The Academy...

Duh-duh-duh...just kidding. But AJ wasn't always the happiest there, so he wasn't sure he wanted to go back to visit, especially since they've put this big fence around the cadet area up. He says it makes it look more like a prison...so dramatic! Anyway, we finally got a chance to go on Sunday afternoon while we were visiting his grandparents in Colorado. Apparently five years is the right space of time between visits for AJ...

We could only go to the Visitor's Center, the Chapel, and Arnold Hall, but it was fun, and Josh had a good time! Lots of good pix, which I'll post now.

Obviously the most famous part of the Academy is the chapel. When I was able to go before, while AJ was there, the chapel was under a lot of construction. So bear with me, there are a lot of pix, since I hadn't been able to see it before.
This one is from the walking path between the Visitor's Center and Chapel.

The infamous cadet area fence...
These are the Basics, just back from Jack's Valley, and getting ready for the Acceptance Parade. I forgot how early they start school there...
This is one of the dorms...Don't remember which one...but AJ lived here at some point, I think during the summer once or twice.
The view up the mountain from the area in front of the Chapel.
There's this wall between the chapel and the cadet area, and it's REALLY tall!! Josh LOVED to sit/stand on it. He kept asking to go down below, which of course, we couldn't. Scared me and AJ to death! He also dropped his sippy over the wall to the grass below. We had to flag down one of the boyscouts on their tour and get them to throw it back up to us. He nearly brained AJ with it...
While we were there, they played the Star Spangled Banner and took down the flag, which most bases (all??) do around 4:30 pm every day. It was kind of neat and there were still several squadrons of Basics down below. It was cool.
Josh in front of the Chapel...he had the best time running around in this big open area.

Another view of the Chapel
Inside the chapel. SO PRETTY!!

Josh was very interested in the pretty colored windows.

Josh and AJ coming down the stairs from the Chapel
Josh really got excited about the airplanes all over the place...this one's wing dipped low enough for Josh to touch it.
The Lewton Guys.
Josh with a statue of some pilot, don't remember who. He really liked this guy.

OK, that's pretty much it for the Academy trip. Josh and I both got sweatshirts in the gift store, as mine is now too small after 5-6 years (or longer?). I had fun!