US Naval Academy Graduation

Today I was able to experience something not everyone does... I was able to attend the graduation ceremony at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. And as much as it was an awesome experience for me to attend, I can only imagine what it was like for those who graduated!

Eric has not one, but two cousins that attended the USNA. The first one, Grant, graduated last year. Eric didn't attend that ceremony. This year, Chase graduated. So, in a nutshell, I got to meet a lot of Eric's extended family all at once. I met his uncle and aunt (the parents of the boys), plus, a handful of other cousins I didn't know about! But I can ramble more on that later... back to the ceremony!

You have to figure, as a military academy directly connected to our military, it's going to be done right. And it was! Joe Biden was the key note speaker (who gave a great speech!), the Blue Angels flew over after the National Anthem, they were able to make it through every single graduates name fast, despite their being over 1000 to graduate... basically, went off smoothly, without at hitch!

Afterwards, we all met up on the field for various family photos and then headed over to the house his uncle and aunt were renting for the week to eat until our heart was content and really have time to catch up with his family. Or, for me, to actually get to know them!!

After filling our stomachs and having some ice cream cake to celebrate, we went on a tour of the campus, led by Chase and one of his classmates, John. We walked all over (it's not an overly huge campus), heard stories of how things worked, and even went into Memorial Hall, which is where the infamous "Don't Give Up the Ship" banner hangs, with many other inspirational pieces and paintings on the walls, as well. It was pretty cool. And all the detailing in the architecture, both inside and out, was amazing!! Absolutely gorgeous!

It was a great day! The only thing that could've made the day a little better was if the sun came out. But then it would've been hotter, which would of made it really humid. So I guess it was alright. At least it didn't rain on us!