Cape Cod Light

Cape Cod Light, Truro, MA

A trip to Cape Cod is not complete without a visit to a lighthouse. We woke up one crisp cool morning and headed to Cape Cod Light (Highland Light).

William was completely enthralled with the experience. As we approached the lighthouse, he called out "ba-house" repeatedly! He was so excited!! When we left, he said, "bye bye ba-house!" For the remainder of the trip, each time we saw a lighthouse, he exclaimed, "ba-house! ba-house!"

The lighthouse had to be moved to prevent it from falling into the Atlantic. The erosion continues today, but the light should be safe for another century.

A bit of history about this lighthouse:

• Cape Cod Light, was first lit in 1797. It was calculated that the light would stand for 45 years, and in his book, Cape Cod, Thoreau fretted that the light would soon fall, due to the relentless erosion of the approaching sea. However, the same light stands today, still threatened by erosion with approximately two to three feet of land lost each year to erosion.
  
• In 1797 Highland Light stood 510 feet from the edge of the Truro Bluffs. One hundred years later, that distance had shrunk to about 300 feet, and in the 1990s, Cape Cod Light was less than 125 feet from destruction. Over 40 feet were lost to one winter storm in 1990.
• The lighthouse was successfully moved in 1996 to prevent it from falling into the Atlantic.
  

William enjoyed running down the path to the observation deck that overlooks the Atlantic and is 2900 air miles from Portugal (trivia we learned when we climbed to the top!)

It's a steep climb to the top!

Anyone see Mommy in this photo??