Mathews County, Virginia
by Taylor Lasseigne |
Christmas 2003 - My fiancee and I are invited to spend the holidays with my aunt and uncle in Mathews County, Virginia. They live along the Chesapeake Bay, on the tip of Virginia's middle peninsula. (Click on the image at left for a detailed view.) When I wasn't spending time with the family, I would drive around the coast, stopping randomly to take photos. I would find out later that the camera I was using, a Canon AE-1, has a light leak. All in all, I lost about 10 pictures. These survived.
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Here stands the New Point Comfort Lighthouse. It's there, I promise. Click the image for a larger picture. The observation deck that I am standing on is quite a distance away, so the "landmark" is more of a "landspeck". I'll come back some day soon equipped with my telephoto lens! Nonetheless, standing above the waters of the Chesapeake on a wooden deck out in the middle of nowhere is amazingly peaceful. A gull flies by now and then, the near freezing winds blow, and my dog Betsy enjoys her first taste of freedom since Philadelphia.
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A historical marker reads, "New Point Comfort Lighthouse - Proud symbol of Mathews County, New Point Comfort Lighthouse is the third-oldest surviving lighthouse on the
Chesapeake Bay, surpassed only by those at Cape Henry and Old Point Comfort. On March 3, 1801, the United States Congress appropriated $8500 for the construction of New Point Comfort Lighthouse, deeming this point of land as critical to the safe navigation of the Southern Chesapeake Bay. Made of sandstone, the lighthouse has an overall height of 63 feet, with its top rising 58 feet above sea level.
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Another historical marker tells of the 3 wars that this area has seen. "During the American Revolution, a camp was established in the area by patriot forces to observe the activity of the British Army. In the War of 1812, the lighthouse was used by British forces as an observation platform. Finally, during the Civil War, the area was used at various times by both Confederate and Union troops. A Yankee soldier killed in a skirmish with Confederate militiamen was buried near the lighthouse."
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| Betsy Ross is beside herself with glee. All she ever gets to see in Philadelphia is concrete and the occasional park.
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| another shot of the lighthouse viewing area |
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The following shots were taken all around the Mathews County area. The map at the top of the page shows my general path in red.
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This is the creek in my aunt and uncle's back yard.
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| On the last day of our trip, I woke up at an un-Godly hour and set up camp on the East side of Gwen's Island. I sat there, in what must have been near-freezing temperatures, and waited for the sun. While the photos didn't come out all that well, you can just imagine the magic of such a moment. |
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Christmas 2003 - My fiancee and I are invited to spend the holidays with my aunt and uncle in Mathews County, Virginia. They live along the Chesapeake Bay, on the tip of Virginia's middle peninsula. (Click on the image at left for a detailed view.) When I wasn't spending time with the family, I would drive around the coast, stopping randomly to take photos. I would find out later that the camera I was using, a Canon AE-1, has a light leak. All in all, I lost about 10 pictures. These survived.
