And Then There was Muskegon

I know I said in the last post that we headed to Grand Haven next, well we did but there were a ton of people.  Enough to the point where I gave up and moved along.  So I didn't get any pictures from Grand Haven.  Oh well, I have plenty of other pictures from there.

 So our next stop was Muskengon.  Just as I was getting out of the car, the helicopter in this picture was passing by and I couldn't pass on a picture of the lighthouse with the helicopter in it.  So here goes.

 I do like this lighthouse even though it not anything particularly special.

 Muskegon is also home to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admistration research office.  It is the home of the Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab.  They are trying to investigate many of the issues that may  be a threat to the Lakes.  They opened this facility in 1995.

In order to get this view of the lighthouse, we had to follow a designated path through the NOAA property.  It was kind of nice of them to allow that because I've never gotten this view before.

 A seagul just doing seagull things.

 I kind of liked the look of this sailboat with its spinnaker up.  I think if I were going to get a boat, I would love a sailboat but I hear they are a fair amount of work.

 Another view of the lighthouse.

 Looking up at the top.

 I believe this is either a range light or a channel market, I'm not sure which but it looks more unique than the lighthouse itself.

 Another sailboat.

 Another view of the research lab.

 This is a Coast Guard 41 foot utility boat.  It was first introduced in 1973 and built by the Coast Guard yards in in Curtis Bay, Maryland.  There were 172 units in 2005 and they were considered old then but will probably serve for a while still.  In 2008, they started to replace these with the Medium Response boat but I'd imagine that is slow going.

 A shot of the bridge.

 And the helicopter returned.

 The HH-65 Dolphin is a French design that was adopted by the Coast Gaurd.  I think it's a pretty neat looking helicopter.

 The straight out shot.

 Another shot with the lighthouse.

 The Medium Response Boat.  For some reason, I think its a meaner looking boat.

 Another shot of the utility boat.

 I believe this is a survey boat.

One more shot of the lighthouse.