road trip, day 4 -- military day

After breakfast we headed to West Point.  For this trip we had to be pre-screened.  The trip coordinator had to collect our names as they are on our drivers license, our state, and our DL number. But there was a lot of hassle the day before because of security. Then they didn't check it.

This was a guided walk.  We couldn't get on base without a guide since The Academy is a small part of West Point. A working military base fills the rest of the space. We even saw some visiting soldiers from Ghana. (Thank goodness for google. We looked up the flag. Their camo is dark brown and they wore red berets and spoke French.)

The first mile of the walk was up hill.

There are a lot of restricted roads including the one that goes thru campus. But since we had someone with us with active military credentials, we walked straight thru the middle. As classes were changing. And a fire engine was pulling in. Fun. Right?

We ate at the officers club. It was a buffet and was not bad for institutional food.

After lunch we drove a few miles to Bear Mountain for the 5K Fort Montgomery Walk. It really wasn't 5K. Maybe. The museum isn't open on a Tuesday and they opened for us. After a 15 minute film, we headed out to explore the ruins of the fort. The British burned it down in 1777. That walk was about a mile.

We got back on the bus and drove to the other side of the park. Some members were tired of walking and stayed at the Bear Mountain Inn. The rest stayed on the bus and were dropped off at Trail Side Zoo.

Trail Side is a zoo full of animals that can't be returned to the wild. All have been injured, somehow. They all looked bored, and hid or had their backs to us. Except the black vultures. They were everywhere. I don't think they officially live there.

 At this point we were on both the AT and the 1777 trail headed the same way as the patriots advanced. And died. Or were captured.

It was there where we ran into Walt Whitman. Just hanging out in the woods.

We came out on the trail at the lake, and then walked back to the inn. And then to the carousel house, which was not open.  In all I walked almost 10 miles today.

Then back on the bus one more time for the trip to Warminster, with another food court stop. I am so over food courts. Then we had the additional hour drive north.

Good thing I don't work on Wednesdays!