West Point Military Academy and The Culinary Institute

Tuesday June 5th Captain Keith and I had some time in the morning to get chores done on the boat.  Around noon we left with the rental car and drove to West Point to tour the military academy.  West Point was originally established as a fort sitting strategically on high ground overlooking the Hudson River.  George Washington and the Continental Army first occupied West Point in 1778.  It was called Fort Arnold during the Revolutionary War, but as many know Commander Benedict Arnold attempted to sell the plans of the fort to the British.  He eventually escaped to England and the name of the fort was changed to Fort Clinton.  Although cadets underwent artillery and engineering studies at the fort since 1794, it was President Thomas Jefferson who in 1801 directed plans to establish the fort as The US Military Academy.  Today tuition for cadets is fully funded by the US Army in exchange for an active duty service obligation upon graduation.  Alumni and cadets refer to themselves as The Long Gray Line.

West Point Chapel

Stained glass alter window (Duty, Honor, Country)

Old West Point Chapel located at the Cemetary has an alter mural by Constantino Brumidi who also painted the Captial Rotunda in Washington DC

West Point Cemetery

General Armstrong Custer's Grave with Buffalo

The monument pictured below, for those who fought in the Civil War, stands on Trophy Point on the academy grounds.  It is 46 feet tall and 5 feet in diameter.  It is reputed to be the largest column of polished granite in the Western Hemisphere.  There are 8 monumental cannon balls of granite surrounding the column, each with a bronze strap bearing the names of the 2,230 Regular Army officers and soldiers who died for the Union during the Civil War.

Part of the chain stretched across the Hudson River by George Washington's army at West Point to try to prevent the British ships from coming up the Hudson River.

View from the "Point" of the Hudson River

Quite an amazing place to see.  West Point was a treat to visit.  We were not taken into any of the main buildings on campus, but the visitor's center has a great video and exhibits explaining life as a cadet at the academy.  There is also a museum which we did not explore.

Wednesday morning Captain Keith played golf while I worked on putting binding on "The Purple Monster", a quilt I have been working on for quite some time.  Once Keith got back from golf and had a chance to relax and get cleaned up, we went to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) for a tour and dinner.  The CIA is a private college and culinary school specializing in culinary, baking, and pastry arts education.  The primary campus is in Hyde Park, NY and there are four branch campuses, three in the US and one in Singapore.  The school was founded in 1946 in New Haven, CT as a vocational institute for returning WWII veterans.    It purchased the Hyde Park location in 1970 which then became its main campus.

Culinary Institute of America

This was a sturgeon sculpted out of knives, forks, and spoons on campus

This was the American Bounty Restaurant where we had dinner

Fun pedestrian crossing sign on campus

Keith and I  both found the meal we had to be fine but nothing over the top special.  We are glad to be able to say we visited and experienced the Culinary Institute, but we would not do it again. 

Thursday we will be off toward Catskill and then Friday to Waterford.  We have best friends coming to be on board in Waterford as we enter the Erie canal.  Pengi is also excited.  He is a water bird and did not get to travel with us in the car this week as he gets quite car sick.  So he is looking forward to getting back to cruising and having friends on board.