Point Vicente Lighthouse is an awesome place to stop on the second Saturday of every month except March when it coincides with Whale Day on the first Saturday of the month.
This turned out to be one of my favorite free things to do in Los Angeles. This is right next to the Point Vicente Interpretive Center which is where I have seen whales both times I stopped by.
They let you climb the stairs to the top of the lighthouse where you can see the original 3rd order Fresnel lens. Built over 125 years ago the working beacon still pumps out 2 million candlepower of white light which can be seen every twenty seconds up to 24 miles out to sea.
Having 2 “bulls eyes” and rotating once every forty seconds makes it appear to flash every twenty seconds.
The good folks who run the place are very kind and the museum and office are worth stopping in for a look.
We were fortunate enough to not only see Catalina very clearly but also Santa Barbara and San Nicholas Island. They look like one island because the smaller one, Santa Barbara island is right in the line of sight and San Nicholas which is bigger is directly behind it.
There are lots of great little walks in the area but a short stroll down the path is the Point Vicente Interpretive Center we covered in our post about whale watching.
The whales are still migrating and we saw two in the short time we were there.
Oh we also learned…
We Scooped Huell Howser!
Today we learned that, although he was invited, Huell Howser has not covered the Vicente Lighthouse yet.
There is no doubt we have covered things Huell has not but the point Vicente Lighthouse has been here in our own back yard since 1916.
For those who haven’t heard of him Huell Howser is legendary for his video tours of everything cool in California. Quite simply, he has my dream job.
His shows California Gold and Visiting have inspired many of my favorite trips. So it is with some pride I get to say we scooped such a legend.
Come on Huell, cover this awesome point of interest. Besides, unlike me, they will probably let you walk anywhere you want.
