Figured I'd post about my experience with DS here at USMA during his visit. I'll post more tomorrow evening after we get home.
We arrived after the 75 minute drive from NJ at 4p yesterday afternoon. We stopped at the Bear Mountain Bakery (BMB) for a coffee and to pick up some desserts for the host cadets. While we're on the topic of BMB, I want to mention 3 things: #1, they use La Colombe coffee products, which as a coffee snob, I endorse 100%; #2, their cupcakes are awesome. #3, they are very nice. One lady gave me a brownie for free after I asked about them.
After BMB, we checked into the Thayer. Soon, we saw a cadet company doing fitness training on Buffalo Soldier Field, for about 45 minutes. We then got ready for dinner and had time to kill, so we played some chess on a game table outside of the bar in the hotel. I just want to point out that I beat DS 3 games to 1!
We then had dinner in the Thayer Hotel's MacArthur's Restaurant. It was a big place, yet we were one of only 4 total diners in the restaurant at 7pm! The food was quite good, though certainly not cheap.
We woke up at 6am this morning so we would have plenty of time for breakfast and to go to the visitor control center to get our pass to get on post. The hotel restaurants didn't open until 7am, so we went to the McDonald's for breakfast.
We parked just inside the gate at Buffalo Soldier Field and rather than wait for the bus, we walked to the admissions office for the 7:45a start. We checked in with admissions and DS got a gift bag with a t-shirt, pennant and water bottle.
Candidates and their parents then received a briefing about USMA from Admissions' southeast regional commander and a current Plebe. The regional commander had an interesting and probably somewhat atypical story...grew up in Minnesota, went to college for 2 years, enlisted for 2 years, then applied twice to USMA, getting in just under the wire for the maximum age. He never looked back and loved his time at USMA and in the army thus far. I asked why he didn't try ROTC or OCS and he said he wanted the immersive leadership experience of USMA and in hindsight he really appreciated the frequent ethics training that is a part of USMA formally and woven into classes by professors who have been in combat. His presentation covered USMA history, 4 pillars of USMA (academics, military, leadership, physical), application ins and outs and the unique training opportunities.
We then did a 45 minute tour of the campus. The summer tour we did in June included the mess hall, but we didn't have time for that today...they typically try to make sure that's part of the tour. It's an impressive building, so I was glad DS and I saw it over the summer.
After the tour, DS and the other candidates were picked up by cadets at 9:45a. A couple seemed to be day candidates, but the 7 or 8 other candidates all seemed to be overnight visitors. Probably only 10 candidates in total in the room. DS was escorted out by a female cadet, though he is obviously staying the night in a room with male cadets.
I don't know much from DS yet, but he went to at least one class, met with I believe an econ professor, met with the sprint football coach, had lunch and dinner with the cadets and is now in the room reading Jim Mattis's book while the cadets study. I'm curious how he'll feel about tomorrow morning's wake up and formation / breakfast. This was a very unusual time for us to come because DS just finished mid-terms, so no homework, and I start a new job in 10 days, so no work for me to do either! I'll report on more of DS's day/night/morning tomorrow, but here's what I did with the rest of my time.
After the cadets left, the regional commander answered more questions about USMA and the admissions process. Then the woman who heads up the parent communication duties for USMA came in to speak with us about being a USMA parent and the various parent resources and local clubs available for support and understanding what the cadets are going through. It only reinforced my feeling that USMA is a great community that forges strong bonds.
By then it was about 11:30a and the parents were dismissed and told to come back at 12:30p the next day to pick up their candidates.
I checked out the cadet store, which wasn't super exciting, but worth spending 5 minutes. It is basically a place for cadets to grab some snacks (like jars of nutella) and basics that they may need like underwear/base layers but also the full array of boots/shoes. DS and I might grab a pair of boots tomorrow before we head home.
After the cadet store, I walked to The West Point Club. It was chilly but a nice walk. It was a crystal clear day, so I took some pics of the river. I ate the buffet at the West Point Club and chatted with a parent couple from Kentucky, who had never visited SA Forums. I unsuccessfully tried to hide my shock and dismay, and told them that it was a valuable resource. As for The West Point Club, I was a little disappointed in the food and the decor. I expected it to be an old, classy building that smelled of cigars and scotch, but it was pretty basic. It did look like the daily lunch offered in a side room was better than the buffet, but I didn't realize that until it was too late. It was an interesting crowd of what looked like officers and faculty, all in uniform.
After the West Point Club, I walked back to my car and drove off post to the Visitor's Center and The West Point Museum. Both are great and worth a walk through. You can spend an hour in each, or certainly more if you want to read all that it offers. I am hoping DS will want to go to the Visitor Center. There are some inspiring videos about USMA and some nice exhibits about cadet life and USMA grads. The Museum covers USMA but also American warfare and small and large weaponry.
The Visitor Center has an extensive gift shop, but it is closed for inventory all week. The Museum also has a gift shop, at which I bought some stuff. At this point it was only about 3p. I went back to the Thayer and then decided to drive to another town for dinner. I don't know why, but I figured I would walk around that town and explore a little. I chose Peekskill. I thought it was a little more of an upscale town of interesting shops and stuff, but it wasn't much to speak of. I got a hair cut and then the highlight was a restaurant on the edge of town called The Fin and Brew. Not cheap, but really great food and a beautiful view of the water and a small marina.
So that was my day/night. Tomorrow morning I plan to go for a hike at Black Rock Brook, pack up the room, eat Mexican at Hacienda and then pick up DS to hear how it all went. DS has an LOA and a nom, but is waiting for his medical waiver to be cleared after ankle surgery in early October. He's progressing well and should be fully cleared within a month. He also has a 4-year AROTC scholarship and has gone back and forth between attending his top civilian school if he gets in and USMA. Very curious to hear his take tomorrow. I'm strongly in favor of USMA, but it's obviously his choice.
! If your DS does end up at USMA, she will be your new best friend. Enjoy your remaining months with your DS & wish him well in the decision making process.