{"id":3022,"date":"2014-12-14T05:00:18","date_gmt":"2014-12-14T13:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/?p=3022"},"modified":"2014-12-13T22:33:13","modified_gmt":"2014-12-14T06:33:13","slug":"fort-casey-protecting-our-west-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/war\/fort-casey-protecting-our-west-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Casey: Protecting Our West Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\"Fort<\/a><\/strong>The day after Thanksgiving, my daughter, sister, niece and nephew and I packed our bags, piled into a couple of cars, and headed north on Highway 99. We’d hoped to avoid the Black Friday shoppers, but even after the turnoff to the mall, the traffic was thick.<\/p>\n

Things didn’t calm down until finally we were on board the ferry to Whidbey Island (if you can call a stormy sea and a howling, freezing wind calm).<\/p>\n

Our destination: the Fort Casey Inn for a two-day vacation.<\/p>\n

\"Fort<\/a>

Fort Casey Inn<\/p><\/div>\n

The two-bedroom cottages at the inn were built before the First World War as non-commissioned officers\u2019 quarters. Each house contains two units, complete with huge kitchens and living rooms. In keeping with the historical theme, everything is decorated with patriotic memorabilia and antiques. So naturally, between board games and eating and (admittedly) a little shopping in Coupeville, we soaked up some history.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 Out of an Abundance of Caution\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

That now-common phrase wasn\u2019t popular in 1897 when the American government broke ground for Fort Casey. I suspect the planners would have considered the fort a necessity, not something they were building \u201cout of an abundance of caution.\u201d They would have been convinced that the west coast of the United States needed protection against potential naval attacks from \u2026 well, from enemies \u2026 known and unknown.<\/p>\n

\"Ft.<\/a>In its heyday, everything about Fort Casey was top of the line. It had ten batteries, six of which had impressive 10\u201d disappearing guns that could lob shells more than 10 miles. The fort was manned by a staff of ten officers and 428 men.<\/p>\n

\"Ft.<\/a>Nothing happened at Fort Casey for a few years. Then, in 1917, the US entered World War One. Still, the war was on the other side of the world. The only way the fort could contribute was by shipping some if its best guns over to Europe.<\/p>\n

A few decades later, with the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, war broke out in the Pacific. By then, though, Fort Casey (along with Fort Worden, Fort Flagler, and all the other forts up and down the coast) was obsolete.<\/p>\n

Fort Casey Historical State Park<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Ft.<\/a>Now the fort is owned by the Washington State Park Department. Picnic tables dot its grassy lawns. On sunny days, kids run up and down the batteries and test their courage in the dark passageways where munitions used to be kept.<\/p>\n

\"Ft.<\/a>Visitors look down the barrels of its big guns and walk up the hill to see the Admiralty Head Lighthouse. Campers reserve spots, and convention goers make use of the facilities.<\/p>\n

\"Admiralty<\/a>

Admiralty Head Lighthouse<\/p><\/div>\n

Neither Fort Casey nor any of the other West Coast forts ever fired their guns at an enemy. I suppose we\u2019ll never know if their presence served any purpose, whether they caused potential enemies to think twice before attacking. So what do you think? Did the forts keep us safe, or were they a waste of time and money, facilities built and manned \u201cout of an abundance of caution?\u201d<\/p>\n

What we do know is that the best vantage points for observing approaching enemies are among the most scenic spots along the coast and that those scenic locations are now open for the public to enjoy \u2026 as long as we buy a Discover Pass, of course.<\/p>\n

\"my<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0The day after Thanksgiving, my daughter, sister, niece and nephew and I packed our bags, piled into a couple of cars, and headed north on Highway 99. We’d hoped to avoid the Black Friday shoppers, but even after the turnoff to the mall, the traffic was thick. Things didn’t calm down until finally we were […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[155,253,87],"tags":[637,639,641,638,643,636,634,642,640,635],"class_list":["post-3022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family","category-travel","category-war","tag-out-of-an-abundance-of-caution","tag-10-disappearing-guns","tag-admiralty-head-lighthouse","tag-coastal-protection","tag-fort-casey-historical-state-park","tag-fort-casey-inn","tag-mukilteo-ferry","tag-the-guns-at-fort-casey-were-never-fired-at-an-enemy","tag-washington-state-park","tag-whidbey-island"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-MK","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11089,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/family\/end-of-summer-interlude-and-on-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":3022,"position":0},"title":"End of Summer Interlude and “On Children”","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"September 29, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"sunrise, Whidbey Island After high school, your children fly away to college. 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