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New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge® 2008
Frequently Asked Questions
Click on a question to see the answer
The
New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge® (a/k/a Lighthouse
Challenge and the
Challenge) is a non-profit event sponsored by the New Jersey Lighthouse
Society
(a/k/a NJLHS and the Society) for the purpose of raising awareness of
and
educating the public about lighthouses in general and New Jersey’s
lighthouses,
specifically. It is a two day event
during which participants are “challenged” to visit each of New
Jersey’s 11
land based lighthouses. For
2008, we have raised the bar a bit and added 2 new sites to the
Challenge route: Barnegat Light Historical Museum and Cape May County
Historical Museum. Both museums house 1st order Fresnel lenses from
both Barnegat lighthouse and Cape May Lighthouse respectively. At each
site, you will receive a souvenir token of that lighthouse/lens,
courtesy of
the New Jersey Lighthouse Society. Please note
that each
participant must be present at each site to receive the souvenir token. You cannot
send one
person from your party to collect the souvenir tokens for the whole
group. If you
complete the “challenge” and visit all 13 sites, show your
complete set of
souvenir tokens to the NJLHS representative at the last lighthouse and
you will
receive an additional congratulatory souvenir token to commemorate your
achievement!
Since
its inception in 2000, the New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge® has
been
held every third weekend in October. For
2008, the dates are Saturday October 18th and Sunday,
October 19th.
The following lighthouses and museums will participate in the Challenge. The “Challenge Hours” indicate the times when NJLHS Volunteers will be at each site to distribute souvenir tokens and encourage you on! The “Site Visitation Hours” indicate the hours during the Challenge weekend for which the lighthouse/museum will be open.
*Night Climb
Site. Please see “What are
Night Climbs?” for additional
information. Please Note: Upon
arrival
at Twin Lights, you may be directed to the Henry Hudson High School
parking
lot, where a shuttle bus to the Twin Lights parking lot will be
available.
After the shuttle begins running (about 11:00am), only handicapped
parking will
be available at the Twin Lights site.
There is
no sign-up or registration. All you do
is choose your own route to get to each of the sites in any order
that
works best for you logistically and begin! You
can use the directions listed in the brochure or
posted on our
website (www.njlhs.org) - on or
about 6/6/07 - to get you
started. At your first stop, you
will be asked to complete a “sign-in” survey for the Society’s
information.(Some sites may also ask you
to sign in for their own records.)
There
is no fee to do the Challenge. The only
costs incurred will be gas, tolls and any personal expenses. Please note that although the New Jersey
Lighthouse Society does not charge for the event or the souvenir
tokens, the
individual lighthouses may charge a fee to climb their lighthouse. Please see
“Is there a
charge to climb the lighthouses?” for additional information. Do I need
to climb the
lighthouses to receive a souvenir token? No,
it is not necessary to climb the lighthouses in order to receive a
token. All you need to do is see a NJLHS
volunteer
at the Challenge table at each site to receive a souvenir token.
Some
of the lighthouses do charge admission fees to climb and some request
donations. In addition, some of the
lighthouses have height restrictions and limit the number of people
that can
climb to the top at the same time. As
of 1/31/08, the fees, height restrictions and number to climb (at the
same
time) at each of the lighthouses are as follows:
We
have heard that it can be done; however, please
obey all traffic laws and drive with courtesy. Remember,
you are passing through some narrow residential
streets! What are
Night Climbs? Night climbs mean that specific lighthouses will be open for an additional two hours (6 pm - 8 pm) on Saturday night of the event weekend to offer a completely different view! The lighthouses that will be open for Night Climbs this year are:
If you
should choose to visit one of these
lighthouses for a Night Climb, you will receive an additional “Night
Climb”
souvenir as well as the lighthouse’s souvenir token.
This is a bonus! You are not
required to climb the lighthouse in order to receive a Night Climb a
souvenir
nor is doing a Night Climb a requirement to complete the Challenge. As long as you have souvenir tokens from all
13 sites, you are considered to have completed the Challenge. Please note that it is possible that any
site may institute a time earlier than 8:00 pm as a cutoff time for
lighthouse tours or climbs due too visitor volume. Tell me
more about the Lighthouses. We are
often asked questions such as: “How high is
[a specific] lighthouse?” or “How many steps is it to the top?” The table below outlines some interesting
facts* about the lighthouses you will be seeing while doing the
Challenge.
*Information
reviewed for accuracy by a representative of each lighthouse
organization.
I am
flying into New Jersey from out of state. What
airport should I come into? Your choice of airport depends upon where you plan to begin and end the Challenge. To determine which airport is best, look at your planned Challenge route and determine the airport that will put you closest to that destination. For example, if you plan to start the Challenge at Sandy Hook, Newark Liberty International Airport is probably the best choice; if you plan to start the Challenge at Tinicum, Philadelphia Airport would most likely be the best choice. Where is a
good place to stay while doing the Challenge? Again,
this depends on the route you have chosen to
do the Challenge. We suggest that you
investigate accommodations based on where you plan to begin and where
you
expect to stop on Saturday evening. Again,
you can check with AAA, if you are a member, the
office of New
Jersey Travel and Tourism (http://www.state.nj.us/travel/)
or search the internet. Will 2008
New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge® T-Shirts and Pins be
available for
sale? At
this time, we anticipate having 2008 New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge® T-Shirts
and pins available for sale at the following locations during the
Challenge
weekend (while supplies last):
The
sale price is expected to be $15.00 per T-Shirt and $5.00 per pin;
however,
prices are subject to change. Since the
New Jersey Lighthouse Challenge® is
operated as a
break-even event, the sales of T-Shirts and pins help to defray the
cost of the
event. We
recommend that you buy your souvenir T-Shirts and pins early. Only a limited supply is ordered and once
they are all sold, there will not be anymore! Where can
I purchase
Passport Books while on the Challenge? Passbooks
for the Passport Program sponsored by the United States Lighthouse
Society are
available for sale at the following sites, while supplies
last:
Can I
purchase extra souvenir
tokens of a lighthouse or for the lighthouses I didn’t visit? Sorry,
no. The “challenge” is to visit each lighthouse/museum during the
stated event
hours
in order to get the souvenir token. Please see “Which
lighthouses are included in the Challenge” for the event hours.
If
you complete the “challenge” and visit all 13 sites, show your
complete set of
souvenir tokens to the NJLJHS volunteer at the last lighthouse you
visit and you
will receive a congratulatory souvenir token to commemorate your
achievement! What if I
completed both the Maryland and New Jersey Challenges? Bring
your complete set of Maryland Challenge souvenir tokens with you and
show these
as well as your New Jersey souvenir tokens to the NJLHS volunteers at
your last
lighthouse. You will receive a Dual Challenge souvenir to commemorate
your dual
accomplishments! What if I
completed the
Long Island, Maryland and New Jersey Challenges? Bring
your complete sets of Long Island Challenge and Maryland Challenge
souvenir
tokens with you and show these as well as your New Jersey souvenir
tokens to
the NJLHS volunteers at your last lighthouse. You will receive a Triple
Challenge
souvenir to commemorate your triple accomplishments! What are
the dates for
the Long Island and Maryland Challenges? In
2008, the Long Island Challenge will be held on Saturday, May 17th
and
Sunday, May 18th (www.lilighthousesociety.org);
the Maryland Challenge will be held on Saturday, September 20th
and
Sunday, September 21st (www.cheslights.org).
Mid-Coast
Maine Lighthouse Challenge: June 7th and 8th (http://www.rocklandlighthouse.com/schedule.html) |
© 2008 NJLHS