To the Lighthouse

(Or my adventure to the Discovery Park West Pt. Lighthouse)

After checking out the Ballard Locks, I headed up to Discover Park. And by up, I mean I walked straight up a giant hill to get to the parking lot that is at the base of the park. Once I got to the parking lot and took a moment to catch my breath, I walked toward the nearest direction marker to decide where to go. While the beaches and bluffs sounded fun, I thought the most interesting place to visit would be the "Historic Area." After climbing up another hill to get to this historic area, I ran into a housing area that I thought might be off limits. I proceeded back down the hill to check the signpost again. Sure enough it pointed me back up the hill, so I went that way again assuming that the area was not in fact off limits. When I'd gotten about 50 yards further than before, a really big dog on a flimsy looking leash started barking at me. I decided that however interesting this historic area might have been, I wasn't going to brave the dog to see it.

Instead I turned back down the hill and onto another trail. From a maker a little further along the trail, I saw a sign for the beach and "Lighthouse." The lighthouse sounded interesting, so I decided to head down that way. And when I say down, I mean down a hill the size of the one I had just walked up. Now, you might ask why I didn't just stay at the bottom and go straight to the lighthouse. Unfortunately, this was not an option. So down the hill I went knowing that I would regret it when I had to climb back up. If you are wondering what the deal with these pictures is, you have to understand that the most interesting scenery was these trees. Plus in this picture, you can kind of see the hill I was climbing down.

Once I made it to the bottom, I was at the beach. Not the real beach, but the beach that's up against the Puget Sound, so I think that is about as good as I get. The beach was pretty nice, the view to the left is what I saw when I looked West over the water. I won't post the pictures of what it looked like to the North (somehow during my walk down, rain clouds had followed about a mile behind, but where I was going, it was clear and bright).

The lighthouse was not far from the bottom of the trail. I had kind of expected something bigger. Exactly what, I'm not sure. But I think it was supposed to be bigger. This lighthouse is no longer operational, but it's really neat that they've kept it up. I really liked this picture because it looks a little like one of the old houses you would see on a puzzle (if you don't look close enough to see the chain link fence).

Once I saw the lighthouse, I wandered around on the beach and tried to take pictures of the sail boats. I think I need a camera with better zoom to get them, but I did an okay job. You can kind of see him out there in the middle. Notice the gloomy skies overhead. That is what I had to look forward to seeing on my walk home. Needless to say, I stuck around and took a LOT of pictures, only some of which I can post here because I'm running out of narrative.

The view of the water from the beach was amazing, and I can't wait to go back when the weather is nicer. It's not exactly an area where you can sunbathe, but it would be nice to enjoy it without grey skies right behind you.

Once I finished up down at the beach, I had to head back up the hill. I still had a good view for a little while, and then back into the trees. At least the view of the water made the climb back up the hill worthwhile. I thought for a while I wasn't going to make it back to the parking lot, but then I saw a guy on a bike struggling up the hill and decided that if he could do it on wheels that looked like they wanted to slide backward, I could do it on foot.

When I made it back to the parking lot, I realized that I still had to walk a mile back home. Thankfully, the weather had turned around and the grey clouds were now at my back (where I had just come from) and the skies over my neighborhood were as blue and clear as they could be.

Needless to say, when I finally made it home I was wiped out, but I did enjoy the walk and the neat view from the beach. I may try to go back again with a map and try to find this historic area, though I'm guessing it's not much to speak of since it was so hard to find.

While Virginia Woolf's novel by the same title was more entertaining I'm sure, I hope you enjoyed all of my picture from my trip To the Lighthouse. And, I made it there before the third book, so I figure I'm one up on her characters. Also, please don't ask about the picture of the seagulls. I like them, and they were walking around like they owned the place, so I took a picture and decided it needed to be included here.