It is home for 4400 cadets who aspire to become Army officers. Once West Point emphasized engineering, but it now offers 44 academic majors. Since 1976, they accept female students. The cadets forgo a strict and rigorous military and physical skills training program.

Founded in 1802, the Academy is set in one of the most picturesque area of the country, aside the Hudson River. This location first served as a fort, to protect the Americans against an invasion of the British. This spot was chosen because the river bends sharply at West Point and it is narrow enough that no ship could go through without being seen and bombarded from the fort. It was a strategic decision made in 1775, and by 1778, the American flag flew over West Point.

The buildings of the academy are Gothic style, giving them an air of grandeur, massiveness and strength.

We were lucky enough to go visit the Academy on the day of a Congressional Retirement Review. Congressmen Dave Hobson and Jim Saxton were retiring. We were treated to a parade and a free fall parachute demonstration. We sat in the bleachers surrounded by cadets and watched the show.

About an hour north of West Point, a hop a skip and a jump from Poughkeepsie lies Hyde Park. This is the site of the FDR Presidential Library, the Franklin D. Rosevelt house and the Vanderbilt mansion.

Front of the mansion

View from the back of the mansion

Frederick (grandson of Commodore Vanderbilt) and his wife Louise Vanderbilt, bought the 700 acres property in 1895. The house on site proved to be unsound, so they built a temporary house at the cost of $50, 000, which took 66 days to construct. They lived in that house while the main house was being built (at a cost of over 2 million dollars). It took 2 years to finish the 50 room main house. It is built to resemble the house of a noble European line. It was designed by Charles Follin McKim.

The classical style and Indiana limestone hides the modern steel and reinforced concrete structure beneath.

This house was the smallest of the Vanderbilt family dwellings. It was used as a Spring and Fall house only. They entertained a maximum of 18 guests at a time at this location.

They spent the rest of their time in New-York, Bar Harbor Newport and the Adirondacks. They Hyde Park Property was by far their favorite and that is where Frederick spent the rest of his life after the death of his wife Louise. They were self-sustained, since most of the property was used a farmland.

It was easy for them or their guests to travel to Hyde Park since they owned the railroad that passed right on their property along the river. Visitors could also travel by boat or private car.

The Vanderbilts were well-liked in Hyde Park, they treated their employees very well. They paid the best wages for house personnel. They didn’t have any children but they welcome the children of Hyde Park to play on their property, they even bought a gift for each child in the village at Christmas. Louise provided for higher education of qualified young women of Hyde Park. She participated in many charities like St. Anthony’s Home for Working Girls and Cathedral of St. John the Divine, she was instrumental in bringing the Red Cross to town and in founding the District Health Nurse Service.

Frederick, unlike his brothers, lived a very private life, but his accomplishments were impressive. He was the first of his family to graduate from College, he sat on the board of 22 railroads, he was director of New York Central for 61 years. Unlike his brothers, he managed to increase his 10 million dollars inheritance to 70 millions by the time he died. There were over 30 people in his will, he took care of all his Hyde Park employees. The one who had worked for him the longest, 33 years, inherited a quarter of a million and a 50 thousand dollars house.

Louise’s niece, Margaret Van Alen inherited the Hyde Park Property and donated the entirely furnished house along with 210 acres of land to the Federal government. Her wish was that it would be a memorial to her Uncle Fred and a National Monument. Since 1940 it has been open to the public and remains unchanged from the time the Vanderbilts lived here.

Pictures were not allowed inside the mansion.

We usually spend the entire month there, and we use this time to reconnect with my family and friends. It may be a little boring for Bear, but I do appreciate his patience and understanding. We do not do a lot of sight-seeing, although we do manage to squeeze some in, this time of the year is mainly about family.

We started our visit this year by going to Sherbrooke and celebrate mom’s 81st birthday. We went out to eat and then went to my sister Christyne’s house for the birthday cake and the gifts. I gave mom the afghan I had been knitting for her and she seemed to really like it.

We snuggled up under it, mom always likes to snuggle up to me, she does miss me a lot. It is hard for her to see me so rarely.

Mathew really grew up during the last year, he just turned 4. He is such a big boy now. He enjoyed a swim while at Christyne’s house.

Here he is, flirting with his girlfriend on his birthday.

We went one day to old St-Mathieu-de-Beloeil and had lunch at this Old Mill

They have a terrace on the Richelieu River. This famous river played an important role in the history NorthAmerica. It was used as a navigable gateway to the south; it makes its way into Lake Champlain and ultimately, Lake George.

There was a very pretty church in the village. Almost every village in the Province of Québec has its own church, and they are usually very ornate. People in these old villages were taking pride in building grand churches and each village was trying to outdo the next.

We spent one day in Montreal, traveling by Metro from one placed to the other. The Metro is very user-friendly and is the best way to move about without having to search for parking lots, which are very expensive in a big city.

We stumbled upon a McCafé, the gourmet side of McDonalds. It offers a selection of Lattés and gourmet coffees and pastries.

We went to the movies in the old Forum, where the Canadians used to play hockey. They moved out and built a new place, and the old forum was transformed into a shopping center and movie theater.

Then we went to Old Montreal and had dinner in Place Jacques Cartier

Bad weather was coming, so we rushed back to the campground and left the city behind us.

Stephanie and Jonathan built a new house this year, I only have unfinished pictures of it, because I totally forgot to take pictures of it finished…by September, they did have grass growing, and the house was very nicely decorated with curtains and all. It is a very pretty house. Steph is opening a day care on ground level, she did a very good job at organizing it and I wish her a lot of success.

I had dinner with my infamous friend Manon, with whom I did all my teenager’s stunts. She is responsible for a lot of laughter in my life. (No pics, I forgot the camera)
I also reconnected with my best friend Nicole, she and I have been friend since we were 14. She now has 3 grandchildren, so I taught her how to knit socks.

The month went by very fast and then we had to leave and make our way home again.

We were only spending a day there, so we made the most of it. We started by taking a lunch cruise on the “Lac du Saint Sacrement” ship.

The name of the ship is also the previous name of Lake George, when the French were occupying this territory. We enjoyed a simple buffet while admiring the view along the way. There were some absolutely beautiful properties along the banks of the lake.

The scenery was breathtaking. The weather was beautiful and we really enjoyed the nice breeze.

While Bear was taking pictures of the scenery, he got slightly distracted… 😉

There were lots of local people enjoying the day. These teak speed boats are made in Lake George.

Next to the piers where we disembarked from the boat, was the entrance to the replica of Fort William Henry. The original was destroyed in 1757, during the French-Indian war. This war was part of a large conflict between England and France and was fought on this soil for the control of the politics and economics of North America. This took place 20 years before the American Revolution.

The Fort we can visit today was built in the 1950’s, according to the original plans of 1755, and is sitting on the original site.

We then drove up Prospect Mountain, and took pictures of the scenery along the way.

We were on top of the world!