Happy Thanksgiving!

In honor of the day, here's a photo I took of two wild turkeys near the entrance to Coast Guard Station Portsmouth Harbor in New Castle, NH, a short distance from Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse.

I'll be signing some of my lighthouse books this Friday, November 27, in Rockland, Maine, at the gift shop/interpretive center of the American Lighthouse Foundation. Award-winning graphic artist Alan Claude will also be there, signing prints from his Maine Collection series.

Click here for more info -- I hope to see you there!

Photo of the Day: Ida Lewis Yacht Club in Newport, Rhode Island

This building began its life as the Lime Rock Lighthouse, built in 1857. Ida Lewis, daughter of the light's first keeper, lived here for 54 years and became the most famous lighthouse keeper in U.S. history. She was credited with the rescues of 18 people from drowning in Newport Harbor, but the true number was much higher. Celebrated in story and song, she was one of the most famous women of the 19th century. You can read much more on my website at lighthouse.cc/limerock/history.html

Producer Marian Gagnon is currently making a documentary on Ida Lewis; see www.goodnightireneproductions.com

Neil Odams receives 2009 Len Hadley Volunteerism Award

Neil Odams, owner of Captain and Patty's Cruises, honored with a 2009 Len Hadley Volunteerism Award at the American Lighthouse Foundation's annual Lighthouse Gala & Volunteer Awards Dinner at the Nonantum Resort in Kennebunkport, Maine, on November 7. The award was given in recognition of his donation of fundraising cruises for Friends of Portsmouth Harbor Lighthouse every Tuesday evening.

You can click here to read the whole story. Congratulations to Neil for an award that was well deserved!

Photo: Captain Neil Odams aboard the Sir William Pepperrell

Photo of the Day: Prudence Island Lighthouse, Rhode Island

I took this photo a decade or so ago, during my only visit to Prudence Island. I barely made the ferry from Bristol, RI, arriving about a minute before it left. The other memory that stands out is that I met a couple of people who lived in homes neighboring the lighthouse, and they couldn't have been nicer.

For me, this lighthouse stands as a memorial to the five people who died when the keeper's house was swept away in the hurricane of 1938. See lighthouse.cc/prudence/history.html and this article.

Photo of the Day: Nobska Point Lighthouse at sunset

I've made Nobska Point Lighthouse in Woods Hole on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, my photo of the day because I also want to pass along this information about 2010 open houses, just passed along by Sandy and Don Abt of Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 11-2.

The lighthouse will be open to the public in 2010 on the following days and times, weather permitting, all 9:30 to 11:30 a.m:

Saturday, May 15; Saturday, June 19; Thursday, July 1; Thursday, July 15; Thursday, July 29 ; Thursday; Aug. 5 ; Saturday, Aug. 14; Thursday, Dec. 4. Also, there's still one more open house in 2009: Saturday, Dec. 5, 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.

ADMISSION REGULATIONS:

- Children must be at least 6 years of age AND 45 inches tall to enter
- Shoes and shirts required
- No food or drink permitted in the lighthouse
- No smoking permitted in the lighthouse
- Backpacks, large purses, large camera bags not allowed in the light room
- Infants in carrying pouches not allowed in the lighthouse
- No liability is accepted for personal items left unattended in or on the grounds of the lighthouse

Lighthouse tours are conducted by United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 11-2. Admission is free. For more information, email Abtda@aol.com.

For more on this lighthouse, see lighthouse.cc/nobska/.

Photo of the Day: Windmill Point Lighthouse on Lake Champlain in Alburg, Vermont

Windmill Point Lighthouse on Lake Champlain in Alburg, Vermont, originally uploaded by nelights.

This photo was taken back in the '90s during my first visit to beautiful Windmill Point. This lighthouse is owned by the Clark family, true lighthouse keepers and preservationists.