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| I got up early before everyone and went out exploring |
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| When I got back, Helen and Derek were up, but not Adam |
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| We all walked to the waterfront - the boys are always looking for turtles, fish, frogs, etc |
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| Adam chats with, Dick, our campus tour guide |
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| The halls of Halsey Field House are lined with pictures of former All America athletes |
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| There were a lot of school tours on campus and around Annapolis |
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| Officer Housing |
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| We had hoped to see the cadets gather for the noon meal formation, but school was out for the summer |
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| Inside the chapel |
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| The boys especially liked these "bone models" made by French prisoners of war from the bones of their meal scraps |
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| The academy's growth is limited by the town of Annapolis, so land is gained by back filling into the harbor |
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| Adam with his toy from the gift shop |
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| Helen thought the crab cake was the best she's ever had - mostly meat with little filler |
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| Setting up camp in the dark while being assaulted by swarms of gnats |
Friday June 3, 2011
The Hotel Monaco in Alexandria, Virginia was nicer than the hotels where we usually stay. In fact, it felt very romantic except for the fact there were kids with us.
I woke up early before everyone else and went out exploring. I walked towards the waterfront and along all the old streets. It was a beautiful morning with a bit of a chill in the air. It felt great.
When I got back to the room, Helen had finished showering and she was trying to get Adam up to shower. She was trying to hurry because she really wanted to see the cute town before we headed out. Derek felt much better after a good night sleep and no longer felt nauseous.
We were able to walk around Alexandria some. We walked down near the water reading signs and looking at all the cute shops. Helen thought it was all just so romantic. We grabbed some breakfast sandwiches from Subway and went to get our van. We had parked it in the parking deck a couple block from the hotel rather than pay the hotel valet fee.
We left Alexandria and headed about an hour east to Annapolis, Maryland and the Naval Academy. My sister in law, Laine, gave me a Magellan GPS unit for Christmas and it really came in handy. I guess we used to manage without it, but it really helped especially when you're looking for an exact location or trying to get out of a city. I just plugged in the next destination and the GPS got us out of town and on our way. Another bonus is that the GPS has AAA information built in with attraction, hotel, and restaurant ratings and descriptions, which we used often.
I joined AAA before last year's road trip, but didn't really take advantage of it other than getting discounts at Hampton Inn. This year I ordered maps, tour books, and camping guides for all the areas we visited...and it was all free with the basic membership.
By now we had pretty much settled on Helen doing the driving with me in the co-pilot seat doing the navigation and trip planning. Helen met a woman doing laundry in one of the hotels during our trip and the woman said that she and her husband were doing the same. She said they fought a lot less when she drove and he navigated.
We had read how it was neat to be at the Naval Academy at noon when the cadets gather in formation for lunch in front of Bancroft Hall. Once again we reached the general area pretty easily, but had some trouble locating parking before finally finding the parking deck several blocks away in downtown Annapolis.
We went to the visitor center and signed up for the 11:30 tour, but were out of luck as far as the lunch gathering because school was out for summer break.
It was a beautiful day for the tour with a breeze coming in off the water. Our tour guide, Dick, was an older retired gentleman and former cadet. He liked to ask Adam and Derek questions during the course of his tour.
We learned that the size of the Naval Academy campus is very small compared to the other service academies and that the land where they have expanded was gained by back filling into the bay since the city of Annapolis limits how much they can grow inland. We learned how selective the Academy is and how rigorous the coursework is. We also learned that physical fitness and organized sports are required. Derek seemed interested but didn't think he could fulfill the varsity sport requirement.
Dick took us to a model dorm room in Bancroft Hall and told us how the cadets live and the importance of the honor code. He said that if a cadet was to be expelled for something like cheating on coursework or having a member of the opposite sex in their dorm room then the cadet would be responsible for paying the government back for the pro-rated amount of the $350,000 cost of the education.
Dick finished the tour at the Chapel and then we went down to see the crypt of John Paul Jones, the father of the US Navy. We walked over to the museum where they have an unbelievable collection of model ships. The boys especially liked the elaborate ships carved by French prisoners from bones left over from their meals. There's also a shop where ships are repaired and built and a whole floor that impressively takes you through the evolution of the US Navy. Adam kept stopping us to watch the interactive computer simulations that showed ships fighting. Good guys vs bad guys - he can't get enough.
After the museum, we walked around the campus along the sea wall and saw plenty of cadets on the athletic fields staying fit. We finished back at the visitor center by watching a short movie about becoming a cadet.
We walked back to downtown Annapolis and had lunch at Chick and Ruth's Delly. It's a
RoadFood and
Frommers recommendation. It was a great place with lots of character and great food. We had 2 big shakes and walked out of there stuffed. It was one of our favorite dining experiences on our trip.
After lunch we walked around Annapolis some more before heading back to our van. We really liked Annapolis and the Naval Academy and had a great day there.
I had intended to leave Annapolis by lunch time and head southeast about an hour to
Ocean City, Maryland, but we went way over in Annapolis. I still hoped we could get to the beach towns along
Fenwick Island like Bethany Beach, but it was obvious it was too late. We were in cute little town of
Easton, Maryland (it got Helen's cute town stamp of approval) before deciding to just head for our next destination. There's just so much to see and so little time.
I had reserved a campsite at Cape Henlopen State Park on the Delaware Coast and that's where we headed. It was late and we were tired and wishing we had a hotel room instead, but it seems that's always going to be the case so sometimes we just have to put a stake in the ground and say we're going to camp. I wish we had gotten in earlier so the boys could ride their bikes and fish. We set up the tent in the dark with bugs swarming us the whole time. Aah, the great outdoors.
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