HISTORIC LIGHTHOUSE TOURS ILLUMINATE SEASIDE CHARM.

Byline: Gary Robbins Orange County Register

Carol Vestal's mornings begin with a routine we all should be so lucky to enjoy.

``I pour myself a cup of tea and sit by the window to watch for any whales that might swim by,'' says Vestal, who cares for the small stone lighthouse that caps Crescent City's Battery Point.

The lighthouse is accessible only during low tide. So there are days when Vestal can linger at the window and wait for the sea to drop enough to allow tourists to reach her front door.

It's an idyllic life that's fading in California. Few of the state's 30 or so lighthouses still have keepers. They've been replaced by automated beacons.

And yet, the seductive charm of the California lights, as many call them, endures. Lighthouses are places to slow down, to catch your breath, to marvel at a sea that has lifted ships from the water and cracked them like walnuts against the shore.

Here's the lowdown on a few of these outposts you might enjoy.

Point Vicente: Follow the twisty coast road north out of San Pedro and eventually you'll reach a concrete candle rising from a clutch of palm and cypress trees - it's the Point Vicente Lighthouse.

The lighthouse opened in 1926 to guide mariners along the Southern California bight. It's still on the job, flashing a bright light twice every 20 seconds that's visible at least 20 miles away.

The 67-foot-tall cylinder dominated the point until World War II, when the nearby hills were settled. Soon, people were complaining that the light shone onto their bedroom walls at night. Part of the light's lantern was painted white, solving the problem. It also gave the beacon a ghostly quality that led to the rumor that the building is haunted.

To make reservations, call [phone]. To reach the lighthouse, go to Gaffey Street in San Pedro and follow it toward the ocean. Turn right on 25th Street (which becomes Palos Verdes Drive South) and travel about 7 miles.

East Brother Island:

The perfect getaway for lovers. This well-preserved, Victorian-style lighthouse sits on a stamp-size island in San Pablo Strait, near Richmond, where it doubles as a bed-and-breakfast inn. The view of San Francisco Bay is spectacular. And the rooms are adorned with antiques, giving visitors a sense of traveling back in time.

The inn charges $295 per couple for a single night's accommodation. The fee covers round-trip boat transportation from Point San Pablo Yacht Harbor, a five-course dinner, champagne, a guided tour of the grounds and breakfast. Typically, you need to make weekend reservations several months in advance. To do so, call [phone].

A new electric foghorn has been installed. It produces a low beep that reportedly won't disturb your sleep. You may, however, have your view of the bay ruined by fog, a frequent visitor.

Pigeon Point:

Home of one of the tallest and prettiest lighthouses in America. The 124-year-old tower rises like a spike 115 feet above a broad, low-lying cliff just off Highway 1, at the southern tip of Pescadero.

The lighthouse is flanked by four dwellings that provide some of the most inexpensive seaside lodging anywhere. Members of Hosteling International can stay overnight for $11. Nonmembers pay $14. There's an outdoor hot tub. And the point is a prime viewing spot during the annual gray-whale migration.

Reservations are required May through September. Call [phone].

Point Sur:

There may be no better place in California to witness the raw power of the sea than from the Point Sur Lighthouse, a squat stone edifice that sits 272 feet above the ocean, on a gumdrop island 19 miles south of Carmel.

On a clear day, you can watch massive ocean swells roll several miles across the continental shelf and explode against the island and the sandy elbow of beach that connects it to the mainland.

The island often disappears behind a curtain of fog, which is the main reason a lighthouse was built there.E State park guides lead tours out to the lighthouse two or three days a week, sometimes at sunset or during a full moon. Call [phone] for details.

Lighthouse information on the World Wide Web: California Lights:

http://www.lib.utk.edu/lights/calif.html

U.S. Lighthouse Society:

http://www.maine.com/lights/uslhs.htm

Lighthouse News:

http://www.biddeford.com/lhdigest

Outer Banks Lighthouses:

http://pages.prodigy.com/gallery/

Lighthouse Preservation:

http://www.maine.com/lights/lps.htm

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Box: Lighthouse information on the World Wide Web (see text)