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The following day after breakfasting on Fidalgo Island, we headed for Deception Pass. Not only was the state park free, but it was an unusually calm day with barely a wave on the open sea. Plenty of folks were taking advantage of the fee-free day, so the main campground was filled. However, there were still sites available across the highway, convenient for their close proximity to the general store and firewood.
Day three of our adventure brought high winds and a last chilling gasp of winter. We headed south about 25 miles to Fort Casey, at one time a strategic defense. Built at the turn of the century, the Fort worked in conjunction with two other forts across the water in a "triangle of fire." It was a good plan in the days of static defenses, but shortly after its completion in 1901 the airplane was invented which rendered its batteries obsolete. The guns were removed during WWI, then brought back after Pearl Harbor when defending an invasion by sea - even with an obsolete fortress - was preferable to the alternative.
Today, the Fort looks like a relic of the cold war. Most of its guns are gone, and the ones that remain are there for show. A marine camping park, there's camping, hiking - three miles of the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail adorn it like a candy wrapper - and long beaches to comb. Void of conveniences like eateries and shopping (although there is a restaurant across from the ferry terminal just south of the park entrance), the historic town of Coupeville is only ten minutes away with plenty of amenities for a maiden voyage or repeat visit as well.
 
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