Point Reyes Lighthouse, Inverness
Marin County’s most famous, and entirely fictitious, love story took place in the late 1800s at the then-recently constructed Point Reyes Lighthouse. The tale goes a little bit like this:
Once upon a time, there was a man who lived in a lighthouse. He spent his days as one would expect: cold, alone and pining away for the companionship of a woman to help warm his nights and brighten his days. But alas, the life of a lighthouse operator in the years following 1870 was … well, not exactly conducive toward attracting a mate. And the lack of dating apps certainly did not help.
But one day, as if in answer to the man’s prayers, a beautiful woman washed ashore following a shipwreck that the history books suggest was probably not the lighthouse operator’s fault.
The woman’s name was Marin(a), and she was a stunner, so much so that even her recent almost-drowning couldn’t detract from her beauty. Needless to say, the lighthouse operator was instantly smitten and, upon saving her, knew he would never love another. He nursed her back to health and hung on her every word and whim.
Time passed by, and the lighthouse operator fell deeply in love with Marin(a). When the lighthouse operator could no longer hold his feelings secret, he confessed his love for her in a passionate outpouring of prose so saccharine that most of the historical documentation is redacted: “Marin(a), I adore you—I cannot live without [REDACTED] and need you to [REDACTED] with every fiber of my [REDACTED] …”
Marin(a), overcome by “womanly hysteria,” naturally fled the scene of the confession to take a moment alone to think. Alas, the only path to privacy was up 313 steps. At first, she picked up her skirts in dramatic fashion and ran up the steps with her lover on her heels. Bosom heaving, she paused around step 56 and gestured for the lighthouse operator to pause for her to catch her breath.
By the last step, Marin(a), trembling from exertion, fell into the arms of her paramour.
“Rip this damned bodice off me, will you?” she asked. And the rest is fictitious history.
The lighthouse is located at 27000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Inverness.
