AN ENGAGEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today was a wonderful day. I woke up in the lighthouse knowing we were going to help a couple get engaged that evening. What a great way to start a day!!!!!! I'm going to skip the boring details of the day and head straight to 5pm. I had just gotten down from my shift at the top at about 4:30. Dorothy said the mom had just called and the couple was on their way. The girl was wearing a red sundress and they had a child with them from a previous marriage. So, I climbed the tower for the second time that day and began my watch duties. There is a pair of binoculars at the top of the tower, so I sat in the doorway and read my book, every few minutes I would use the binoculars to see if they were in sight. After awhile I saw them and used the alert system to tell the people at the bottom the couple was in sight. Then, a few minutes later when they were next to the stump I called down again so they could open the door for the couple. A few minutes later they were at the top and somehow the child hit his knee on the top step and kind of whined. I was a little worried, but went through the spiel I give everyone at the top of the tower, even giving them stickers that said they climbed Big Sable Point Lighthouse. They then walked around to the backside of the tower and I listened as he gave her a charm for her bracelet of a man proposing, then got down on one knee and asked her to be his wife. The little boy started sobbing, he was so excited. He had known it was coming and had done a good job of keeping the secret. I went back to reading my book until they were ready to go down. The other keepers met them at the bottom and cheered. Brad had taken pictures of the engagement as it was happening from below, so they exchanged addresses so they could send the pictures to the couple. The woman kept saying "You guys made my entire life" after he told her we opened the lighthouse just for them. It was such a special moment to be able to help someone make their big day special. She told us she had been waiting for 6 years.
I had heard of them having engagements at the lighthouse, and was really hoping we would get one. It was so much fun to see their excitement and to know we made the day special and unique for them. The lighthouse will always be a special place for them, as it is for so many people for various reasons.
After they left we went up and ate supper. Aunt Cindy had some friends over, so Dorothy and I decided to go to the tower to paint our toes at sunset again. I had been planning to fly my kite on the beach, but they insisted I should try to fly it from the tower. So, we took it to the tower to fly, and let me tell you it wasn't the best idea I've ever had. At one point it was over the rail above where people walk, and then it wanted to fly out lower than I was standing before the little plastic hook became unclipped from the string and the kite flew down onto the dunes where Uncle Brad went to rescue it. We painted our toes and watched the sunset before climbing down.
It was another beautiful day at the top, a great afternoon, engagement, and sunset experience, but my legs are a little tired as I climbed to the top of the tower 3 times today. I'll try to keep it to one or two the next few days :)

A picture tour of the lighthouse

Today I want to quickly mention that I had more visitors, Lyle and Ethan came out and visited me while I was up in the tower. They climbed up and we chatted for about half an hour at the top. It was a lot of fun to see them and talk to them about the lighthouse. Ethan was full of questions about the lighthouse and what things did what. I've definitely had the most visitors of any of the keepers this week, and have enjoyed each and every one of them.
This evening I went around and took pictures of the lighthouse instead of writing about each room and picture on the wall I like, I figured I'd show you in pictures. I hope you enjoy them :)

PS I'll get them up sometime soon after I get the pictures on the computer

A group of 12 comes to visit

The highlight of my day today was when 12 people walked up the beach to visit me. All summer I'd been talking with our minister, his wife and kids about coming to visit me in the lighthouse. It just turned out they were going to be visiting their friends in Holland who have 5 kids for a few days this week. So, their adventure for the day became coming to the lighthouse to visit me. About 4:30 Brad called down from the tower that he could see them half a mile away. I waited a few more minutes, then went out to greet them. It was so good to see them all and I got lots of hugs and love. We got everyone settled in the video room and watched the video. Then, they took turns putting their faces in the lens for pictures. It was a lot of fun for all of them as they looked at each other and laughed. Then, it became time to climb the tower. I was kind of wondering how this would go and we quickly were aware of who was afraid of heights and who wasn't. Two of the other couples children started climbing right away. The almost 2 year old started charging the steps and climbed all the way to the top. I was worried the most about him and he did the best. The other couple and 3 of their kids just couldn't do it, as well as the oldest child of my friends. So, they stayed at the bottom as the rest of us climbed to the top. We went out and the almost 2 year old had to have his hand held the entire time because if it wasn't, he would try to run around the top. Amazing how some kids are afraid, and others aren't bothered by it at all, especially for a little guy. After taking lots of pictures we climbed back down and met the rest of our group in the keepers quarters where Dorothy and Cindy had decided they were going to feed all 12 of my guests. A sheet on the floor quickly turned the living room into a picnic area for the kids and it was a lot of fun talking with them and catching up. After supper I took them outside for the popsicles they had been promised as bait for them to make the 2 mile walk. It was so much fun having them visit and being able to share this special lighthouse experience with all of them.
I can't believe how incredibly blessed I am to have people in my life who love me and care about me enough to bring 8 kids on a 2 mile hike up the beach to visit me with the only reward being a few popsicles. I can only hope that each of you reading this has people in your life that bless you the way this family blesses me, be it cards when I was in Thailand, or making a 2 mile hike out to the lighthouse, they are always there for me and have helped me grow into the person I am today. Thanks guys :)

Learning to be Single

This summer, and especially being at the lighthouse I've been learning to be single. You are probably wondering what I mean by that. I am a person who LOVES to be with people and do things with people. However, there aren't always people who are available or who want to do things when I want to do them. So, I'm having to learn how to be comfortable and confident doing things on my own. For so long people have told me to just wait and someday I'll get married and I can start doing the things I want to do with my life. However, I don't want to waste time and miss opportunities while waiting for "the one." So, I've found myself making day trips, being a lighthouse keeper, doing things on my own, taking selfies when there's no one else around to take a picture, etc... I've come up with this goal to visit 100 lighthouses. Sure, I went to some as a child, but I wanted to start keeping track of how many I've been to. There was a part of me that listened to those people who would suggest waiting until I was married to start a venture like that and do it together. However, I've decided this week I can start now. Sure, I'm leaving for Thailand in 2 weeks so I'll only put 2 lighthouses on my list before I leave, but I might as well start now.
At other times the couples have wanted to go out to eat and I've either wanted to stay back at the lighthouse, or had to go to town and find internet to work on Visa stuff. I found myself at the library tonight until they closed at 8. Then, I thought about going to the park Brad and Dorothy had taken me to to take pictures of the sunset, the badger, and some of the things there. So, I went there and had a great time with myself just walking around, taking pictures, praying, and just enjoying the evening. It really is what inspired this post as I realized the things God has been teaching me. It definitely isn't my dream to stay single the rest of my life. However, for now I can be content doing things by myself, inviting others along, but if they can't or don't want to, I can still be comfortable being alone. As I was walking through the park I decided to buy the lighthouse passport we have in our gift shop that people use to keep track of how many lighthouses they've been to. I also decided to buy an ornament from the gift shop to start a collection of lighthouse ornaments. It's a small step, but an important one. I don't need to wait for a man to begin some things. Sure, I wait anxiously for the day we'll begin our life together, but it doesn't mean I can't make memories and live each day to the fullest while I'm waiting. Plus, when I'm alone I don't have to worry about offending the other person or worrying if they are having a good time. I can truly enjoy doing the things I like to do.

The Minions day at the lighthouse

Today was my day off, so I drove home this morning for an appointment and back this evening in the pouring rain. He captured his day as a lighthouse keeper in pictures. I hope you enjoy :) The computer put them up in a crazy order. Sorry about that :(

with the lit light

cool reflection in the background as he's inspecting the light



watching the video in the video room

sitting in the video room with aunt Dorothy

she shared a bite of her cookie with him

telling everyone about loggers dollars

telling everyone about the bulbs

the entertainment system of the lighthouse keeping days

the original Fresnel lens

inside the Fresnel lens

he didn't watch my room close enough and let them decorate it while I was gone

more decorations

what was posted on my door

bugs on my bed...

he made it to the top and made a new friend

look at the beautiful beach behind him

he wanted to show you the bells used to help control air flow

his shoes are 92 feet up, maybe 95 cause he stood on the rail

careful on the way down

look up at the minion climbing the steps down

his view from the doorway

giving stickers to visitors

taking a break at the top

inspecting the lens at the end of the day

with the towers shadow

closing the door for the day

he needed a break on the way down and decided to look out the port hole

End of week 1

Sun shining on the water

Today the weather was kind of yucky, so we didn’t have as many people coming in. We spent a lot of the day pricing, sizing, and folding shirts. Once again I really enjoyed that. For a while, I was the only one who could get the sticker gun to work.  So, it became my job to price things. Which, I really enjoyed. Every time someone else touched the gun it wouldn’t work or they would break it and I would have to fix it. I also took turns in the video room and was in the tower from 2:30-5:30, then got to sweep the steps down. Sweeping the steps sure is growing on me. That first day I didn’t like it so much, but now I have found that you get into a rhythm and it is rather enjoyable. I played a game today with a piece of paper someone had dropped to see how far I could get it to fall before I would have to sweep it again. While I was in the tower, the guy in charge of coordinating volunteers came up and asked me about the emergency yesterday. Dorothy had already told him what had happened and our suggestions of things to change/update to better prepare future volunteers for an emergency. Though they are few and far between out here the people need to be ready and prepared for any number of situations. He said it sounded like we did a good job which is always good to hear from your “boss.”



the trail people walk in on

Dale and Cindy had friends over, so we had sloppy joes outside for supper. The little black flies were biting something awful, so we came in when we were done eating. After their friends left, we sat in the living room for a while, then played a game or two before bed.



My first week of being a lighthouse keeper is over L I can’t believe how quickly the time has gone and how much I have learned about the lighthouse, and about myself and others. I’ve learned to read people when they come in the door, some you can see are here to climb the tower, others aren’t so sure, some came in because they were out for a walk and stumbled upon the lighthouse, others had the lighthouse planned as their destination days ago. For some it’s their first time at a lighthouse ever, some the first time at this lighthouse, and others come back every year, or multiple times a year. Everyone’s story is different as are their reasons for coming out to the lighthouse. However, they all find themselves here and I get to interact with each of them. That’s one of the things I love, interacting with people you’ve never met. I’ve held a baby, teased children, encouraged children, given facts and information, welcomed friends, met new people, answered questions, learned new things, and most importantly had fun and enjoyed the opportunity to be a lighthouse keeper.



Dale giving a talk in the video room

Not many people my age have the opportunity to choose to take six months off to enjoy life. Since I’ve been home from the Peace Corps I’ve had the opportunity to go on three family vacations, work at Pioneer for a month, then two weeks for pollinating, volunteered at high school week of camp, watch my sister graduate, work on an online TEFL course, and now spend two weeks at the lighthouse. I’ve truly been blessed this summer and can’t thank each of you who have been part of it enough for all that you’ve done with me, and for me. You don’t know how much this time has meant to me, and how much it will mean to think back on these things when I’m back in Thailand.  With that being said, I’m going to enjoy this last week of being a lighthouse keeper as much as I can. What a wonderful opportunity this has been and continues to be.

just a quick picture of the sunset out the window

Medical Emergency

This morning we worked on putting price tags and size stickers on shirts for the gift shop. I have always wanted to work in a place where I would get to stock shelves, so I really enjoy working on doing this. Around 11:40 they sent Brad up to eat lunch so he could relieve Sheila in the tower, so I took over the video room. I had just started the video for a little boy and was standing in the doorway when a man came in and asked for a band aid because his 3 year old had gashed his head. He then changed and asked for a paper towel. So, I gave him a few sheets and grabbed the first aid kit and went out to the porch where the mom had brought the little boy. Without going into too much detail the next hour was spent letting the other keepers know there was an emergency, getting supplies, talking to the family, having Brad bring the car around, and driving the family up to their car.

By the time we got back and started the lunch rotation again I didn’t get to eat until 2. I had never really been in a medical situation where I had to take charge before, and I surprised myself a little with how I handled it. It was one of those situations you don’t really know what you’d do in it until you are there. We haven’t heard from the family, but are assuming they took the boy to the hospital and he should be fine. Being a head wound it bled a lot but hopefully he’s ok.

Right after we got back some people I knew in college, John and Rose came out. It was fun to catch up with them and see their little foster boy. I was a little frazzled still trying to get in lighthouse mode and  out of emergency mode so I’m sure the first few video’s I showed and talks I gave were a little frazzled. Luckily most of the people heard what had just happened so were understanding and patient when they were short staffed while we were gone and while we were getting things back to normal when we returned.

They ended up closing the tower at 4 because of the wind, so I didn’t get a chance to go up while there were guests. However, it worked out well because the Bensons came and I got to give them the talk and a tour of the keepers quarters. Joan was in awe of everything and it was fun to see it from someone’s fresh perspective. It has become home to me, so I forget to look at and enjoy the little things sometimes.

We drove into town and had supper at house of flavors, then used internet at the park next door. After that, we went to another park where they had lots of cool sculptures, and saw the badger. Unfortunately my camera forgot to jump in my purse so I didn’t get to take any pictures of the evening, but maybe I’ll go back and get some pictures there if I get a chance.

reflection of the lens

When we got back to the lighthouse, Dorothy and I sat on a bench and watched the sunset and chatted. When we came in it was around 10, but not wanting to miss a day of climbing the tower I headed up. It was so cool at night. I got some cool pictures of the lens reflecting on 3 windows, and stepped out on the walk outside into the dark night. It was really cool being out there so late and having such a nice view of the stars. It was perfect.

you can see where the beam is focused to go out across the water 15 miles

my spiral staircase



the lens at night

my ghost picture

killing a spider before bed

This turned out to be such a crazy day. Definitely not a typical day at the lighthouse, but a memorable one for sure. Dorothy said in the 10 years they have been here they’ve never had a medical emergency before. Guess there’s a first time for everything.

Saturday Sunset

Bobbi came to visit me at the lighthouse :) :) :)

This morning I woke up and didn’t hear the waves of lake Michigan because there weren’t any. There was very little wind and no waves. I was sad not to hear the waves as I woke up and got ready. However, that made for a beautiful day for people to walk out to the lighthouse, and such great pictures from the top. The horizon was nice and crisp and almost everyone who came down said either amazing or beautiful about the view from the top.

and Blue did too :)

Mid-morning I was in the gift shop helping out when 2 ladies came in with a baby about a year old. They wanted to climb the tower but aren’t allowed to carry the little girl. I offered that she could stay at the bottom with me. So, I took her and we got a bucket from the shelf in the children’s room to play with so the ladies could head up to the top without her seeing them go. The baby didn’t appear big enough to walk, so I set her on the floor to sit and play with the bucket. A second later she stood up without using her hands, just her legs. I was super surprised. Another family had a girl about 2 who wasn’t big enough to climb, so the girls hugged each other and played with the bucket. At one point I had to take over the video room for a second so I took the girl with me and she was happy as could be. When the mom and aunt came down I told them how good she was and that she didn’t make a peep. They bought her a bucket to take to play on the beach with. It was so much fun to be able to hold her and play with her. I’m not sure which one of us had more fun.

Brad grilling hot dogs

After I ate lunch I had the video room for a few hours. I had my first major traffic jam in which we had 15 people in the tower, a group of 12 waiting to go up, and as soon as that group went up another group of 10 followed by a group of 8. I was giving as much information as I could to those waiting to go up while trying to keep track of how many had come down. They said next weekend will probably be like that the entire time. Guess it was good practice for then.

sunset behind the replica fog-horn building

Around 3:30 I went up to the tower. I had several people that were talking and asking questions. One boy was telling me that he shoots 3-D pictures. I was interested in how you do that, but didn’t get a chance to ask about it as I had other people asking me questions. At 5 to 5 I had a guy who had been up there about 20 minutes point down the beach and tell me those were his kids and grandkids that were coming to climb the tower. So I told him we closed in 5 minutes. That got him to shouting down to them to hurry because we closed in 5 minutes. They ended up climbing the tower and asked lots of questions so were up there til about 5:25. I swept down the steps and just got to the bottom when I got my third group of visitors, Blue and Bobbi. So, I turned around and took them up the tower. We sat at the top and talked for 10-15 minutes before climbing down. I showed them the keepers quarters, then drove them up to meet Blues parents who had come to rescue them when their car broke down.

with the beach grass in too :)

the tower lit up

When I got back to the lighthouse Dorothy and I went out to watch the sunset on the beach and took pictures and of course talked. When we came in Dorothy had me help her play Candy Crush. She had been stuck on a level for about 2 weeks, and about the 4^th time I helped her we won. (Even though I’ve only played a few times helping Casey get unstuck). When she realized we had won she screamed she was that excited. (She also is the one that said I had to include that as the most exciting part of my day). After that, I came to my room and read for a few minutes before going to bed.

It was another amazing day as a lighthouse keeper and I had another set of visitors!!!!!!! I’m so blessed to have this opportunity and to have great friends and family who come and see me.

Grandma Monroe's birthday

she made it to the top

he made it too

we all made it

This morning we had a team of about 18 cross country runners show up. They ran out to the lighthouse, climbed the tower, then were going to run back. Talk about one smelly video room with all of them in there. We had to make half of them wait, then by the time they all came down the video room was full again. It was a crazy few minutes of handling traffic, but we managed. I imagine things are only going to get busier over the weekend, and then next weekend with Labor day. Good thing we keep having spurts to practice with so I’m ready to handle it for an entire day.

Blue Thai shoes 92 feet up

When I was in the tower in the afternoon we had an adorable dad and with his 4 year old daughter. From what I gathered he had brought her camping by himself for a few days. On the way out he had her in the bike trailer and she ate Doritos. When they were up at the tower he had me take several pictures of them with her sitting on his knee. Her hair tie was down to the last inch or two of hair so I pointed it out to him. He told her you still have your ponytail in from yesterday. You slept with it and we didn’t comb your hair or anything today. You’re such a ragamuffin. It made me think back to days when my dad would take care of us. I wonder how many times I wore the previous days ponytail around. After they went down I saw them playing on the beach for at least two hours. What wonderful memories that little girl will have of her camping trip with daddy.

sun shining on the water

I had my second set of visitors today, my parents. They got here around quarter to five. I showed them the video and took them up the tower. We took pictures and enjoyed the view. You could see forever today, the horizon was so crisp and clear. Definitely picture worthy. When we came back down I showed them around the keepers quarters, then we got in cars and went to town to see the farmers market, and then to go to supper. We went to a pizza place called Spanky’s. They had really good breadsticks and the pizza was good too. They realized it was my Grandma Monroe’s birthday, so we stopped at Wal-Mart and got Skip-Bo (her favorite game to play) and Almond M&M’s (her favorite snack). We came back and played a game of Skip-Bo and ate the M&M’s in her honor. Then we played half a game of Crazy Pedro to teach Brad and Dorothy how to play before we drove my parents up to their car so they could go home. It was fun to see them and to show them my lighthouse. Thanks for visiting Mom and Dad J

Here are some other fun things I saw/did today

·         People on the beach were flying kites and in the tower I was taller than the kites.

·         A man pointed out a cross someone had put up farther down the beach

·         I stocked the drink cooler and snack area at the end of the day

·         One girl about 16 or 17 was really interested and had lots of questions at the top. It was fun to answer her questions because she was so interested.

·         The horizon was so crisp and beautiful

the lighthouse's shadow

·         We saw a deer on the way to take my parents up and then again when we drove back

Thanks for visiting mom and dad :)

·         One family came to the top and had left grandma below, so they were calling down to her. It was precious.

·         A mom came to the top and was really really scared. It was cute to see the children and dad comforting her and encouraging her to at least look out a little and then they took their family picture in the tower instead of out over the edge.