After visiting the Penobscot Narrows bridge observatory, we turned our attention to Maine’s largest historic fort which is literally right next door.
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Fort Knox, named after General Henry Knox, America’s first Secretary of War and Commander of Artillery in the Revolution. He spent his final years just down the road in Thomaston. And yes, that other Fort Knox in Kentucky is named after him as well.
The first thing we saw upon entering the Fort’s grounds?
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Proof!
I’m guessing this was a Halloween decoration as they host a big event here for the holiday. Or rather, I’m hoping.
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The Fort sits on a peninsula jutting out into the Penobscot River and was deemed the perfect defensive spot in 1844. Almost a million dollars was spent on its construction, but it took Congress 25 years to allot those funds and as with most government run projects, it was never actually completed.
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But no matter, it’s still an impressive place.
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More Halloween decorations, which to be honest annoyed the photographer in me.
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Yeah, Stephen King rules. We get it.
A diagram of the fort.
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The minute you enter through the sally port you’re struck by how well designed this was.
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The granite was local and expertly fitted.
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Inside? It’s all about the canons.
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Small cannons.
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And Big Bertha ass cannons.
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You know every single child ignores that sign.
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Room after room of cannons. Two floors and four batteries contain mounts for 135 of those babies but only 74 were ever brought to the site. Not as many as it could hold, but that still requires a lot of balls. In more ways than one.
Do you have a bucket list for your own state? Mine is long and varied because somehow we never find the time to see the wonderful things in our own backyard… or in this case, the yard two hours away.
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But last week I checked this off. The tallest bridge observatory in the world.. which just happens to have Maine’s fastest elevator. Good thing too, my knee would never survive a staircase 420 feet up.
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The construction of this cable stayed bridge was big news in these parts and people anxiously looked forward to its completion. Started in 2004, completed and opened Dec. 30, 2006. And yes, we’re more than a little late to the party.
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I’m not sure the pictures do it justice, but trust me it’s quite something.
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Was my bad knee happy there were a few flights of stairs after we got off the elevator? No….
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But I sucked it up and climbed.
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And the 360 degree view was worth it.
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Sam Champlain was here.
Suck on that Kilroy.
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I’m including a video that has an annoying reflection of me throughout. Try to ignore that and enjoy the view…
I don’t know if you remember, but last year I posted about a giant rubber duck that appeared out of nowhere in the harbor of a Maine town. No one knew where it came from or who deployed it… but everyone loved it and reported sightings with gleeful enthusiasm.
Now?
It’s back…. and yeah. Bigger and better than ever. 
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Last year it said “Joy”, this year it’s “ Greater Joy”.
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A random floating giant rubber duck is a beautiful thing.
On a beautiful fall day in Maine, we drove up the coast to Stonington.
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A picturesque village… quaint and quite pretty.
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With the feeling you’ve stepped back in time.
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Stonington is a fishing town and known for being the largest lobster port in the state, if not the world.
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Last year they hauled in $43.26 million dollars worth of the glorious crustacean.
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And though I can’t eat it anymore… cue the random sobbing noises… I was still hungry after the two and a half trip.
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Enter the Harbor Cafe, one of only two restaurants in town.
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It sits right across the street from the harbor and at first glance seemed like a good choice.
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There were cocktails and my Pimms cup was delightful.
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The clam chowder was thinner than I like, but had a wonderful flavor as well as being loaded with clams.
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$23 seemed a bit steep for my crab roll but it was delicious, not the overly dressed crap that passes for crabmeat elsewhere. Husband was less than thrilled with his fried haddock as it was extremely thin and arrived in a plastic basket. Want to piss off my spouse? Charge him a high price and serve him a meal without a plate. The mashed potatoes that accompanied the fish were truly inedible. Real, but so over whipped as to be nearly liquid with an overpowering taste of margarine. Epic fail for what turned out to be a $102 bill with tip.
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But back to Stonington. Tourism has tried but thankfully failed to change the flavor of the town.
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And so we explored….
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Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.
River's world..... 