I appreciate and understand now the story about the last keeper at the Mission Point Lighthouse in 1933 (when it was decommissioned) refusing the offer to buy it from the State for $1....he said, "No thanks, I've had enough" and could not leave fast enough! It
is serene, to be sure....and beyond beautiful,
but maintaining a tourist paradise at a historic site takes work. And
we had less to do than
he did! But I don't think he had to run a gift shop and balance a cash register and credit card machine (of which both I feel are haunted!) I have the UTMOST respect for people who work in the brisk tourist trade now,
more than ever. My friend from Petoskey and I were an excellent team and extremely conscientious about getting EVERYTHING done on our long list of duties. With a salute. Hah! But after two
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| A quick wipe of the tables before opening.... |
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| A double check upstairs by Jane |
days, we realized we had not even enjoyed any of the stunning views
(no time!), or taken walks along the wooded trails or beach front
( no time!), had good long conversations with each other
(no time!) or a long meal together to enjoy all the food we lugged up there (no time!)...or a trip to a local winery
(no time!) so it began to wear on us. We figured we worked from 8 am to 8pm so that left us very little free time. We would fall into our little twin beds at night and talk like roomies in the dark, until one of us dropped off. Those were our best talks, however brief! I think the key is to prioritize what really needs to get done, let some of the things drop off the list and pace yourself. Not everything has to be perfect. So when we got a half hour OFF on a day when we thought about 300 people had gone through the lighthouse, we walked the wooded paths north of the lighthouse to the beach and found a cool rock cairn with a floral wreath around it....beautiful.
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| A romantic rock cairn found on our 1/2 hour break-walk! |
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