Cape Henry Lighthouses & Fort Story

We called American Home Base yesterday and told them to send our mail here to General Delivery. We drove up to Lowe's to get some sediment filters and stopped at a Post Office to mail a package. While we were out driving we saw two more decorated dolphins for A Dolphin's Promise.

From Around Virginia Beach

This afternoon we drove north to go to visit the Cape Henry Lighthouses at Fort Story. On the way there we passed by the Cavalier Hotel that was built in 1927.

From Around Virginia Beach

We arrived at the entrance to Fort Story a little after 1:00. There was a dolphin just outside the entrance to Fort Story and I took a couple of photos of it and a couple of the entrance to Fort Story. Well - I can't show them because the guard at the gate told us that photos weren't allowed and that we would have to delete them. Mike held the camera up so the guard could watch as Mike deleted the photos.

The guard told us that because Fort Story was a training base for Navy Seals that photos of the base were not allowed. We could take photos of the lighthouses and the other historic sites and markers on the base.

We drove on through the base and parked at the entrance to the old Cape Henry

Lighthouse. We had brough Tinker with us for the ride, so we left the car running (we locked the car) and the A/C on while we went inside the gift shop.

From Cape Henry & Fort Story

There is a fee of $5 to go up in the old 1790 lighthouse, but we just looked around the gift shop. One of the volunteers had gone up to the top of the lighthouse to check the temperature there. If the temp inside the lighthouse gets up to 110° the tower is closed until the temperature decreases. We didn't go up in the lighthouse - the temperature outside was in the low 90's.

From Cape Henry & Fort Story

We took photos of the new 1881 Cape Henry Lighthouse and photos of the history boards for Fort Story.

From Cape Henry & Fort Story

We drove just a little farther on to the Cape Henry Memorial and Memorial Cross near the site where the Jamestown settlers first landed on their voyage from England before finally settling in what would become Jamestown.

From Cape Henry & Fort Story

From Cape Henry & Fort Story

Cape Henry was also the site of a major Naval battle between the French and British fleets in September 1781. The French fleet kept the British from entering Chesapeake Bay and trapped Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown and helped end the British domination in America.

From Cape Henry & Fort Story

We took Tinker and walked up the boardwalk and out to the beach overlook. Tinker enjoyed the "hike" up the boardwalk, but anytime he found a piece of shade he would get in it to get out of the heat.

From Cape Henry & Fort Story

After leaving Fort Story we drove over to the campground at the First Landing State Park. We got a map of the campground from the ranger at the gate and drove around looking at some of the campsites in case we came back this way sometime and wanted to stay there.