You can practically see Whidbey Island from Seattle. It’s the second longest island in the continental US, but despite being so close, it’s awfully far away… but it’s home to Fort Casey, so that makes it totally worth the visit.
Fort Casey was built in the late 1800s as a port defense. It never saw battle and was obsolete by 1910, but that didn’t stop them from keeping it 100% operational until 1935… gotta love that government spending.
Max standing by the lighthouse, wholly unaware of why he’s been told to smile.But for young boys, this is a military dream come true. You can touch the actual guns, wander about the place where the munitions were stored, and live out your dream of being an army guy to your heart’s content. It’s really quite awesome.
The best part about it is it isn’t kept up by the feds, but by a corps of volunteers in cooperation with the state and local government. So you get all these benefits without even having to pay an extra cent on your federal tax returns.
The park is free, but you do have to have a Discover Pass ($30/year for all state parks in Washington) or pay a $10 day-use fee in lieu of it. Pretty darn reasonable.
Our video review is here, with our site visit images listed below
And here are our images from the big day…
Max standing by the lighthouse, wholly unaware of why he’s been told to smile.Just a couple of brothers having an amazing weekend, happy enough to hug despite their differences.An artistic picture dad insisted on shooting in the bowels of the gun emplacements. Gotta say, doesn’t look half bad.Exploring the darkest corners of the underground parts of Fort Casey.To the south edge of Fort Casey, you can see the ferry come in. Pretty cool bonus, really.There are all kinds of gun-type features in the park to help you feel like you’re a real army guy deep in the throes of defending our great nation.Look at the size of this cannon! Apparently they used this to deter potential invading armies to not even bother with this well defended port.
This Brendan just hanging out in a tree. He looks pretty chill, but only because he is. It was a pretty good day.Just down the walkway from the lighthouse was an overlook to the sound, where we took in the vistas a’ plenty.Not sure what Dominic is doing here, other than being awesome.This is the view from the top of the historic lighthouse. Be ready to climb some serious (near-ladder-type) stairs to get there, because it’s not for everyone.This is max hiding in a cuddly little cubby where he might be safe from the next invasion.
OMG I’ve actually been there! I remember it being fun, but your mega pictures really remind me of it. Can practically smell the seawater.
I used to go there as a kid, maybe 3-4 times. I just loved it. It always made me feel like a true warrior.