Visiting The Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse

Rochester, NY (WIBX) - Kicking Off the 2011 Travel Series  to the Charlotte-Genesee Lighthouse in Rochester, NY. It was a rainy weekend but well worth the trip to the lighthouse.

The oldest surviving lighthouse on Lake Ontario is a trip back into history where visitors learn about early settlers fighting rattle snakes and mosquitos to establish a commerce port between the U.S. and Canada. The lighthouse is behind Holy Cross Church on Lake Ave. Visitors have to park behind the church and walk a short distance to the entrance. It's a beautiful site! The area looks busy with the beautiful recreational boats in the harbor--a quiet and elegant scene when you're on the little hill looking down at all the boats. It's really lovely.

Once you walk in, you'll notice that the place is quite small but you feel the power of its history immediately. This year, they are instituting a $3 charge for adults, and youths 18 and under are free--still well worth the trip. Our first guide, Bob, told us about the history dating back to 1791 as he took us through the small museum in front of the lighthouse. The pictures on the walls are memorable. There are many replicas to take you back in time too, making the experience that much better. One certainly appreciates what the early settles had to over come once you learn about Massachusetts pioneer, William Hincher who established the port, built a log cabin to house his wife and 11-children and began his trading business. Another interesting part of the lighthouse is that local students came together to safe it from being demolished. According to our first guide, this happened twice.

Our second guide, Fred, took us up the 42-step spiral staircase to climb the 11-foot ladder leading to the top of the lighthouse. Ladies, don't wear heels unless you want to walk back down backwards... The metal spiral staircase is fun to climb as you hold onto the rope handle. When you get to the top, you'll get a kick climbing the 11-foot ladder too. Once everyone is on board, Fred closes the hatch and the rest of the tour continues as you take in the site below and all around you. Touring the Charlotte-Genesee lighthouse took less than an hour so plan on visiting other sites while in the area such as the Zoo, the Genesee Brewery or the Kodak Factory. Oh yes, there's another place you might want to visit for a unique meal called a "Garbage Plate". Nick Tahoe in downtown Rochester serves this plate--we didn't have time to stop for one but next time I'm in the area, I will. Also, for those who love BBQ--Dinasaurs was packed! It was an hour wait for those who had time to wait. Also, it seemed to be the most popular place people gather for food in downtown.

The cost:

It was about $65 to fill up the gas tank for the round trip, $55 for lunch at a local Diner for all 5 of us, and the experience of course was priceless despite the rain.

Next Stay-cation:

Our next stop will be to the Museum of the Earth in Ithaca to see its big attraction, the Hyde Park Mastodon, and to North Star Orchards in Westmoreland to walk through the blooming apple orchard. So, stay tuned for more of WIBX's Stay-cation series reports from all of us here in the WIBX News Center.