Battleship: Bangor

Occasionally, instead of doing a traditional geocache, I'll get a little bit of ambition and decide to do a multi-step geocache, or multi for short.  A multi requires the finder to go to several locations to collect clues that will lead you to the final cache, which will be in a traditional container.  Sometimes, each stage of the multi will have a container, other times you will be looking at a landmark or other object. 

Last week I started working on a multi that required you to answer true or false about questions on a 5x5 grid.  It was set up like a Battleship grid so I didn't necessarily have to find all 25 locations, just the places where you would get a "hit."  I ended up having to only visit 19 of the squares. 

What I enjoyed about this multi was that although you had to travel to several locations, they were all in a condensed area of Bangor.  I got to see areas that I wouldn't normally visit and learned some things about my city that I didn't already know. 

My first stop was one of Bangor's notable buildings-Thomas Hill Standpipe.  This historical fixture was built in 1897 in a mere six months' time.  People used to be able to go inside to visit but in 1940 a young boy fell between the stairwell and the tank and died of his injuries.  Now, the Standpipe is opened once a season.  Actually, tomorrow is the date of the summer sunset tour.  For more information, click here.  

Although school's not in session, I visited both Husson University and the University College of Bangor to see if I could get any hits on my Battleship board.  Stepping onto the Husson grounds brought back many memories.  I didn't go to college there but when I was a Junior in high school, I had an opportunity to attend Dirigo Girls State.  Girls State gave young women an opportunity to participate in and learn more about government.  To say this program wasn't for me is an understatement.  I dreaded every session and lecture that I attended.  I'm still glad I went though, because I did enjoy spending time with my friends and feeling cool for being on a college campus. 

Before breaking for lunch, I visited the Mt. Hope Cemetery which is the second oldest garden cemetery in America.  Famous mobster Al Brady was buried here after he was shot and killed by the FBI in 1937.  Brady was wanted for 200 robberies, several counts of assaults, and four counts of murder.  Giacomo's, a sandwich shop in Downtown Bangor, has a painting of the famous Public Enemy #1.  Maine's 25th governor and America's 15th Vice-President Hannibal Hamlin was also laid to rest here. 

I was very happy that my hunt for clues took me to Cascade Park.  The day was a hot one and I was able to walk past the fountain and let the mist cool my face.  Families were sitting in the shade sharing picnic lunches and others were strolling along the walking paths.  It's not uncommon to see a wedding taking place here in the summer.  The fountain, flora, and fauna make for a beautiful natural background for any occasion.  There actually used to be a regular geocache on one of the walking trails but it has been disabled for a few months now.  This was one of my favorite stops of the day.

Now that I've sunk the battleships, I can take my clues and go find the final cache.  I know the location and have tried looking for it once with no luck.  This heat isn't exactly encouraging and sweat in the eyes makes it difficult to look for anything.  On some cool evening this week, I'll make my way back out into the woods so I can finally put this multi to rest.