October 20, 2019. The Air Force Academy.

October 20, 2019.  The Air Force Academy.  Today has been a wintery and blustery day in Colorado Springs.  The temperature, when we were at the Air Force Academy, was 39 and the winds were blasting at 30-40 miles per hour.  I wore four layers and a wool hat.  It wasn't enough.  But. as the pictures show, it didn't stop the cadets from being outside - in shorts.  Those cadets are some pretty tough kids.  

The pictures above begin with the Academy and end with youth soccer games being played at Cottonwood park.  The park is about a mile from the house we are staying in.  We've been walking in the park because it is the only level ground within 40 miles.  Hills are not our friends.  That's Pike's Peak in the background.  

The Chapel dominates the landscape at the Academy.  Unfortunately, it is undergoing repairs and updating which began last fall.  Those repairs must be substantial because it will not reopen until November, 2022.  

As we entered the Academy, there was an armed guard at the entry station.  He appeared to be in his early 20s, probably a cadet.  He asked for identification, so I handed him my federal ID.  I expected him to look at my federal ID and call the Commandant to tell him there was a VIP at the gate.  Maybe the Commandant would drive to the gate in a black sedan with American flags attached to the front fenders to welcome us and personally guide our tour. That didn't happen.  The guard looked at my ID, handed it back to me, then asked if I had a drivers license. 
 

Slightly embarrassed that my government ID wasn't adequate, I took it back and handed him my drivers license.  He said, "Would you please unlock your doors and roll down your windows."  I did and he walked around the car peering into all four windows.  He then raised the tailgate and began pawing around.  

While on our trip, we purchased six boxes of Lego blocks as Christmas presents for our grandchildren.  Annie had covered the boxes with a coat to prevent some thieving miscreant from looking in, seeing the boxes and stealing them.  He removed the coat and shook several of the boxes to insure they didn't contain - oh, I don't know, maybe explosives.  I was beginning to worry that he might strip search me.  That isn't a pretty thought.  Finally, he handed my drivers license back to me and said, "Welcome to the Air Force Academy."  Despite his words, I didn't feel very welcome.  Next time I will offer my drivers license first.  

The Academy is worth the time to drive through and walk around. Maybe the thing I liked most was the motto which is displayed in the visitors center, "We will not lie, steal or cheat, nor will we tolerate anyone among us who does."  That is a pretty good rule for life.  

So, if you get a chance to see the Academy, I encourage you to do so.  If you do, and the guard asks for identification, just hand him your drivers license.

Goodnight.