Spying Seals

When one of the students (EK) of Discovery School sent me to visit her Uncle Tom, I never knew I would have QUITE this much fun.

We went to Great Point Lighthouse on Nantucket, Massachusetts.  You should Google Map it to see exactly where it is!  It was a pretty amazing (and long) trip.

 

The trip started this morning with an 8 mile bike ride to where the road ends near the north side of Nantucket.  You have to get off your bike or out of your car there.  Only certain vehicles with certain permits can drive on the sand.  Even then, you have to let almost all the air out of your tires to do it!!  It is funny to watch trucks driving around the dunes with flat tires :)

 

Once you are walking on the sand, it's about a 5-mile trek out to the lighthouse.  Yeah, it's far.  But it is one of the most interesting 5 miles I have ever walked.  You walk through some wooded areas where trees only grow maybe twice as tall as I am! (That's not very tall for a tree)  And there are some ponds around which means that there are a lot of mosquitoes!  Then, you walk 2 or 3 miles along the beach, which is actually easier than walking in the loose sand.  The ocean water was clear and gorgeous. Have you ever been to the beach? 

 

I found all kinds of things on the beach today.  We found horseshoe crab shells (carapaces), slipper shells, moon snail shells, and some very protective seagulls!  The birds are all laying their eggs now... I had several close calls with some angry gulls.  Oh, and we found some seals!  The seals watched us eat lunch on the beach.  They are so curious and fun to be around!

 

And of course, we saw Great Point lighthouse.  It is quite a ways out there, but still helps ships navigate waters close to Massachusetts.  Today, the lighthouse is completely solar powered and maintained by the US Coast Guard.  It was very interesting to read about, not to mention very pretty to look at :)

 

I told you I had fun! What was your favorite summer spot to visit and are pitties allowed there?

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A special thanks to Tom Calvert-Rosenberger for sharing this adventure!