We had not originally set out to do this but favorable circumstances presented themselves to us recently so we were able to see more islands this past weekend.
Our friend Mike, who travels year-round on his catamaran sailboat, is in Maine this month and offered to take us out on Casco Bay for a couple of days of cruising.
It was glorious!
Our first stop on the trip was Jewell Island. We chose this island because several friends (including our host) said it was an interesting place to explore. Since we don't own a boat and therefore couldn't get there normally, we looked forward to visiting.
Since the girls can't resist logbooks, when we found a log book hanging from a tree on the bay side of the island where we tied up the dingy, G. stopped to sign it. We set out on the nearby trail that headed in the direction of the towers (there are two) on the southwest side of the island. It was a nice surprise to run in to one of the island's caretakers on that trail (he and another caretaker work for the Maine Island Trail Association and live on a north side campsite from Memorial Day to Labor Day). He gave us a map and chatted for a few minutes about the interesting features around the island.
We found the taller of the two towers first after a short walk through the woods.
The observation towers were built during World War II because the military believed Portland Harbor needed better fortification. According to the map brochure, "Although Casco Bay was never threatened during the War, a German U-Boat was sighted between Jewell and Cape Small in June, 1942."
An interesting history lesson for us as well as the girls.
We climbed to the top of each tower and were treated to some fabulous views of Casco Bay and the ocean. We spotted Halfway Rock lighthouse in the distance and tried to identify the various islands around us, which is much easier said than done. L. was less interested in naming the islands and wanted me to take some 'action' shots of her at the top of the tower (we have quite a growing collection of these type of photos).
The remains of a bunker and some other buildings that housed the troops that lived on the island during WWII (about 400 we learned) made for some fun exploring. Our forward-thinking friend Mike (who had been to the island previously) had thought to bring along a flashlight so we could fully explore all the rooms inside.
The kids loved it.
We decided to hike to the other end of the island to visit the Punchbowl where the anti-motor torpedo boat battery was located. It was high tide so the small cove didn't look like much of a bowl (we're told at low tide it looks separate from the ocean) but the kids found one of the old gun blocks and enjoyed looking for shells and exploring the rocks in the area.
Jewell was a great place to explore that does not have many visitors because you have to have a boat to get there. Overnight camping is permitted and we saw several people setting up their sites around the island.
And although the island was actually named after it's first inhabitant, George Jewell, it really is a gem in Casco Bay.
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