NEW YORK, CATSKILLS MOUNTAINS

WEST POINT, NEW YORK

A day trip to West Point, New York. The drive was on a two lane road that ranged from 5 miles to 45 miles. Curves, zigzag and even a 5 mile u turn. The drive was awesome. You can see the Catskill Mountains across the Rondout Valley.

Arriving at West Point an hour later was well worth it. To get inside you had to go through a gate with gold statues on either side of the guard. It was established in 1803 and had a total the first year of four students with five teachers employed.

You went around the sport center where they play football, soccer. Big signs GO ARMY.... Their record is not the best. (Something like the Cowboys).

As you go around the bend you see this beautiful Gothic architecture of
the Twentieth Century. It sits as a silent sentinel watching over the Corps of Cadets. The chapel was completed in 1910 using granite quarried at West Point.
The stain glass windows were gifts from the Graduates. There are 192
windows along each side of the chapel. The first window cost $300.00. The Willet Stained Glass Co of Philadelphia charges the same price for each class window from 1910 to 1976.

The Flags are Battle Flags. They represent Nation colors. The battle-honored Army regiments from 1812. Mexican, Civil, and Spanish-American wars of the 19 th Century.

The grounds show the barracks of the Cadets. There are 7 and the center one is the George Washington barracks. All are named after famous Generals.

The view of the Hudson River is just a couple blocks away.

We only had 15 minuets to go to the museum so all we could do was just walk in an look around the bottom floor. They closed early as they are still doing renovations.

I took this picture as the guide was saying no pictures can be taken in this area. This is the Hotel where the American hostages that were held in Iran in 1981 for over 400 days, were released from Iran and were sent to The Thoer for debriefing.

In front of the Hudson River is a statue of a guardian Angel watching over the area protecting the cadets from harm.

Tomorrow we are going to see FDR 's home and then Federick Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, New York.