We stopped in St. Simons, Georgia, on our way to visit friends who had moved to Charleston, SC. I had seen many nice pictures of the St. Simons Lighthouse but, since we would be driving right by there, I wanted to see it for myself. We arrived around noon at this seaside town, a nice place with small shops and restaurants and lots of cottages to rent for weekend getaways.

We parked at the end of the street that dead ends at the popular fishing pier. Walking to the left, we went thru a park, past some great old trees, and on to the lighthouse. This light is usually photographed looking toward the house with the attached light looming up in the back. I decided to take pictures from all the angles I possibly could so I'd have a more well rounded pictorial remembrance of the light. The one on the left shows the light and the side of the keepers house, which is attached by an enclosed walkway to the light. The one on the right is a straight-on picture but farther away from the light than I have usually seen.

This is the second house and tower, the first one having been destroyed during the War Between the States. The 104 foot tower was completed in 1872 and is made of Savannah "gray" brick with the tower painted white. It was a long way up those 129 cast-iron steps that lead to the top but we made it, stopping at each window to look out and admire the views (plus catch our breath). Below you can vaguely see the ocean, trees and a home beyond the cast iron window covering. The other picture shows the view from the top, looking out towards the fishing pier. Notice the grand old tree and picnic tables in the park, a really pretty setting for lunch on a sunny day. Darrell tried to get me to hurry back down those stairs but I can't go as fast as he can!

The pictures to the right and left were taken from the small garden at the back of the light. We went out there after climbing up and back down and needed a nice spot to rest. One is a shot straight up the tower and the other is me holding the tower up! It was still standing when we left so I must have done a good job.

Climbing the tower is not the only thing to do while visiting this lighthouse. We also roamed thru the keepers house where we saw vintage furnishings and accessories that might have been used by the keepers at that light. It's funny what you can learn when you least expect it. One of the beds had ropes strung thru the bedframe to hold the mattress up and a key that, when turned in a certain place on the bedframe, made the ropes tighter so the mattress wouldn't sag over time - hence the old saying "sleep tight". I thought that was a very interesting tidbit of knowledge.

There is a gift shop downstairs where we bought a few lighthouse booklets and some Christmas ornaments. I like to collect ornaments from special places I've been so that I can remember my travels every year as I trim the tree. We ate lunch before getting back on the road and heading to our next lighthouse adventures in Charleston, South Carolina.

More pictures of this light can be seen on The Lighthouse Hunters page. Brian and his wife Amanda have taken tons of pictures of the St. Simons light, plus lots of other lights, and you'll enjoy every one of them.