Virginia Beach, Virginia
	2001 Neptune Festival - Virginia Beach Ocean Front                                                                          Rudee Inlet Fishing Pier  and Virginia Beach Boardwalk , VA   -   GPS – N       ' W
2001 Neptune Festival - Virginia Beach Ocean Front                                                                          Rudee Inlet Fishing Pier  and Virginia Beach Boardwalk , VA   -   GPS – N       ' W
Cape Henry Lighthouses - Virginia Beach                                                                                                                         Atlantic Ave. & Sicily Rd., Virginia Beach, VA   -   GPS – N36 55.543' W76 00.446
The original Cape Henry lighthouse was authorized by the first U.S. Congress.  It is the third oldest lighthouse still  standing in the United States and the oldest on the Chesapeake Bay.  Its planning started in 1774.  War and lack of funding delayed construction planning until 1789, and actual construction was from 1791 to 1792.   The 90-ft. octagonal sandstone tower is a national historic landmark.  A first order Fresnel lens was added in 1857, which was destroyed by Confederate raiders in 1863.  In 1870, the structure began to crack, prompting  construction of a replacement lighthouse 357 feet to the southeast.  The original lighthouse was decommissioned upon the completion of the second in 1881.  The new lighthouse was a 164-ft. octagonal tower made with a cast  iron plate exterior over a substructure of masonry.  It was automated in 1984 and emits an 80,000 candlepower flash every 20 seconds.  In the 1960s, while on a double date, two teenaged boys climbed to the top of the  original lighthouse.  Trying to see in the darkness, one lit a pad of matches.  The Fresnel lens magnified the light so greatly that a ship at sea radioed a message of concern.  The boys were surprised when they and  their dates were arrested.  This was reported in "The Virginian-Pilot."  I happen to know one of those boys.  His name is Mel Gibson, a photographer at Norfolk Naval Shipyard.  Bill Black, Mel's  co-worker, admitted reading the original article.
Virginia Beach Boardwalk at night - Virginia Beach                                                                          Rudee Inlet Fishing Pier  and Virginia Beach Boardwalk , VA   -   GPS – N       ' W