ShareThisLighthouses are symbols of hope. Hope that those in unfamiliar places will find their way home again. Hope that someone will always be there to light the way. And hope that a loved one is waiting for a safe return.
We love lighthouses, or at least love the imagery of them: the keeper climbing to the lookout with oil for the flame, and wayward ships guided home, thanks to a shining light.
The flickering flames are a thing of the past. Most lighthouses are automated now, yet the old ways live in our imaginations. The more than a dozen lighthouses of Cape Cod feed our romantic notions about the sailors' sentinel.
Take, for instance, the oddly familiar red-and-white Nauset Lighthouse. It is nestled among greenery and blooming flowers at Cape Cod National Seashore, the Atlantic Ocean roaring nearby. Even if you have not been to the Cape -- although you should go -- you'll recognize Nauset. It is so iconic and beloved that it graces a Massachusetts vanity license plate. A potato-chip bag, too.
Nauset was moved from Chatham, at the elbow of the bent-arm Cape, to its current spot in 1923, replacing three lighthouses called the "Three Sisters." Today, it is operated by the Nauset Light Preservation Society, which periodically holds tours in the summer. Yes, you can climb to the top.
And there are others to see.
On a return to Provincetown from a whale-watching trip, we watch a brilliant sinking sun move behind the Wood End Lighthouse as we navigate around it. The 39-foot-tall beacon is solar-powered and flashes red every 10 seconds.
The sea is quiet as we putter by, happy that we've seen more than 20 humpback whales gliding with amazing grace through the water. Wood End welcomes us back to the harbor -- it has been guiding sailors since 1872 -- and an evening in lively P-town.
The Cape Cod coastline is ever-evolving. Sifting sands and treacherous shoals keep lighthouses alive and necessary. They exist for more than a visitor's pleasure, vital players in the business deal we have with the sea.
We know they have purpose beyond our entertainment. And, yet, we still love the romance.
(E-mail Janet K. Keeler at krieta(at)sptimes.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service www.scrippsnews.com)
Must credit the St. Petersburg Times
