Orange County Choppers & West Point Military Academy

Today we drove down to Newburgh, NY to visit the new Orange County Choppers World Headquarters & Showroom. We’ve watched Orange County Choppers on TV for years. All of the theme bikes they’ve built on their TV show are on display in the showroom. Mike didn’t think they would photograph well, so he only took a couple of photos. The photos he took turned out good & now he wishes he had taken photos of all the bikes.

From Orange County Choppers, Newburgh, NY

We then drove down US-9W to West Point to visit the Military Academy. It was a beautiful day with a blue sky and a few clouds – and a fire rainbow. What a beautiful sight & unexpected surprise!

From West Point

We drove through the town of Highland Falls to the West Point Visitor Center. At the Visitor Center we purchased tickets ($20 for both of us) for the West Point Tours - a commercial company that is the authorized tour guide service. The only way to tour West Point Academy is on the commercial tour. After having our ID's checked, we boarded a bus which took us on to West Point Academy. The hour long tour included stops at the Main Cadet Chapel, Trophy Point, Battle Monument, and the Plain. Our tour guide was very knowledgeable about the history and traditions of West Point. She was good about answering questions and giving everyone time to take photos.

The Cadet Chapel was dedicated in 1910. It houses the largest church organ in the world. The Great Sanctuary Window is inscribed with the Academy motto, "Duty, Honor, Country". All of the stained glass windows on the sides are given as memorials by various classes.

From West Point

The Battle Monument was dedicated in 1897 in memory of the officers and men of the American Army who fell in battle, mainly the casualties of the Regular Army of the North during the Civil War (2,230 names are inscribed on the granite shaft).

From West Point

After our tour of the Academy grounds we returned to the Visitor Center. We walked over to the West Point Museum which is behind the Visitor Center. The West Point Museum, which originally opened in 1854, is the oldest and largest military museum in the country. Every armed conflict that America has been involved in is represented in the many exhibits. We saw weapons from all of the wars the U.S. was involved in. We saw exhibits depicting the Army missions during peacetime. The history of West Point Academy was shown through exhibits of the different uniforms worn by cadets and exhibits of West Point alumnus.