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Dear Friends,
Warm Summer days are here on East Brother Island! Sun, Breeze, Sail Boats! Oh what a time to be on the Island. In wonderful California we have Indian Summers that just mean more great days with great views for us to share with our lucky guests. Enjoy the photos and stories below, and check out the upcoming dates you'll want to join us in making memories.
Thank you for being a friend of East Brother Light Station. Your positive word of mouth and referrals to friends and family help support our ongoing effort to restore and maintain a historical treasure in the bay. |
Summer on East Brother:
Is it Summer already? Each season brings it's own special elements to a visit. As any native can tell you, Summertime in the Bay Area is a great time to be outdoors. We have the best 360 views from our Island of water, bridges, sailboats & wildlife- our guests can sit in the warmth of the Sun with our bay breeze blowing by. Can you feel it?
...with the Sun shining on her face...
Artful clouds paint those endless skies
Standing by the fence you can almost reach out & touch them
Catching Up:
We had an incredibly wet Winter here which is rare & even though the heavy rains don't always make for a calm & dry boat ride, they make for great cozy cuddling by the fireplace. They also made a very full Water Holding Tank & Cistern! There have been times of drought when talks of having to barge water out to replenish our supply were necessary. Very tricky & costly! So we are thrilled whenever Mother Nature decides to fill us up on the house. This does not mean we forget our water conservation ways of course... we never know when the next time we will get water like this again is but it certainly isn't every year...
But we had it this year! I read that dormant wildflowers were blooming all over California & saw the most colorful hillside pictures. East Brother Light Station was right there trending. Look at the colors we got in our blooms thanks to the Winter rains:
You know what else comes with rain... Rainbows! Being on the Island in the middle of all this water when the rain breaks & the sun tries to come out means magical photo opportunities galore! Just see for yourself:
Swoon! Not a bad place to be in the world...
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Goodbye:
Another big change we went through on the Island was the departure of Bryan & Stephanie. They completed nearly 3 years of fun, delicious & memorable experiences for our guests. Any of you who stayed during their time as Inn Keepers know just what I am taking about.
First Meeting
Bryan & Stephanie came to us having many adventures on their belt & many more in their eyes. Their enthusiasm, experience & all around fun demeanors meant we had our new Keepers! We knew they would apply the same great energy to the Guest experience on the Island.
They worked hard & are now on a Sail around the world adventure aboard their trusty boat the Argus. You can follow their journey at:
https://www.facebook.com/ArgusSails/?ref=nf&hc_ref=NEWSFEED
We appreciate the hard work & the always positive experiences our guests had with you. We wish you all the luck in this next chapter!
 Last meeting
Hello:
We had several applicants & after a very close decision we are very excited to introduce you to Che & Jillian!
They join a long line of Inn Keepers on East Brother Island. They interviewed via Skype from New Zealand where they had been working for a couple of years. They are both native Northern Californians & were excited to be coming home for such a unique & exciting job/adventure. They bring a unique style in the way they carry themselves & will charm you with some Banjo playing. They have only been here a few months but hit the ground running. Our guests already have great things to say.
We are so happy to welcome Che & Jillian to East Brother Island.
Seems that Mother Nature is too!
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Believe it or Not:
A number of years ago- former Keepers Richard & Jude told us that a group of Turkeys had flown to the Island & ate up the contents of the garden. They did not get any pictures because they were trying to get the Turkeys to leave. That was all we heard of the Turkeys.
I have told this story many times & everyone says, "Turkeys can only fly short distance - Turkeys couldn't make it to the Island - I think you're being led on a wild TURKEY chase..." etc
Feeling particularly inspired one Wickie day after the rains made everything feel so alive, Tom spent several hours perfectly planting a wonderful garden full of organic local plantlings that would quickly thrive & grow in the fertile environment we had going on. It was only a few days after that Bryan & Stephanie told us that a group of wild Turkeys flew to the Island & gobbled up the whole garden! Poor Tom & all his work. Bryan & Stephanie DID take a picture & I'm here to tell all of the nay sayers- Turkeys can fly all the way out to our Island indeed.
Che & Jillian got the welcome wagon from the Turkeys too! They said they had to jump around making noise to try to scare them off. A still sore Tom joked that maybe we should have wild Turkey on the menu! In an ironic twist of timing, I was sailing by the Island on that day. I was telling the history of the Island to the group on board as we sailed past & someone said, "Why do you have Turkeys on the Island?" I said, "We don't! They fly over to eat the garden." I heard a few "Turkeys can't fly that far" even though we could all clearly see with our own eyes the Turkeys with their tail feathers completely fanned, trolling the perimeter of the fence looking for the way in. I'm here to tell you... they can & they DO! |
Donate for Good:
Many of you may not be aware that East Brother Light Station is a Non-Profit organization. Most of the funds from overnight guests pay for various things that are quite unusual given the location of our Island. Our Insurance policies... well you can imagine. The Boat requires regular maintenance & gasoline. When something breaks out here- it is no easy task to get it fixed. Because we are a Historic Landmark that stays as true to historic accuracy, repairs on the house have to be done to very specific historic standards. None of it is cheap.
- You've surely heard of our Wickie Volunteer program. Every month we are so lucky that folks give up a Saturday to come donate their time & skills.
- We have past guests who have reached out to us with unique antiques.
- We have folks who designate us for their work donation programs.
- We've been lucky to receive funds from organizations such as Native Daughters of the Gold West.
We appreciate all of it. We cant thank you enough for any part you play in helping to keep this treasure alive. We are happy to announce 2 new ways you can help.
East Brother Light Station has partnered with Network for Good in order to make donating to us easy & safe! You will find our donation button on our website at any time but we are going to include it here for this introduction:
Click Here!
Next, we got a great idea from one of our guests. There was a piece of equipment that happened to be his specialty. He wanted to know if he donated the money to repair it- would it go to the designated project or would it go into the general fund. Rest assured that the general funds all go to important things all year long so that is still a welcome practice. But this question got us thinking & we will be adding a Designated Donation list viewable on our website & on the Island. There are some big & small wish list items that one of our guests, readers or volunteers may want to "adopt" with a donation of money or labor (or both!).
Coming Soon
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Mark Your Calendar
Upcoming Dates You'll Want to Visit the Island
Day Trippers Yeah!
Did you know that you can still come out to the Island even if you aren't spending the night? Spring through Fall you have the chance to come out for a few hours. Bring your own lunch or splurge & order lunch from our kitchen & have a beautiful picnic on our enchanted Island. Find out how here:
Day Use
Volunteer "Wickie" Workdays:
Get involved and help our non-profit organization to maintain the historic lighthouse property. These are held every 2nd Saturday of the month. Dates are subject to change (but rarely do).
RSVP required.
Sign up for emails about opportunities. Please visit http://www.ebls.org/volunteering.html or contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Peggy Bosley, for more information.
Skywatching-
There's no better place to look to watc h for meteors or any of the celestial showings than our dark skies. Some of the best meteor showers happen late summer through Fall. Please check HERE for a complete list of meteor showers & dates. If you can couple it with a New Moon then you will have optimal viewing.
Magic weekend in Cotton Candy skies anyone? |
To make a reservation or to find out more about East Brother Light Station, please visit our website at www.ebls.org. |
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In this Issue |
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Summertime
Your Brothers Keeper
Good Word
Say it ain't so
Donate for Good
Fun ways to spend time on the island, and upcoming dates you'll want to stay
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Wickie's help keep the Light on! |
Help a Brother Out!
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Ever wonder what's out there?
Think you cant fit it into your busy schedule?
This is the time of year when we are really able to get some good work done on the Island. The weather is beautiful & there are so many sights to be seen. We count on our loyal volunteers to help keep our Island looking its best.
Life on an Island is not simple & each task presents its own challenges. Our volunteers have diverse backgrounds & skills that we greatly benefit from. On the 2nd Saturday of each month a group of helping hands called "Wickies" come out to the Island to tackle to "To Do" list that our Inn Keepers have.
Getting involved is simple! Sign up as a volunteer & you will receive evites about upcoming dates to help. You can come when you are able. You meet a lot of great folks. But the best part of it is that you get to come out to the Island & breathe in the magic. When you leave- there is a part of you left with us forever. We cant thank our Wickie's enough.
Please sign up to become a part of the family that helps to keep the light on!
Register now!
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