HAPPY NATIONAL LIGHTHOUSE DAY: One imagines, if lighthouses everywhere gathered together to mark their summertime holiday, they might request a cake in the shape of themselves. For a lighthouse, that classic building that sits on a bluff, casting illumination out onto the water, seems a fine template for a delicious dessert. But would the cake be towering in stature, like a lighthouse you might see on the east coast, or a bit shorter, as many lighthouses on our end of the country tend to be? We do hope that any celebrating lighthouses wouldn't quibble about the shape of their cake, for all have done, and do, important jobs, and should be so celebrated. Aug. 7 is the annual date, and a lighthouse near you may be doing something a bit special to honor the occasion. Point Cabrillo isn't letting the holiday slip by without casting its own light on the lovely day: There's a lens tour on Saturday, Aug. 6, which will provide lighthouse lovers a rare chance to see how the oh-so-powerful lamp works inside the historic building. It's an...
"OPERATIONAL FRESNEL LENS," and one that's been "beautifully restored," too. Your ticket — it's five bucks — helps the Mendocino Coast lighthouse stay shipshape (as lighthouses are rightly famous for being, generally). There's some info to know ahead of time, such as traveling with kids, and note this: This event only happens eight times each year. To make your visit on National Lighthouse Day Eve, though, feels just a little extra special.
