An Adventure for Lighthouse Lovers

My husband, Dean, and I love lighthouses and high on our Life List has been the desire to spend a night in a Light. Our 25th anniversary finally provided an occasion important and romantic enough to splurge and spoil ourselves.

East Brother Light is on a tiny island in the San Pablo Straits between San Pablo and San Francisco Bays. The adventure begins way before you get near the water, though. You're given fair warning concerning the "road" to the "yacht harbor", where you catch the boat to East Brother. It's narrow, winding and ill-maintained. Having grown up in a town where there still exists a bridge you need to honk your horn before crossing to make sure no one is coming from the other direction, this road didn't phase me but it seemed to be an edge of the seat experience for Dean. The yacht harbor at the end of the road is really a collection of colorful houseboats and interesting characters. Park in the dusty lot that greets you, not beyond on the water side, that's for the residents only. We wandered around because we missed the sign for the Galley Café, where you meet Captain Lucien, but even if your radar is better than ours and you find the spot right off the bat, walk down the road anyway, just for the experience.

Near to 4 o'clock, bring your baggage to the patio/dock of the Galley Café and mingle with the other couples who will share your lighthouse sleepover. We got very lucky--no complainers, no cranks and no loudmouths--quite a trick in any group of more than one person! One couple was celebrating their 50th anniversary, another couple in their 40's was on their honeymoon and the fourth couple were out for a relaxing long weekend.

Captain Lucien arrives, a young man with workman's hands who truly does have a captain's license to pilot up to a 5 ton vessel. He escorts us aboard his boat and off we go, around the harbor and out to the island. Again, we've had advance warning, this time about climbing up onto the dock from the boat. Dean and I packed a small bag just for this part of our trip because we thought we'd be hauling it up the ladder with us but as it turned out, we got to leave the bags in the boat. We climbed up the 6 or 7 feet of cool steel, all of us slow and patient with ourselves. When we were all safely up on the dock, the boat was harnessed and pulled out of the water. The tides and currents are such in the area that if the boat were left in the water, there's the possibility it could be slammed around and damaged. Our luggage was handed up to us out of the boat once it was secured.

Isabella, Lucien's wife and fellow innkeeper, guided us up onto the island and showed us all the guest rooms, four of which are in the Victorian lighthouse, along with the communal dining and activity rooms. Dean and I reserved the Marin Room, upstairs overlooking West Brother Island, which resembles a whale and is the local gathering spot for sea lions. Our room also had a private bath and the lone shower, which only guests staying more than one night can use. Water conservation on an island dependent on a rainwater cistern is a serious consideration. The San Francisco Room is also upstairs with a private bath. The rooms downstairs, Two Sisters (graced with the only fireplace) and West Brother, share a bath. And Walter's Quarters is a tiny room tucked away in the back of the building that houses the fog horns.

We had the run of the island (except the innkeepers quarters, naturally) till our Champagne welcome, so we all eventually made our way to the light. Up a winding staircase built on the mainland, rowed over to the island and assembled there, then up a spiral staircase to the fresnel lens and a walkway affording views of Marin, San Rafael, several suspension bridges and the San Francisco skyline. We marveled at the freighter traffic in the straits and looked gulls in the eye as they soared silently past us. But mostly we reveled in the thrill of standing next to a beacon of light atop a beautiful Victorian building on a tiny island and truly experienced that moment.

Later, we all assembled in one of the common rooms at 5:30 for champagne and hors d'ourves and Isabella and Lucien entertained us with stories of their adventures on the island. Dinner was served in the dining room downstairs--a four course meal of Tuscan Tomato Soup, salad with strawberries and raspberry dressing, Citrus Chicken with rice and asparagus and a little slice of chocolate heaven, with several varieties of wine. Isabella is a fabulous cook and Lucien is the Host with the Most.

After dinner, you're on your own again to watch the sun set beyond West Brother, sit on a bench to gaze at mist-shrouded San Francisco or play games in the common rooms. One suggestion--go to East Brother when you haven't gotten up at 5AM to catch a plane. With the early day, the champagne and the ocean air, we conked out pretty early, fully clothed and without taking the dozen decorative pillows off the bed. Around midnight we roused ourselves to appreciate the reflection of the quarter moon on the bay outside our window and quietly went out to the porch to see the brightest Big Dipper I've ever seen, accompanied by the calls of gulls.

In the morning, we lingered in our brass bed, watching the sea lions from our window. Rhonda, the newlywed in the room below ours, said one of those sea lions "talked" all night! Our 8:30-ish breakfast, a feast of French Toast Soufflé and a huge sausage, earned Isabella a round of applause. Soon after, Lucien guided us on a tour of the island, giving us the colorful history of the Light and it's various keepers. Fingers in our ears, he set off the big steam powered fog horn for us to hear. We watched the sister ship to the Exxon Valdez glide through the strait and smelled the rosemary outside the kitchen door.

All of us made purchases at the tiny gift shop then grabbed our bags for the journey back across the harbor. This time our luggage was loaded onto the boat which was lowered into the water of a low tide, tethered until all of us had climbed down 10 to 12 feet to the deck. On our way back, we encountered one of the sea lions who likes to have a little privacy, sunning himself on a picturesque red buoy.

I recommend this magical trip to anyone with the physical ability to get up the ladder onto the island. It's not hard, you just have to be prepared for it. Jo and Jack, our 50th anniversary couple, did it with no qualms and Cynthia did it in 3 inch thick flip flops! But if you're thinking about going, go soon. Lucien and Isabella end their stay (they're not only innkeepers, they're lighthouse keepers, too, maintaining the buildings and tending to the cistern, among 80 hours a week each of other duties!) on October 1. And rumor has it if a multi-million dollar casino goes in nearby, the inn may cease operation in favor of daytime guided tours only! And the B&B is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that uses the funds paid by overnight guests for the upkeep and conservation of East Brother Light Station, so not only do you get an amazing experience, you get the satisfaction of preserving a piece of maritime history!