Georges Island Adventure

As I mentioned in last week’s post, the Lady of the Greenway gave me a ferry ticket to Georges Island in Boston Harbor. First order of business was to find the ferry. How hard could it be? I walked down to the wharf only to find a maze of docks, eight different ferry boats docked, long lines of people waiting to get on. I tried to ask for directions but people just looked around looking for another human and never looked down to me. Not finding the source of the voice asking for directions, they went along their merry way. I changed tactics and looked for some fellow critters to ask for directions.

I found this goose. I politely asked for directions but he demanded a five dollar fee. A modern day pirate! I wonder where he keeps his peg leg?

This place looked a bit friendlier. The Waterboat Duck House is a B&B for waterfowl. They kindly gave me directions, apparently I needed to go to the next wharf. They warned me to beware of the Godzilla. The what? They said you will know when you see it.

Walking at a brisk pace along the dock, I heard this vroom, vroom behind me. I ignored it but it kept getting closer and closer. I finally turned and was face to face with the Godzilla. The thing was about ready to eat me for a snack. I ran for my life.

I stopped to catch my breath. I carefully looked around to see if I had been followed. I was relieved to find I was safe. I noticed a fascinating contrast between the “haves” and the “have nots”.

This owner clearly has a love of the sea but not the cash even for a bit of paint.

Definitely a fixer-upper.

This owner has dump truck loads of cash. I would probably have to win the lottery three times in a row just to pay for this yacht called the “Gallant Lady.” I wonder if I could sneak aboard?

I heard that apartment rents in the city are steep. This creative person has a small house boat  called “Birch Marina” complete with A/C, one window and WIFI.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally found the ferry and got on just in the nick of time. They had already raised the gang plank, so they lowered a rope down to the dock and I climbed aboard.

We got underway and this old fashion schooner challenged us to a race to the buoy by the airport.

As we cruised along this Jetblue plane came diving upon us like a hawk after a chipmunk. I instinctively ducked for cover. I peeked out and saw the other passengers didn’t seem concerned. The plane glided overhead and landed on the runway.

The harbor was a busy place. Boats were constantly coming and going. This barge and crane were dredging the channel.

After a 45 minute trip, we approached Georges Island. The island is along the main channel into the harbor and therefore a strategic location for a fort. Between 1833 and 1851, the U.S. Congress appropriated money for the construction of a gigantic stone fort. When the Civil War broke out in 1860, someone finally realized they had forgotten to budget for the cannons. Just a minor oversight. Since the fort was on an island, some bureaucrat decided it would make the perfect prison. For the duration of the Civil War, it was a prisoner of war prison. Lucky for Boston, the confederacy never attacked the harbor.

With the exception of the main entrance into the fort, the openings into the fort were these narrow seven inch wide gun ports. The human architects reasoned that the slots were too narrow for a person to get through. However, an invading critter army of chipmunks, squirrels, raccoons, etc could have easily captured this place. I think that would be a great idea for a Hollywood film.

I was just kidding about an invading critter army but the military brass apparently took the threat seriously. They started but never finished installing shutters over the gun ports.

First place in the fort I wanted to check out was the bakery. Imagine baking loaves of bread for hundreds and hundreds of people everyday? That would require a lot of sunflower seed flour. The bakery looked like an industrial factory.

I knew my young nephews would want some photos of cannons. I climbed to the ramparts to look for them. I found mounts for them but no cannons.

I looked around the parade ground and couldn’t find any there.

I ran into the caretaker for the fort, a banded grove snail. It takes her a entire year to circumnavigate the fort checking on everything. What dedication. She told me there were only two cannons left in the fort and where to find them.

Success at last!