Category Archives: Tourism

Mise Tales Thirty

 

For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.

Sisiman's Lighthouse, Bataan

 

A lovely Black & White (B&W) shot of Sisiman lighthouse in Sisiman Bay, Mariveles, Bataan, Philippines. Click the photo for a larger version on Flickr

 

 

Pink St Mary's Lighthouse by the Chicken Wing - FlickrAnd another photo from Flickr of St. Mary’s lighthouse in Whitley Bay in the north east of England which is currently being lit up pink as part of the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign. Again, please click the photo for a larger version.

 

 

Image2And a third Flickr photo showing a lighthouse at night. This one is unique in that it show the loom of the light – the wide skirt or beam of light that follows the lens as it rotates. This is usually not visible at a distance, but only in the immediate vicinity of the lighthouse at night due to dust particles and/or fog in the air.

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lighthouse plansDo you want to build a lighthouse for outdoors or indoors? Loads of plans available on this GoBookee website. I noticed the top three plans required credit card validation (no charges) but I am leery of this so skipped them. The rest of the links are for PDF documents which download freely – lots of plans and information to keep you busy all winter! The photo at the left is just one of many.

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Plum Beach LighthouseDeadline looming for Plum Beach Lighthouse license plate orders – what a way to raise money for your favourite lighthouse!

Oct 29, 2013 6:04 AM CST By Bryan Monaghan – email NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. 

If you’re interested in getting a Plum Beach Lighthouse license plate in time for Christmas, get your order in soon.

The Friends of the Plum Beach Lighthouse say orders must be in by the end of October, to get the plates made in time.

Proceeds from the plates help pay for operations at the lighthouse, including upkeep and yearly inspections.

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Angels Gate

 

100th Anniversary of the Angels Gate Lighthouse, San Pedro, California,  also in Wikipedia

 

 

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logoNorthern Lighthouse Project

The Astronomy North Society will work with partners and sponsors to design, install and maintain a series of rooftop lighthouses in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. These lighthouses will be used to raise local awareness of space weather, geomagnetic storms, and the science and splendor of the aurora borealis. . . . more

Beacon for Northern lights

Yellowknife will have something other than the aurora lighting up the night sky starting tonight.

Five concrete lighthouses have been installed this week by Astronomy North at high-traffic areas of the city which will shine either blue, green, or red, depending on solar activity. The non-profit organization calls the initiative the Northern Lighthouse Project.

“On Friday night, Yellowknife will become the first community in the world to have its own space weather alert system – an early warning system for geomagnetic storms,” said James Pugsley, president of Astronomy North.

These storms determine the intensity of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern lights.

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Is anybody interested in a job as a Sous Chef in a lighthouse? Lighthouse Restaurant that is!

Senior Sous Chef – Parkers’ Lighthouse (Long Beach)

Parkers Lighthouse

 Parkers’ Lighthouse in Long Beach, CA has an excellent culinary opportunity for a seasoned Sous Chef who will provide strong support for back of the house operations. We offer competitive compensation, benefit plans (medical, dental, 401(k)), and professional development.

JOB REQUIREMENTS: . . . see more

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A Nice Lighthouse Hotel in Subic Bay

The Lighthouse Marina Resort
The Lighthouse Marina Resort – photo retlkpr

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In early 2010 I made my third trip to the Philippines, alone, and for six (6) weeks. One of my first stops, besides Manila, was Subic Bay. A friend I had never met, Dave Starr picked me up at my hotel in Manila and drove me to my hotel in Subic Bay – not the one mentioned here. Continue reading A Nice Lighthouse Hotel in Subic Bay

Mise Tales Twenty-Nine

 

For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.

A beautiful view of the Nazare lighthouse at Praia do Norte outside the Portuguese fishing village of Nazare, Portugal. It is back dropped by what may be the world’s highest surfing wave.Article and photos on the National Post Sports page.

Nazare Lighthouse at Praia do Norte outside the Portuguese fishing village of Nazare
Nazare Lighthouse at Praia do Norte outside the Portuguese fishing village of Nazare

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Bravo! Coastal Rainforest in British Columbia Now Protected!

BC_Coast_Pacific_Wild

 

This photo above from Pacific Wild shows only a part of what is being protected

The title for this article comes from a news release by the Treehugger website on July 27, 2006.

nrdc-bear-bc-02Their article from 2006 said: “The government of British Columbia has agreed to protect more than 5 million acres of the Great Bear coastal rainforest. It is home to the world’s last white-colored Spirit Bears “

The Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) was also quoted in the article.

The thousand-year-old red cedars, Sitka spruce, western hemlock and balsam blanketing this swath of rugged coastline provide vital habitat for wolves, eagles, grizzlies and several hundred Spirit Bears. Found only in the Great Bear Rainforest, the Spirit Bear gets its white color from a recessive gene occurring in roughly one of every ten black bears born in the forest. The Spirit Bear figures prominently in the mythology and culture of several indigenous communities — known as First Nations in Canada — that have inhabited the Great Bear Rainforest for thousands of years.

The new conservation agreement, negotiated directly by the British Columbia government and the region’s First Nations, will protect an unspoiled area twice the size of Yellowstone National Park from logging and ensure the right of the First Nations to manage their traditional territories. In addition, the agreement establishes new, more stringent standards for logging in the rainforest outside of the protected area. “The accord will preserve this irreplaceable rainforest but still allow for controlled logging to sustain local economies,” said NRDC senior attorney Susan Casey-Lefkowitz. “It is a new model that shows we can save our most valuable wildlands and our communities at the same time.”

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Halloween: Ghost guide book reveals Wales’ spookiest supernatural hotspots

Halloween: Ghost guide book reveals Wales’ spookiest supernatural hotspots

New book, Supernatural Wales, reveals gateways to the underworld,  bottomless lakes, UFO’s, werewolves and all manner of ghostly goings-on around Wales

 South-Stack-lighthouse-6242987

South Stack lighthouse: According to legend, the lighthouse, on Anglesey, is haunted by the ghost of assistant keeper Jack Jones. He died after he was hit on the head by a rock during a storm on October 25 and 26 in 1859.

Fairies, goblins, devils and demons are said to have haunted Wales for thousands of years.

Now ghost hunters keen to visit the land’s spookiest spots on Halloween can do just that, thanks to a new guidebook called Supernatural Wales.

Author Alvin Nicholas revealed “no other mountain has attracted as much lore as Cadair Idris.”

“Cadair Idris means Chair of Idris – a shadowy figure of the Dark Ages, sometimes associated with King Arthur,” he said.

The chair is thought to refer to the armchair like shape of Cwm Gadair.

“The mountain was thought to be a gateway to the underworld, frequented by dragons, troops of fairies and the much feared ‘cwn annwn’ – hounds of the underworld.

“A glacial lake called Llyn Cau is said to be bottomless, and according to tradition, is the abode of a man eating monster.

“To the present day, visitors report a peculiar presence on the summit and in the vicinity of the nearby stone shelter.”

In 1977, a corner of Pembrokeshire became known as the Broad Haven Triangle.

“The Coombs family of Ripperston Farm near St Brides were disproportionately affected by the odd events,” Alvin said.

“Their car was pursued by a rugby ball shaped craft that emitted powerful lights, a ‘giant faceless humanoid’ peered in through the windows of their farmhouse and a disc like object frightened their children in a nearby field.”

Cambrian-Mountains-6242984
Ghostly Wales – eerie pictures of some of Wales’ supernatural hotspots

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Ghostly Wales – eerie pictures of some of Wales’ supernatural hotspots

“Headmaster Ralph Llewellyn asked the children to sketch what they had seen and was impressed by the similarity of their drawings.”

Then there is the Skirrid Mountain Inn, in Monmouthshire.

“Resident ghosts include some of the many people allegedly held here over the years, from sheep stealers to rebels hanged following the Monmouth rebellion in 1685,” Alvin said.

Ghostly mists have appeared in photos at the pub.

“Beer glasses and other objects have been known to fly across the bar of their own accord and shadowy figures wander the corridors,” Alvin said.

Top ten terrifying tales from Wales

“Some visitors have reported feelings of panic and of a noose being tightened around their neck on the stairs.”

According to legend, South Stack lighthouse, on Anglesey, is haunted by the ghost of assistant lighthouse keeper Jack Jones. He died after he was hit on the head by a rock during a storm on October 25 and 26 in 1859.

That sunk ship Royal Charter with a loss of 500 lives. Jones died three weeks later.

“Jones makes his presence known by rattling doors, in a desperate attempt to get in, some say, and by tapping on windows,” Alvin said.

Denbigh moors lie to the north of the Cambrian mountains.

“A Roman centurion, said to be an omen of death, haunts a bridge on the road from Ruthin to Cerigydruidion,” Alvin said.

“The centurion appears in full Roman military uniform – complete with helmet, breastplate and sandals. He holds a short sword above his head.”

“Fishermen have suffered ill fortune after seeing the ghost.”

A werewolf was said to roam the moors in the 1700s.

“One full moon night a creature the size of a donkey attacked and overturned a coach travelling between Denbigh and Wrexham,” Alvin said.

“The following year an ‘enormous black beast’ mutilated livestock and killed a farm dog.”

* Supernatural Wales, by Alvin Nicholas, is published by Amberley priced £14.99.

More Messages in Bottles!

When I wrote the story Message in a Bottle I was just using what information I had on hand. The last quotation in the story was from a news source on the British Columbia (BC) coast where a Tofino, BC man found a one hundred and seven (107) year old message in a bottle.

I wanted to keep that story updated but the local media seemed to have lost track of the story as the man wants to donate?/sell? the bottle to a museum without opening the bottle.

While Googling the story of the Tofino man I found the news video of his find on Youtube . . .

Message in bottle from 1906

Continue reading More Messages in Bottles!

Now You Have to Cook Them!

After posting the story Then You’ve Got to Clean Them! I obtained permission from Pacific Wild to use some photos showing the cooking of the salmon by the people in Bella Bella, British Columbia (BC). These pictures just made me drool. The people were cooking planked salmon which has to be one of the tastiest ways of cooking salmon over an open fire. See the photo and gallery below:

Planked Salmon - Bella Bella - Pacific Wild
photo courtesy of Pacific Wild

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The photos above are in no set order – just as I downloaded them. On the lighthouse we used to cook the salmon many ways but this was the most fun, and the tastiest. Continue reading Now You Have to Cook Them!

Mise Tales Twenty-Eight

 

For an update on what a Mise Tale is then please see Mise Tales One.

The Lovely Bones   IMDb

The Lovely Bones   IMDb2

Has anyone seen the movie released in 2009 entitled The Lovely Bones? It features a fictitious lighthouse marking the entrance way to heaven in a thoroughly entertaining film.

“Centers on a young girl who has been murdered and watches over her family – and her killer – from purgatory. She must weigh her desire for vengeance against her desire for her family to heal.” – IMDb

There is one strange thing about this lighthouse – the light in the lantern revolves counter-clockwise (CCW)! This is most unusual and there are only a few lighthouses in the world that revolve CCW, the majority revolving clockwise (CW).

A couple I found were in Australia. Does anyone know the whys and wherefores of CW vs CCW rotation of the lamp? I think this deserves further investigation and maybe a future article. Thanks for any help you can contribute. Continue reading Mise Tales Twenty-Eight

Wildlife and Spirit Bear Adventures

When I wrote the story A Wolf At McInnes I never really explained how the wolf got on to McInnes Island, so today I am going to combine two stories into one. Firstly, the wolf swam from nearby Price Island over two (2) kilometers away, probably island hopping to catch its breath. Pictured below and in the album are photos of wolves swimming taken by photographer Leanne Reandy, a staff member of Spirit Bear Adventures, on a trip back to Klemtu from Bella Bella, BC. 

wolf swimming - by Leanne Reandy

[nggallery id=78] Continue reading Wildlife and Spirit Bear Adventures

Inside Passage Ferry Trip to Visit Some of the Lighthouses

The idea for this story came from an article in the Vancouver Sun newspaper. I asked for permission to reprint it here for all to see, and they said I would have to pay them. This was an article about the Inside Passage ferry trip with mention of a couple of lighthouses – very few actually. I am not even going to mention the title of the story – how can they turn down free advertising.  😉

manned lighthouses
manned lighthouses

 When you visit Canada do you plan on seeing some lighthouses? We have twenty-seven (27) manned lighthouses on the west coast of British Columbia (BC); Canada. There are other unmanned lighthouses that are available for viewing also. You can see some of them if you wish with the BC Ferries, plus enjoy wonderful trips through BC waters.

 

The Inside Passage

Let us start with the longest trip first. How about fifteen (15) hours on a luxurious ferry in daylight so that you can make many photos. Fifteen hours may seem like a long time, but there is so much to see that time flies by, especially if the weather is fine.

Northern Expedition
Northern Expedition – BC Ferries photo

 

Northern Adventure
Northern Adventure – BC Ferries photo

There are two ferries on the route (2013) – the Northern Expedition and the Northern Adventure. You can actually follow them live on this website.

Continue reading Inside Passage Ferry Trip to Visit Some of the Lighthouses