A Taste of Spring

This winter we have been very lucky to dodge the full on winter wrath of Mother Nature. With limited snow fall and warm temperatures we have been spoiled. The past few days we have really been spoiled with highs in the mid to uppers 60’s and we are all getting a little taste of spring fever. Looking on social media I see many people posting photos on the beach or commenting about enjoying the weather.
We took advantage of the weather and headed up to north and hit a few shore points. Our first stop was Fort Hancock in Sandy Hook, NJ. Fort Hancock, built i
n 1857, is an US Army fort that was the primary defense of the New York Harbor. The fort is part of the National Park Service. To find out more about the for, visit the National Park Service’s website. It is an interesting place to visit with the abandoned buildings and parade field.

Also on the Fort is the Sandy Hook Lighthouse. The day of our visit was busy and there was a 2 hour wait to climb to the top of the light house. We opted not to wait to climb the 95 steps to the top. We wanted to see other sights nearby.

We moved on to our next stop and visited the Navesink Twin Lights. The impressive structure was first in use in 1828 after the shipping industry requested Congress to supplement the Sandy Hook Light. To find out more about the history of the Twin Lights, visit their website. When you visit the Twin Lights you have the ability to climb to the top to the observation deck. Unlike the Sandy Hook Light you do not have to sign up for a time to climb to the top, you can just start up the steps. When you are on the observation deck you are able to see the New York skyline. The day we were there it appeared there was a haze over the city so I was not able to get as clear of a shot as I would have liked.

After visiting the top of the lighthouse we sat on the grounds for a bit enjoying the view and the warm sunny day. It was definitely a great location to enjoy a peaceful day sitting by the water with a few of New York. We were also awaiting the departure of the cruise ships from New York and Bayonne, NJ. Since it appeared the ships were leaving later than anticipated we decided to move on to a different viewing point.

Our next stop on our touring around was Mount Mitchell. Here there is a 9/11 Memorial where you can sit and reflect and benches in covered patio areas where you can sit and watch the water, ships going by and the New York skyline. Here we waiting for the cruise ships embark on their next locations. It was fun to watch the ships cross under the Varrazano Bridge.