Let’s face it. Renovating a nearly 100-year-old lighthouse that was abandoned for 60 years is not an easy task. And, at times, it can be incredibly frustrating.
For several years during the renovations, I was without my usual boat transportation as the captain of the barge I used retired. I searched and searched for others in the area who might be able to help with water transportation but found no one. Some companies were too large for such a small job and others were hesitant because the lighthouse didn’t have a dock.
As the summer of 2016 wore on, I was at my wit’s end. I had several large pieces to move including furniture and four solid wood doors I needed to replace the bedroom and bathroom doors that were missing. I decided to take matters into my own hands and I rented a pickup truck.
While that may not sound terribly difficult, finding a 4-wheel drive pickup that I could sneak onto the beach when the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) personnel and park staff wouldn’t noticed proved to be a major challenge. The path leading to the lighthouse is very deep sand and anything other than a 4-wheel drive risked getting stuck.
But I was determined – and it turns out, very naïve.
I checked all the local truck rental options and found a 4-wheel drive available at Enterprise (not that I had ever driven a 4-wheel drive). I made a reservation, hopeful that I could finally move some of the larger pieces that were languishing in storage, not to mention get down the sand path, unload and get back without anyone noticing.
When I arrived to pick up the truck, the 4-wheel drive one was not available (Bad, Enterprise!). They only had a 2-wheel drive, bright red Ford 150 pickup truck. Again, very naïve about 2-wheel vs 4-wheel drive, I threw caution to the wind and took it.
I drove the truck to the storage unit and loaded a large swivel chair, four very heavy solid wood doors, and a few additional provisions into the truck bed. I drove to the park, snuck across the grass, and headed down the narrow path toward the lighthouse. The beginning part was tight as I maneuvered the large truck so as not to hit any fencing. The further I drove, the thicker the sand became, and I soon felt like my old days of driving in very deep Central New York snow.
Somehow, I was able to get the truck down the path and positioned next to the breakwall to unload. With the help of a couple friends, we were able to carry the swivel chair, 4 doors and other items from the truck, down the breakwall, up the ladder, and into the lighthouse. Success!
This is a photo of the narrow path. Notice the tire marks in the sand?
However, that’s when the trouble really began. When it was time to drive the truck back down the path, the wheels started spinning in the deep beach sand. It didn’t take long for the truck to become hopelessly stuck. My friends – and even a few kind strangers out for a walk on the beach – tried everything our brains could muster. We put driftwood under the wheels – nothing. I ran to the lighthouse and found a few small pieces of plywood. We placed them carefully under the tires, but they snapped when the truck moved. We tried pushing the truck, pulling it, rocking it and everything else we could think of – but it didn’t budge.
After nearly an hour of trying each of our ideas to no avail, my friends and the kind strangers had to leave. The big red Enterprise pick up truck sat abandoned on the beach – as much of an eyesore as you can imagine.
I sulked back into the lighthouse as the sun sank in the sky. And while I tried to go about my business, I couldn’t stop staring out the window at the truck. I was so nervous that the ODNR officers would come find me, ticket the truck, or worse yet – arrest me for who knows how many violations that I had committed.
That evening, I called AAA hoping they could send a tow truck in the morning. I talked to a central dispatch office, and it was obvious they were somewhere far away and not familiar at all with the park, the beach or what kind of predicament I was in. They said to call back in the morning.
I tried to get some sleep that night but kept waking up and looking out the window to check on the truck – still there. In fact, the moon beautifully lit the night sky and made it very easy for me to see that the truck hadn’t moved.
As soon as daylight broke, I jumped out of bed and began trying to find a way to get the stuck truck off the beach. I tried AAA again, but the automated process of their requests just wasn’t going to work. I began calling local tow truck operators and finally landed one that was familiar with the area. I explained my very unique situation, and he felt confident he could handle it. I was incredibly stressed and worried about everything – getting the tow truck in, getting the red truck out, not causing any damage to the path or adjoining fencing and, but mostly, not getting caught, fined, or arrested by ODNR.
My stomach was in knots as I waited for the tow truck. He kept me apprised of his timing and when he was nearby, I walked down the path, past the big red behemoth of a non-moving vehicle, and reached the park where I paced back and forth. The tow truck arrived and to my surprise, it was a small pickup truck. I’m not sure why, but I expected one of those larger ones and when I mentioned that to the driver, he commented that a larger one might not fit down the path. Ah ha, he seemed to know what he was doing!
I hopped in the truck with the driver, and we drove across the grass and onto the sandy path. The driver took the same precautions as I did; he drove slowly and was careful to avoid the fencing on both sides. Once we arrived on the beach and he could see the red truck, he turned his truck to the left, around in a circle and began to back it toward it. He backed to within a few feet of the red truck and stopped. He got out, grabbed a chain and some rope, and hooked the two trucks together.
Once he was satisfied that the two vehicles were adequately attached, he directed me back to the red truck. He instructed me to steer the vehicle gently as he towed it out. I was skeptical that a small pick up and a little rope and chain would really do the trick, but my fingers were crossed.
The mighty little tow truck pulled forward slowly until the chain and ropes were tight. It continued moving forward as the red truck inched ahead. The first few feet were difficult as the red truck’s tires were dug deep into the sand. After a few bumps, the sand finally gave up its grip on the tires and they began to roll more smoothly. The little tow truck kept moving down the path with the red truck following and me nervously keeping the red truck on course.
The tandem trucks began to pick up a little speed. We reached the fork in the path and were on the home stretch back to the park. The driver successfully pulled back into the park, crossed the grass, and stopped when both vehicles reached the roadway. He got out, removed the chains and rope from both vehicles and we were done. SUCCESS! I let out a huge sign of relief, thanked him profusely, and wrote him a check with a big fat tip for his amazing service.
I thanked him again and watched him pull away. When my stomach started to settle and my nerves calmed, I climbed into the red truck to drive it back to Enterprise. It was 9:00 am. I arrived at Enterprise about 15 minutes later, still well within my 1 day/24 hour rental and turned over the keys. I was never so happy to return a rental car. I left Enterprise and that big red truck in my rearview mirror. Never again.
The infamous red Ford truck, hopelessly stuck in the sand. And a view from the driver's seat.
PS, I was incredibly lucky (and thankful) that no park staff nor ODNR officers appeared to notice the stuck truck and mother nature made quick work of clearing the tire tracks from the sand.
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