Some may recognize the images I frequently use as the Cape Nedick Lighthouse, colloquially called “the Nubble.”

Lighthouses play a critical role for navigators – those who knew the waters, but more importantly for those who didn’t. Seafarers relied on them to provide safe navigation. Their beams cut through the densest fog, illuminating the way to safe harbors and providing guidance around treacherous rocks and ledges. Without them, many would not arrive at their destinations whole, if at all. 

This particular structure has sentimental meaning for me and many in my extended family. Located 30 minutes from my childhood home and maybe 2 miles as the gull flies from my grandparents’ waterside home. Dozens or, more likely, scores of family photos were and continue to be taken here. When aunts, uncles, and cousins made the pilgrimage to see my grandparents, the trip was incomplete until multiple pictures were taken with the lighthouse prominently in the background. I’m sure that we all have had these family photos on our refrigerators. Now, most of the kids and their kids carry on the tradition.

The view, the crashing waves, the warmth of the sun on rocks, and the ever-present scents of salt and seaweed – combined bring me a sense of stability, family, and a safe harbor.

So, historically and personally, that’s what’s up with the lighthouse.