Lighthouses - Then and Now

Back in 1978 we took our children on a tour of the U.S. to show them its size and diverse scenes. Among its many treasures, we found Sanibel Island, Florida, where one could spend countless hours scouring the beach for that perfect shell. The entire island consists of shells, and we had too few pockets.
The famous lighthouse marks the island for gulf mariners as well as island tourists, but as the recent second photo shows, hurricanes and upkeep have changed the surrounding flora over the past 30 years. Most notably, the big pines behind the lighthouse have disappeared, and the foreground hedge has evolved. The rotting pine trunks now house pileated woodpeckers. Also, the lighthouse seems to have been painted at least once, and the Coast Guard house roofs have been redone.