EAST BROTHER LIGHTHOUSE

In the strait that separates San Francisco Bay from San Pablo Bay perched on a tiny island sits the East Brother Light Station Dinner, Bed & Breakfast. Lou & I have considered an overnight stay at this Victorian lighthouse for years. It is a bit adventurous & pretty pricey but he surprised me with a night's stay for my 65th birthday yesterday. Does my guy know how to give the best birthday presents or what?

As we approached East Brother Island we pulled off the road for a great photo op of the bed & breakfast complex. We learned they blasted the rock off the top to level the island in order to build the light station in the 1870s.

Our directions said the road to the San Pablo Yacht Harbor where we would be picked up for the 10 minute boat ride was "hilly, very bumpy & not well maintained". At first we thought, "This isn't so bad" but the last mile or so was exactly as described.

The San Pablo Yacht Harbor is quite remote with many dilapidated houseboats but these looked much more like nice houses than boats. We were told they are all floating making them officially boats but they don't move beyond the dock.

The small boat used to take guests to East Brother Island holds only 6 passengers at a time. Each person must be able to climb a vertical ladder 4 - 12 feet (depending on the tides) from the bobbing boat to the dock.

This is Stephanie & Bryan, our hosts, innkeepers & welcome wagon crew! Oh, & me, too - ready for my birthday adventure.

Lou snapped this photo as our boat approached the dock. You can see the ladder we had to climb up just to the right of the shack on the dock. It was really fairly easy to climb, pretty much like a pool ladder. Bryan helped with everyone's bags making it even easier.

The inn will accommodate ten guests if completely booked. Four rooms are located in the main building - two upstairs with private baths & two downstairs with a shared bath. The fifth room is in the Fog Station with its own bath across the building.

The Victorian lighthouse building. Our room was on the second floor in the back of the house overlooking West Brother Island & Marin County.

The Marin Room where we stayed. We had one of the two rooms with a private bath. My sweetie knows I'm not great at bathrooms down the hall. :-)

One of the highlights is being able to climb up a spiral staircase two more stories to what Stephanie told us was called the "Widow's Walk", an open air platform that surrounds the actual light of the working lighthouse. Fresh water for the island is collected in the white cistern from rainfall & also stored in the tank with the red roof. Stephanie & Bryan's home is on the left & the Fog Station Building is the other structure.

Lou & I enjoying the view from the top of the lighthouse walkway.

Champagne & hors d'oeuvres are served outside upon arrival after a quick tour of the grounds. Our innkeepers did a wonderful job of preparing & serving gourmet meals. We enjoyed some quiet time before dinner to take in our surroundings.

Bryan getting us started on our champagne & hors d'oeuvres, which were both in plentiful supply, as we chatted with our fellow guests - four from San Jose, two from San Francisco & two from Marin.

The fog layer made for an interesting perspective of San Francisco in the distance behind the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The sailboat added a finishing touch to my photo.

The view from our bedroom window just before sunset. That is West Brother Island which is pretty much a rock where birds & sea lions hang out.

The dining room where we all partook of fabulous meals! Dinner was a delicious four course meal with wine & breakfast was just as wonderful! Our compliments to the chef, Stephanie, & her helper, Bryan!

There is a foghorn which sounds for 3 seconds every 30 seconds around the clock. We seemed to get used to it quickly & that didn't hinder our sleeping; however, some of the other guests took advantage of the ear plugs that were offered. What did wake me a few times were the seagulls & other assorted creatures "screaming" at each other several times during the night.

Lou & I made a second trip up the spiral staircase to the "Widow's Walk" to see the light at night. As Stephanie promised it was blinding once darkness set in.

First thing this morning we were treated to a mother sea lion & her baby resting on the rocks below our window. Several of us had a cup of coffee & watched the wildlife on West Brother Island with Bryan while Stephanie prepared our scrumptious breakfast.

This corner of West Brother Island seemed to be the favorite resting spot of several sea lions.

Sea gulls were swooping & cawing (or whatever sound they make) constantly but these two took a break to enjoy the views from the edge of our island.

The mama sea lion & her baby were fun to watch. The baby nursed a few times & they enjoyed some swimming time in the chilly bay as well.

Bryan gave us a great talk on the history of the light station & demonstrated the original fog horns that are REALLY loud. All too soon it was time to climb back down the ladder to be returned to the mainland. Stephanie & Bryan are friendly, outgoing hosts who helped make this a unique experience unlike any other bed & breakfast we've enjoyed.

The majority of the visitors seemed to be local to Northern California according to the guest book. If you want to do something different & special (& you can climb up & down the ladder), we highly recommend the East Brother Light Station Dinner, Bed & Breakfast!

Since it was not yet noon, Lou suggested we take a ride into San Francisco's Golden Gate Park to see a couple of restored windmills at the far west end of the park near the Pacific Ocean.

The Dutch Windmill on the northwest corner of Golden Gate Park. There are tulip gardens all around the windmill. If the sky would have cooperated with some blue instead of overcast, it would have been a great photo op.

Many of the tulips were already past their prime but these still looked beautiful.

The colors on these bright blue little flowers were really vibrant. I liked the lavender, too - blue & lavender are two of my favorite colors.

We walked about 1/2 a mile to the southwest corner of the park to see the Murphy Windmill. Again the overcast sky didn't give us much of a background to work with - oh, well.

These plants were all over & were covered with purple blossoms. All in all another great getaway thanks to my sweetie!