Guarding the coast

I thought I'd vary my posts about the natural wonders of Maine this time and relate some interesting military history. Take a look at the state's geographical position, stuck 'way out into the Atlantic, and you can understand why some of its headlands make ideal guardposts if danger to the US is feared from points east.

The photo above was taken at Two Lights State Park (this is where we went to see the high surf that Hurricane Henri was displaying for us). In addition to its lighthouse (a single one now) it has a military history that explains the fortifications still visible to the curious tourist.  The intriguing passageway you see above is not open for exploration, but the battery still offers some opportunities for play by active grandchildren. Here is a demonstration of its "bunk beds":

This Wikipedia article notes that the entire park area was a military reservation during World War II. And although it was never armed with the large guns for which it was designed, there was German submarine activity in the area. Yikes!

A more extensive and accessible set of military structures is on offer at Fort Williams Park, specifically Battery Keyes. This installation is also a lot older, as you can learn from these links. The Fort was originally built in the 1870's, and this battery in 1906. It was manned during both World Wars, and was the headquarters of Portland's coastal defense during WWII. Since there was a lot of crucial shipbuilding going on in the area, it would have been a tempting target.

The most fun feature of the site, as far as our young companions was concerned, was the tunnel you can see the younger ones in our group sampling on the left. It's actually open all the way to the back where it makes two 90° turns before letting you out on the other side of the building. Such fun! Here is older Adorable Granddaughter (who's pretty adventurous) at the exit...after she convinced Gramma to join her for the whole length of the tunnel. It was...an experience!

Here are some more looks at the interesting structures at Battery Keyes...

one of the main rooms, open on the fourth side

I assume this is where one of the big guns was situated

the bunker

Here's the other side of the bunker, with attentive moms checking out the goings on inside...

...which was this kind of fun...

There is a nice beach, too, adjacent to all this stonework (at least it's nice when the tide is reasonably out). This makes the area a wonderful place for kids...

You can probably see on the far left of this photo a large pile of rocks just begging to be climbed by the granddaughter who was obviously a mountain goat in a previous life. Here she is at the top:

Isn't it great that these once rather imposing and threatening (at least to our enemies) structures are now just a great playground?