The day started with a dead mouse. We assume the cats were busy last night while we slept. I have to say it was better than watching them play with a live one which happened shortly after we first arrived here.
However, that was not the highlight of the day. We headed off to West Point to check out the Visitor Center there and walk the Main Street of Highland Falls, New York, where the school is located.
We were very impressed with the Visitor Center which provides a great overview of the mission of West Point, the four year experience of the students, and the impact of the school and students in multi-media exhibits. We started with the 9 minute film which is shown every 20 minutes and were impressed with the film and the attractive and informative displays.
We learned a few fun facts about the school. It is the nation’s oldest continuously occupied military post, as it was used as a base during the War of Independence. It was opened as the United States Military Academy at West Point in March of 1802. The students are known by different names throughout their 4 years at the school. They begin as plebes, become yearlings in their second year, then cows (really), and oddly, become firsties as seniors.
which provides a great view of the Hudson River.
at the start of the exhibit.
Note the “long gray line” reference for the gray dress uniforms that they wear and some famous West Point graduates.
it notes that West Point graduates fought
on both sides of the battle—
762 for the Union and 304 for the Confederacy.
under the four pillars of concentration for the school.
through a scheduled tour.
as a Second Lieutenant.
After our visit to the Visitors Center and a brief stop in the museum which is under construction, we headed out to peruse the Main Street of Highland Falls, NY, where West Point is located. Wikipedia tells me that the village has a population of not quite 4,000 residents and used to be called Buttermilk Falls. It is in an idyllic setting, and was very quiet on this Tuesday.
of the West Point Visitor Center.
in the median of Main Street across from the school
On the way to West Point, we drove the fast route, which took us over the Hudson on the Mario Cuomo Bridge and then north on the Palisades Parkway. Coming back to Tarrytown, we drove a slower but more scenic route. We crossed the Hudson on the Bear Mountain Bridge and then came south up and down the mountains on Bear Mountain Bridge Road before reconnecting with Highway 9 which comes into Tarrytown.
Peckish Travels 