Our first adventure for Summer 2010 was awesome. We had such a great time exploring West Point.
We toured the United States Military Academy at West Point over the holiday weekend and were reminded of how lucky we are to have our freedom. First stop was the West Point visitor’s center and the museum, just off post. The museum houses an amazing display of small and large arms and also a lot of memorabilia from every war ever fought on Earth. We especially enjoyed seeing the ancient swords, pirate guns, medieval catapult, Norton Bombsight and cadet quarters.
Afterwards, we were able to go onto post since we have military IDs, and explore on our own, the beautiful campus that overlooks the Hudson River. We meandered our way through the campus and found a spot right next to Battle Monument to have our picnic lunch overlooking the Hudson River. The river was packed with people on speed boats, pontoon style boats and even luxury yachts.
We walked through the monuments, looked at hundreds of cannons from an array of different battles, walked through the Beat Navy tunnel, and also checked out the Cadet Chapel. The superintendent of the school lives in a mansion with a huge garden and five fireplaces…guess when you’re a three-star general you get the best house on post.
Before heading home we had to stop by the PX and look around for old times sake. It was nice being back on a military base, it brought back a sense of pride, and it felt a little like home while we were there. The school is beautiful this time of year and I bet it’s even prettier when the leaves change, but winters are very harsh.
West Point is really tucked in to this very heavily wooded area in the Catskills. So much so that they have frequent black bear sightings on post so you have to take down your bird feeders in the spring and spray your trash with ammonia. New York state is a wonderful place to explore.
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