South Coast Surf Check

We went to Westport, Mattapoisett and Fairhaven to check the surf.

Westport leads off.

We went to Horseneck Beach and Gooseberry Point, Neck or whatever they call it.

FAIRHAVEN

MATTAPOISETT

Off to the South Shore....

Ned's Point Light in Mattapoisett

We paid a visit to Mattapoisett, Massachusetts to check out Ned Point Light.

The South Coast has some cool lighthouses, you just have to move a bit to find them.

I love all lighthouses and I love this one, but Ned is a pretty good example of why lighthouses need a lightkeeper shack near it. Lighthouses are more about Duty than Beauty, which of course increases their beauty immeasurably. A shack wouldn't hurt, though... even if they just keep DPW stuff in it.

A cooler name wouldn't hurt, either. "Mattapoisett Light" would be better. So would "Dexter Point Light," which was the last name of the eponymous Ned in question.

New England fishing villages most likely weren't hacked out of the forest by guys who stopped work and said, "You know what? We should give it a more catchy name, so our greatgreatgreatgreatgreatgreatgreatgreatgreat grandchildren can use it to draw in tourists," and that's probably a good thing.

Ned Point Light is also known as Ned's Point Light by the locals. It was built in 1838 for $4500 of those 1838 dollars. John Quincy Adams was instrumental in getting the funds. It is older than Mattapoisett, which was part of Rochester until 1857.

It was made with stones that they found nearby. The contractor (Leonard Hammond), who also owned the town tavern, didn't finish in time. Stalling an inspector at his tavern, he had a crew try to make it look finished. The inspector stepped into the lighthouse and fell through the floor, which was merely planks laid over barrels.

It used to have a lightkeeper's house, but that was floated across Buzzards Bay to Bourne, where it now serves Wings Neck Light.

Ned Point Light was deactivated from 1951-1963. It was restored by locals in the 1990s.

It isn't open for touring, other than once a week in the summer. It's 39 feet high and has 32 granite steps.

She guards the northern edge of Mattapoisett Harbor.

Snow Scenes

There isn't much winter left, so we may as well empty the galleries of anything Winter related.

We had a mild winter, with the Cape getting no real snow at all until February.

We often had to travel to see snow.

We have talked about choosing a city, most likely New Bedford (although the picture above is from Fairhaven), then driving around the city until we find the last snow. The term "fool's errand" comes to mind.

Anyone else in the 70s practice hockey by building a snowman in front of an empty hockey net? No?

I was a clumsy skater at best, and when Bobby Orr had been retired long enough for both a remission of my hero worship and for me to have several growth spurts, my parents put a hoop up in the yard. They had a very adult conversation with me to the effect of "You're our third child. The first one is heading to college.  Hockey gear is expensive. You're growing through two pairs of skates per season. We're moving to a town where the nearest hockey rink is 8 exits away on the highway. You're tall enough to someday get a basketball scholarship. You are through with hockey." I was 7 years old. I nodded assent and began working on my skyhook.

I'm dating myself here, but he looks like a Shmoo.

The Bourne Bridge in any photo adds gravitas, whatever that is.

Just wanted to have some Mattapoisett up in this...

I had to flee the Cape and go to Halifax to get some sledding in.

Not really sure what that is, I liked the duck that was there before better.

I briefly considered the money-making potential of a Slip-n-Slide ride down a snowy pier into Clark's Cove.

My man...

My snow-man...

Snowbirds

A slim snowman

Snow Mommy!