There and Back Again

Well, we're back from Delaware. The weather was nice during the day, and breazy and cool at night. Pretty perfect Beach weather.

One of the most interesting features of the beaches in Delaware are the 12 concrete observation towers dotting the Delaware coast built during World War II... And still stand to this day. In fact, with the onset of WWII, the U.S. Army established a Military Base at Cape Henlopen (one of Delaware's many Beach Parks) in 1941. You can still find concrete bunkers buried in the dunes around the Park. They are always locked, and often fenced off. There were even gun emplacements camouflaged amongst the scrub brush and dunes. Pretty cool.

The Towers were used by the military to spot and triangulate German Uboats trying to sneak up the coastline. There is even a story about a few German soldiers being arrested at a movie theatre in Rehobeth, having snuck out of their boats to get a taste of sweet American freedom and glamour. The state park at Cape Henlopen has taken the time to fix up one of those observation towers. You can go inside and climb the metal spiral staircase to the top, which offers an impressive panoramic view of The whole Cape.