We stopped at all the harbors en route, including the always colorful Cherry Grove . . .
and the recently refurbished Sailor's Haven.
Bikes and wagons crowded the Saltaire harbor.
Communities on Fire Island definitely reflect socioeconomic status. Saltaire and the Pines are comparable in this respect. One look at the boardwalk tells you all you need to know.
Saltaire even has a little touch of Cherry Grove. Many of the houses are named (like "Island Hopper" above) and adorned by folk art.
I'd visited the lighthouse with Florian a decade earlier.
But today's weather was much better.
Halfway up, I poked my camera out of a ventilating window.
The lighthouse cast a perpendicular shadow at high noon. During the summer, the lighthouse is open under full moons. I'll bet the views then would really be something.
We enjoyed fantastic visibility at the top. This panorama shot looks west towards the Robert Moses causeway.
Looking east to Kismet.
The light and rotation machinery are electrically operated. If you watch closely as you cross the Great South Bay on the Pines ferry, you can see the light flash for a split second.
Chris began our descent.
We also visited a building that houses one of the old, kerosene-powered lamps. They replaced whale oil, but still required a lot of manual labor to maintain.
This family of swans didn't look too happy to see us trudging through seaweed along the bay beach on our way to Kismet.
A blue water tower guided us to Ocean Beach, three or four miles east under a sweltering sun.
Florian and I walked all the way back to the Pines from the lighthouse. Chris and I opted for the water taxi.
