On our vacation to the West Coast in September, we drove from Portland, Oregon and ended up in Big Sur, California. While this trip was not lighthouse centric, if there was a lighthouse in the vicinity, we made sure to stop. One of the more picturesque ones was this one in Mendocino County. I didn't know much about the light before our visit but have since learned about its history.
The 115 foot tall lighthouse was erected in 1870 on Point Arena (a narrow peninsula extending a half-mile into the Pacific Ocean). The light was constructed in order to prevent shipwrecks due to a sandbar located near the point. In 1906, an earthquake all along the San Andreas Fault struck the lighthouse resulting in its demolition along with the light-keeper's house. The lighthouse was rebuilt by a company that built factory smokestacks as they had experience building tall structures that could withstand earthquakes.
As you can see in this photo, the peninsula that the light sits on is quite beautiful. The waves were not overly active the morning I shot this as the tide was out. I imagine it would be an awesome place to shoot during a windy storm.