Friday, September 13, 2019
All Our Bags Are
Packed…
It was during the third lap down the noodle aisle at
Walmart when I decided maybe I was getting a little crazy…
Mr. Quilter Cook and I are packing today for a vacation. Our
destination is not your typical Empty Nester locale like Disney or Las Vegas. No,
we have decided to spend our time at a lighthouse this year. Literally. Yep. A
lighthouse. We’re going to be volunteer light keepers at a genuine lighthouse.
If I say and type it enough and click my heels together three times I just might
believe it myself!
We’ve been planning this since January and finally our week
has rolled around!
But, before I get too far into the blog I want to share with
you that this will be a daily diary of sorts about our experience as light keepers.
You’ll need to stop in and catch up every day or so to know what’s going on. If
you are intrigued by this kind of volunteer opportunity google volunteer light
keeper opportunities and see what pops up. It’s very interesting.
Now, like many people you may be considering the following questions:
1)
How did we learn about doing this kind of
thing?
3)
Do we get to stay in the actual lighthouse?
4)
Will we be paid for our time?
Let’s start with the most asked question and move on from
there.
#1- How did we learn about this? Well, for the last several
years we have been touring lighthouses along the coasts of Lake Michigan. We are
just getting started, but so far we have seen and photographed 60 total
lighthouses. Some are both the cottages and the towers, but many are just
towers. Regardless, we document them.
It was at Mission
Point Lighthouse- north of Traverse City, MI, -where we will be staying-that we
met a retired couple doing exactly what we will be doing-volunteering. They
told us to just get in touch with the lighthouse association for more
information on the program. So, that’s what we did and here we are. Right now,
have toured the lighthouse, applied via an extensive process and are signed up
to volunteer 9/17-9/24. There you go. So far, so good.
#2-What will we do there? Next Tuesday at high noon we are
to be ready to meet the volunteer coordinator who we have been in contact with
via email since January. She will train us on how to work the credit card
machine, cash box and daily chores (Uh, yeah—we’ll be in charge of the whole
property while we are there so this could take a bit of time). Generally, we
will be visiting with tourists, selling garb in the gift shop and giving tours
of the tower and sharing the story of Mission Point Lighthouse during our stay.
Sometimes they assign other chores like painting, weeding and gardening. We
haven’t been told we are doing any of that so we’re keeping mum on the matter
for now. We are hoping not to be surprised.
#3-Do we get to live there? Yep. There’s a door inside the
tiny gift shop located in this lighthouse that looks like a
closet door on the public side. Open it, and boom! There’s a modern apartment
for us to enjoy while we are there complete with all the amenities you would
get at an extended stay hotel suite. It also includes a washer and dryer thank
goodness-which was a deal breaker for me.
#4-Will we be paid for our time? No, we are volunteers. In
fact, we had to pay a handsome fee to get to do this. There were applications
that included essay questions, references, background checks and health forms
that had to be signed. It was a process. They don’t just hand over a museum to
anyone. A museum? Yes. The main level and upper levels is the home of all of the former
light keepers. Once there, you climb a ladder to the tower.There are heirlooms from light keeper families on display and many
antiques we will be responsible for while there.
This lighthouse is unique in that the tower is located
INSIDE the house. The quarters are all around it. So, we’ll be working
“in the round”. Plus, it is only 37 steps to the top of the tower. We wanted
to see what we were in for and start small before committing to some tower that
was a 200 spiral-step climb all day long. We have to go up with the tourists. I
have a wonky knee so I’ll pretty much handle the gift shop. Mr. Quilter Cook will do the
climbing, which is fine with me. He's older, but spry!
…………
So, now that we have that out of the way let’s get back to
tonight…getting ready for our trip!
Packing
What do you take on a
unique trip like this? Hmm. Well that’s a great question. We just decided to
pack for a November-like experience. Here’s what we decided on.
A bicycle wouldn’t normally be on a trip list to a
lighthouse of all places, but Mr. Quilter Cook loves to ride and take pictures.
Why not? It will be beautiful with the leaves starting to change. So, while I’m
walking the beach looking for shells and treasures, he’ll be wheeling through
the woods. Usually, he rides his recumbent as a rule, but the old Schwinn is
lighter and will fare better on such a long trip. Our mileage will be more
favorable also. The only disadvantage is
that the Schwinn is not as patootie-friendly as it used to be, but there you
go. Win some, lose some.
The lighthouse supplies we are required to take with us for
our stay are taking up most of the vehicle. The bedding is the absolute worst. We
are required to take everything including sheets, pillowcases, pillows and
quilts. They have two twin beds there for sleeping. They said you can scoot
them together, which I plan to do. However, when it came to sheets that meant
we had to buy two sets of twins. Considering we no longer have twin beds in the
house, that seemed like an expense but oh well. Naturally, I bought flannels. I’ve
been told it’s freezing up there with the wind this time of year by just about
everyone I’ve run across from that area and I’d better prepare for COLD WEATHER
AND WIND. I’ll take their word for it. Good thing I’m a quilter! I’ve got
plenty to keep us toasty!
We are taking warm coats, hats and gloves, sweatshirts, hoodies
and hiking boots. Luckily, we owned all of these items already, but they are
all bulky like the bedding and it took
some doing to get them packed efficiently.
Finally, we had to buy food. Augh. Talk about drama…
We will be
responsible for working 10am to 5pm each day we are there, except for Monday
when the lighthouse is closed and we are off. So, outside those hours we can do
as we please. Our plan is to go into town for breakfast one day and dinner the
next but we’ll see how that works out. It’s 15 miles one way to civilization
and 7 miles to the nearest gas station so we may change our minds. So, I had to prepare for
that scenario.
* There’s a note in the packet stating that we need to take
food that doesn’t require refrigeration for us for two days if necessary. No
other explanation. I am guessing this would be in case there is a storm and a
tree gets blown down over the road or something and/or the power gets knocked
out in the wind? Really, do I WANT to know? No, I do not. I do not.
So, breakfast food was a no-brainer. Easy. Then I started to
consider lunch items with the little survival clause in mind. So, peanut
butter, jelly, crackers, tuna (you could do it w/o mayo if you had to) and
other such items. I also had to figure out a couple of dinners in case it’s
pouring rain or we are just plain too worn out and don’t feel like going
anywhere. I bought spaghetti sauce and noodles and tossed in a couple of
mac/cheese. Obviously, we’re back to Plan A-Peanut Butter/Jelly if the power
goes out, but we are planning for the worst and hoping for the best. Plus, we
have cookies. We’re set.
The deal here is kids that we are Midwesterners. We don’t
have hurricane kits. We don’t do survival kits. We live in a city. We don’t
camp. So, listen when I tell you I went through two 24-ounce cups of coffee at
Walmart figuring this out, I’m not kidding. Ug!
We are also providing our own hand soap, dish soap,
dishwasher pods, laundry pods and dryer sheets, toilet paper and even Kleenex.
I tossed in our first aid kit I made up for our church picnic last week. I’m
not taking a chance there are no bandages or peroxide 15 miles from a Walmart. Plus,
there’s Mr. Quilter Cook to consider. A bike accident would not be a good thing
in the middle of Nowhere.
I’m not reporting everything we have packed. The list is a
mile long. Obviously, on top of all of these items we have the normal vacation
packing, books to read, kindles and you get it. So, you’ll have to just believe me when I say
I am OVERJOYED to finally have everything ready to go!
Of course, I have my coffee making supplies safely packed.
No worries there in case you were wondering.
The good news is that
we’ve got it all organized we are taking a deep breath and relaxing tonight with
a Brewers baseball game on tv and a pizza. I tossed about everything from the
fridge, ran the dishwasher, did the last load of laundry, cleaned the house,
vacuumed out the KIA and ran the final errands.
So, I guess that means we’re ready to go…
