Oh boy, here goes...I've been in New York for about a week...and things have really grown while I was away...but first...a quick tour of the Gardens and Brambles of West Point with some Rambles and family pics thrown in for good measure.

First up, the Superintendent's formal Reception, held at the Superintendent's house in his gardens. There was a formal receiving line and we were all properly introduced. Then refreshments were served and we were able to mix and mingle in the beautiful walled garden:






Next up, we got a bit of a walking tour. We saw Kosciuszko's Garden, built in 1778 for the purpose of rest and meditation. This is on the West Point, with a beautiful view of the Hudson.
Along the walkways, ferns grown right out of the sides of the rock:

We walked down to the docks to take a ferry to Constitution Island out in the middle of the Hudson. We waited on the dock in the hot sun and got quite a bit of sunburn. There is a historical house on the island that used to belong to the Warner family. It was a place where the Cadets used to go visit with the sisters that lived there for Sunday School and cookies and lemonade. There is a Warner Memorial garden along the path to the house. They put bars of Irish Spring Soap on sticks to keep the deer away from the flowers. Prickly Pear Cactus is native to the island:

You can tell West Point is an Army Post. We did lots of waiting. This is taken inside Eisenhower Hall:

We attended the graduation parade on the plain. During this parade, the firsties (seniors) physically and symbolically separate from the rest of the Corps of Cadets. The First Class Cadets can be seen on the left in the foreground. We took family pictures after the parade:

No festive West Point occasion would be complete without a formal dinner and hop. A good meal with family and friends and a little dancing never hurt anybody:

More to come.....