Westpoint Weekend

This past weekend we had an incredibly amazing weekend at the United States Military Academy at Westpoint. We left our home at 3:00 a.m. on Friday and arrived at Westpoint at 9:30, just in time for the Cadet for a Day program. We were 4 of 270 volunteers who went through the new cadet induction process as a sort of dress rehearsal for the upper classmen who would be inducting the real new cadets on Monday (R-Day/Reception Day). They want it to go flawlessly, so they go through the entire routine on Friday with volunteers. If you ever have the opportunity to do it, it is an unforgettable experience. For one thing, you see parts of Westpoint where tourists are not allowed to go. For another thing, if you know anyone who has ever gone to a military academy or into the service, it gives you a glimpse into what they go through on their first day. It really helped me to identify just a little bit with what Alesha went through at USAFA, although I'm sure we didn't get yelled at nearly as much. (One cadet told us at the end that it was very difficult to yell at people his parents/grandparent's ages!). But we did get yelled at! "If you can't keep up at a walk, what are you going to do when we run?" "I said ON MY LINE, new cadet!" And so on. It was fun. It was hard. I thought more than once that I'd have to drop out, and I pushed myself to my limits to keep up. But I made it! I can't imagine how far we walked during the day. They had several water stations set up which was good. We didn't bother to take a camera with us for this event, so all Westpoint pictures were taken later. I can't even begin here to tell you all the details. At the end of the event, we all gathered in our companies and were given certificates of appreciation.
That was over about 1:30 or 2:00 p.m. We were starving, so we went into the town of Highland (?) and ate some late lunch at McDs. Then we went to our housing on base (thanks to hubby's status in NYGuard) and slept/watched TV/read. In the evening we went to the base bowling alley and bowled and had some pizza. Normally I don't sleep too well in a hotel room, but that night I certainly slept soundly!