. They often brought a picnic lunch and we es-corted them up the 74 steps to the lens and relayed our fun facts about the place. We met interesting people, logged more than 7,000 steps a day and had the magical October mornings and evenings to ourselves. Since it was a last-minute gig, it was just us eating at the table that can host eight or more in the house. We watched the bald eagle pair scour the calm sea for their breakfasts and looked up the freighters chugging by. We drank coffee on the front porch at sunrise and didn’t mind cleaning the lighthouse bathroom (although we did learn how alarmingly easy it is to smudge a recently-polished brass banister!). It was like living in another world and we had the time, inclination and wherewithal to do it, a great combination. Lori & Jeff Sweeney live “up South High Prairie Road,” a place they love when they aren’t experimenting with other unique ac-commodations around the world. Learn more about lighthouse keeping at https://newdungenesslighthouse.com/.