We left Ft. Belvoir and headed north for our next campsite: the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States: West Point.
We made a stop for breakfast in Frederick, MD to see our friends Jill and Tom Renkey. I’ve known Jill for a few years now. We worked together in support of a senior executive in the Department of Education. I wrote speeches and Jill masterfully edited them. These days, Jill and I are writers & friends – we bounce ideas off each other and laugh at the insanity of the literary world.
Ziggy just had to give Tom a kiss!
After a delicious breakfast and wonderful conversation, we headed north into Pennsylvania.
We needed to make a very important stop in Scranton, PA: Wegman’s!
OMG! It’s Wegman’s! Ziggy was so happy!
Butt, not as happy as Jay!
Jay jumped for joy! We spent a few hours getting our Wegman’s fix. Our top priority: the Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Cake! Boy, do we miss Wegman’s. There is nothing that compares to Wegman’s in Arizona.
Before we knew it, we were in New York. The Great State of New York opened her arms and enveloped us in a big, hot hug of steamy weather.
We spotted a sign for our Fam-camp and turned in. Little did we know the road into the campground would be extremely narrow and steep. Our driver took it very slow and made sure to lift Tink’s butt, so she didn’t scrape her delicate bottom.
I’m so glad we didn’t have a confrontation with another RV going the opposite direction.We got Tink tucked in to her beautiful, heavily wooded site. It was so peaceful. I don’t know whose house this is, butt it looks perfect!
Following the advice of locals, we hopped into Leap the Jeep and drove a few miles from the campground along a curvy road overlooking the Hudson River.
Unlike most places where graffiti is vulgar, the graffiti near West Point is inspirational. This one reads, “Learn to Rest, not Quit!” with hearts surrounding the words. Imagine if all graffiti was this uplifting!And how uplifting is this handsome man’s smile?!
We spent some time touring the Hudson and then returned back to our wooded slice of heaven.
We all enjoyed some quiet time relaxing under the shade of the trees.
Jay and I hopped into Leap again and headed to the Academy at West Point. I had never been to West Point. Jay had been there when he was stationed at Ft. Myer and drove a bus load of boy scouts to visit West Point.
West Point is steeped in history. The buildings span from gothic to modern in architecture. The Academy was formed in 1802 under President Thomas Jefferson to train officers for the US Army. Prior to his Presidency, Jefferson was against the concept of a professional army and officer class because he feared the Army would threaten the fragile liberty of the young country’s citizens. As the United States grew and Jefferson became President, his opinions about the need for a national defense evolved and West Point became the Military Academy.The sleek, modern, angled Visitor’s Center was a stark contrast to the older stone buildings surrounding it. West Point sits on the west bank of the Hudson River. Prior to becoming the Academy, West Point was recognized as a strategic location during the Revolutionary War. In 1778, General George Washington built fortifications at West Point, and he moved his headquarters there the next year. The views from the Visitor’s Center were stupendous! The architecture made Jay drool. The history made me drool. I learned General Washington installed a 65-ton iron chain across the Hudson River to block any British invasions along the river, which was a major transportation waterway. West Point was never captured by the British, despite Benedict Arnold’s 1780 treasonous attempt to turn it over to the enemy.
The Visitor’s Center houses a museum that walked us through the history of West Point and through the 47 months of a cadet’s training.
West Point’s mission includes developing leaders of character. The rigorous training that cadets must pass requires them to meet high academic, military, and physical standards with honor.
First-year cadets are called Plebes. Our visit coincided with the second day of training for this year’s Plebes.
We saw a group of Plebes who were learning the cost of not knowing the West Point Book of Conduct. Each Plebe is expected to be able to hold the book at arm’s length (for a long period of time) and read it aloud. If they make a mistake or cannot answer a question correctly, the entire formation must drop and do pushups in the sweltering, humid heat of summer.The Chapel at West Point is an awe-inspiring, Gothic revival structure. It was completed in 1900 and features military and religious elements such as parapets, battlements (square holes in parapets to shoot through), castle towers and stained-glass windows.A 50-foot stained-glass window is the centerpiece of the Chapel.I doubt you’d find another place of worship with the words, “Duty. Honor. Country.” in the prominent Sanctuary Window.…or battle and country flags hanging in the SanctuaryJay was enamored with the “dress-right-dress” formation of the books in the pews.The view from the Chapel was amazing. The Chapel “looks over” the Cadets: the buildings to the right are the Cadets’ dormitories. Apparently, another Cadet failed the Book of Conduct test. This time, the Plebes got to build their quadricep and glute muscles with long squat holds.
We returned to our campsite and told the boys about our adventures at West Point.
Just hearing about all that muscle work made Ziggy tired.We enjoyed a quiet sunset at our campground.And then night fell, and all was well in the Land of Tinkerbell.
We got up early the next morning to leave The Great State of New York and head northeast to Boston.
A narrow suspension bridge dared us to cross the Hudson. We started to wonder if New York wanted us to stay. Our driver welcomed – and met – the challenge!And then, New York threw us another curve ball: twisty, tight, cliff-side roads on the banks of the Hudson River. It seemed The Great State of New York was begging us to turn around and stay a little longer!Ziggy loved the up-close scent-ery! provided by the narrow roads.Austin buried himself in blankets and pillows on the bed in the back of the bus while we navigated the tight, twisty roads. Frankie (you can see him in the upper right corner) calmly slept through the entire drive.
And, finally, in her desperate bid to get us to turn around and stay, The Great State of New York launched the mother-of-all challenges: a bridge with an overpass clearance of only 11 feet and 1 inch.
If you look carefully at the photo, to the right is the little, white, innocent-looking sign that says the clearance of the overpass is 11′ 1″.
Tinkerbell is 13-feet tall. We like Tinkerbell at her current height and don’t want to give her a haircut.
We’d seen pictures of bus and truck drivers who had tried to squeeze their tall rigs under short overpasses.
RV drivers aren’t the only ones who don’t know the height of their rigs and loads. Overpasses are dangerous if they’re not properly marked with exact height clearances. They’re also dangerous when drivers decide to take their chances “sneaking under” an overpass rather than turning around.
The Great State of New York had thrown down the gauntlet.
With the 11; overpass in view, The Great State of New York waved her straw broom threateningly at Tinkerbell, and laughed with an evil cackle, “I dare you, my pretty … and your little dogs too!”
Without ruby red slippers to transport us safely to a yellow brick road, we conceded defeat.
We pulled as much off the roadway as possible so the line of cars behind us could pass. We began the process of unhooking Leap since Tinkerbell can’t back up with a tow vehicle attached.
Suddenly, a knight in shining armor, with flashing red and blue lights, came up from behind.
The policeman stepped out of his vehicle shaking his head and smiling. “I don’t know why they don’t change that sign to be clearer,” he said to Jay. “This happens ALL the time.”
We got the impression that the local police keep a car stationed near the bridge just for this purpose. In fact, I bet the police draw straws to see who gets bridge duty every morning.
This was one traffic stop Jay welcomed!
The overpass (like many curved overpasses) is 11′ 1″ on either side butt the part of the bridge that covers the actual lanes of traffic is higher than 13′, which meant Tinkerbell could shimmy her way (in the middle of the road) under the overpass without a problem.
“Ha! Take that New York!” laughed Tinkerbell triumphantly as she wiggled her back end out of The Great State of New York!
Coming Up: Boston Bound!
Don’t Be Shy! (Unless You’re at a Coldplay Concert)
If you enjoyed our blog, please let us know and leave a comment 🙂
Just getting the hang of seeing all your cool blogs. West point and the Chapel was like something you would see in England. I have a lot of catching up on your fantastic travels. Wow, the overpass would be a scary event. I wondered if something like that has happened to you in the past. Glad you got through and the policeman helped you out. Great stories 💖💙Miss you, Mary
Thank you Jill! I’m so happy you’re enjoying the blog :)! It was great to see you again and to meet Tom. Can’t wait to see you all in Tucson when it’s cold and dreary in Maryland 😉 We’d love to share some of our favorite places with you all!
So great to see you guys! And I didn’t realize West Point and the area around it were so pretty. I am learning things from your blog, in addition to being entertained! Keep it up, Linda!
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