After taking in the views from the Penobscot Narrows Bridge Observatory, we spent a few hours exploring Fort Knox. 

In the 1800's, Maine was involved in a number of border disputes with Canada, and officials felt a fortification was needed to protect this section of the Penobscot River from the possibility of a British invasion. Officials were especially interested in protecting the city of Bangor, which was rich in lumber used for shipbuilding. 

Fort Knox was constructed from 1844-1869. By the time the construction was completed, the technology and building techniques were nearly obsolete. For example, there were two batteries (sections of the fort equipped with cannons) facing the river. Each battery had a hot shot furnace, which heated cannonballs to a temperature hot enough to catch ships on fire. By the time the fort was complete, ships were no longer made of wood; they were constructed with iron, rendering the hot shot cannons useless. 

Fort Knox never saw battle, and was purchased by the state of Maine and turned into a National Historic Landmark. 

The fort has been very well-maintained and was unexpectedly fun to explore. There were endless tunnels, doorways, and rooms. This underground pathway led to Battery B, where cannons would have defended the river. 

Many of the dark corridors required a flashlight! 

These doors were made of incredibly thick wood and were covered in strengthening rivets. The entire fort was made of granite, making it the first fort in Maine to be constructed of something other than wood. All the granite, brick, and other materials used for building had to be brought to the site by water, and a complicated process including pulley systems, belts, and oxen was used to distribute construction materials around the fort. 

People were dwarfed by the size of the fort; it was massive. 

Fort Knox was constructed with multiple layers. Each layer was designed to be another obstacle for an attacking enemy to have to move through. 

A Rodman Cannon with a placard beside it detailing firing instructions. This cannon would have taken 8 men to load and fire it. 

A recreation of one of the gunpowder storage rooms located in the fort's interior. 

When we were done at the fort, we were surprised to find this incredible beetle on our van's window. His antennae were as long as one of my fingers! 

Often, we Nomads avoid historical attractions that charge an entrance fee to help ourselves stay on budget. Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Observatory, though, were things we decided to pay to see. It cost $7/per person for both the Fort and the Observatory, which we felt was a great deal. We spent hours between the two things, and really enjoyed them. We wish more places were like this: reasonably priced to be accessible to everyone. Thank you, Fort Knox and Penobscot Observatory, for a great time! 

We spent a few days in Augusta, Maine, catching up on our to-do lists and delving into the area's history, appropriate for the 4th of July week. 

Old Fort Western served as a sort of home base for our time in Augusta, with its location right next to the grocery store and its picnic tables out front. It was neat to eat most of our meals at the historic Fort. 

The Fort, built in 1794, is incredibly well-preserved. 

We had the pleasure of chatting with Dick Freeman, who is affiliated with the Fort and was a trove of information about the history of the city and its buildings. Dick's passion for preservation and history were evident and highly admirable. 

Dick provided us with information about many other structures along with Old Fort Western. Dick's great-grandfather designed this gorgeous Gothic style church years ago. 

We loved the way the red door contrasted with the blue sky and green grass. 

When talking about preservation with Dick, he said "Maine has just been too poor to tear its old structures down." While a poor city may be less than ideal, in this case it has worked out for the best, keeping dozens of buildings, like this one, safe from demolition over the years. You can now rent office space in this old Federal building! 

Augusta's location on the Kennebec River made it ideal for transportation of goods and people and contributed to its bustling economy, which included a booming publishing industry. After a fire destroyed much of the city's downtown in the 1800's, many buildings were rebuilt using hardier materials like granite, leaving many of the buildings you still see along the waterfront today. 

Our other home base during our time in Augusta was the Lithgow Public Library, which just so happens to be on the National Register of Historic Places. Its doors opened to the community in 1894. Its granite block construction is still in excellent shape today. It is amazing to think that this building has always been a library; before reading the history, we assumed it had previously been some sort of important state building. 

The library has two grand fireplaces, facing each other on the East and West Walls. One is located in this incredible reading room, which remains much the same as when the library first opened. It is considered one of the most beautiful interior spaces in Maine. We had the privilege of reading, blogging, and relaxing in the reading room for several long afternoons. 

The second fireplace. 

The bookshelves were gorgeous, as well. 

We really enjoyed spending time in Augusta, where a piece of history was around every corner. 

We decided to go to Baltimore yesterday since we were so close by. Neither of us was sure what to expect---we realized we had poor expectations of the city just because of sports teams rivalries. However, we were pleasantly surprised. I think that's one of the exciting parts of traveling like this...we can break through our pre-conceived notions of places and actually get a feel for cities like Baltimore that we never would have thought of to visit before. 

One thing we immediately noticed about Baltimore was the highest parking rates I have ever seen in my life. One lot advertised "1/2 Hour for $5!" At many lots near the harbor, the going rate was $15 to $25 for 2-3 hours. That's our entire daily budget! So, we set off on a quest to find much cheaper or free parking. We got incredibly lucky in Little Italy. We managed to find a 3 hour parking spot along the street for...free! And it was only a few blocks walk away from the Inner Harbor. It pays to shop around. 

We found doors that make me, the short little Italian, look tall! 

This plaza near the water had some neat shops, buildings, and statues. Looking at all the tall buildings in Baltimore, we realized something fundamentally different about DC. There are no tall buildings in the downtown DC area. We speculate that no buildings are allowed to be taller than the Capital building, which makes sense. Instead, DC buildings sprawl out, turning into long rectangles that go on for blocks, or massive multi-building complexes. Though I still much prefer the countryside to the city, I've realized I like DC as a city because of its uniqueness: its lack of tall buildings, its abundance of green space, and its bustling atmosphere. Compared with DC, Baltimore seemed muffled and subdued. There were far fewer people out walking, jogging, eating, and utilizing public spaces. That's a stark contrast with DC, where the whole city seems to live their lives outside, bustling about, picnicking on the grass, having a bottle of wine under the cherry blooms, and biking and running down every street. DC had a very energetic atmosphere, especially compared to Baltimore, which seemed to be sleeping during our visit. 

Crazy Barnes and Noble with smokestacks. 

This ship is billed "the last survivor of Pearl Harbor." 

This is Seven Foot Knoll Lighthouse, which used to sit in only seven feet of water at the mouth of the Patapsco River in the Chesapeake Bay. (Fun fact: the average depth of the Bay is only 20 feet!) It is the oldest surviving screw-pile lighthouse, referring to the construction of the base. The screw-pile design eliminated the need for underwater masonry foundations and allowed the lighthouses to be suspended above the water by a system of cast-iron pilings with corkscrew-like bases, which could be turned into the soft mud of the sea floor. The lighthouse was built only 9 feet above mean high water level! 

View from the lighthouse's deck. 

Thanks Bob for all the great information during our visit! We really enjoyed the lighthouse. Best of luck to you...maybe we'll see you on the Appalachian Trail someday. 

Baltimore's Inner Harbor was really lovely. 

These are our friends Gwen & Jack with baby Imogen who we're staying with in Maryland.  

Daddy and baby love. 

Today, we adventured to historic downtown Annapolis, where the US Naval Academy is located. The streets were rich with history. This house was from circa 1715!  

The harbor was lovely. It seems spring has finally arrived...it was almost 80 degrees today and everyone was out and about, wearing shorts and enjoying cold ice cream. 

Silly poses. 

We especially liked this split downtown street. 

Hello baby! 

A typical street lined with cute little houses. 

Happy shoulder rides. 

Tomorrow we're headed to DC to see the cherry blossoms and check out some monuments in the nation's capital! 

After driving for a while yesterday, we spent the night in Manassas, Virginia. When we got up this morning, I didn't follow the GPS directions correctly, but that ended up being a good thing. We happened upon the Manassas battlegrounds, the site of several major Civil War battles. It was early this morning and the air was crisp and perfect for a walk. There are over 10 miles of trails in the Manassas battleground park, so there was no shortage of places to walk. 

Dave wearing his 70's look. 

Stone house was once a tavern and later a Civil War hospital, constantly mentioned in letters of soldiers as a sort of oasis in the middle of a bloody war. 

Bizarrely, when we climbed up over the hill, we were greeted by a long group of soldiers, marching across the field. Apparently they were on a tour of the historical battlegrounds. 

Dave really loves these old Civil War-style fences, which we've been seeing lots of in more rural areas during our travels. 

A cannonball stuck in the side of Stone House! 

After our walk, we continued our drive, and made it to our friends' house this afternoon. There's nothing quite like the freedom of traveling...it is so liberating to be able to travel, set our own schedules, and have time for stops at things like historic battlegrounds. Life is great.