Drive. Pray. Scream?: Day 113: Awwwwkwaaard!

We tip-toed through the campus of the Naval Academy in Annapolis this morning, fearing retribution from the midshipmen and our lovely but loyal guide as they recovered from a controversial football loss to Air Force two days ago. The formal drills and formation prior to the midshipmen entering the lunchhall was a treat to watch, especially when the accompanying drums and bagpipes played the Marine hymn, one of Kelsey's accomplished piano pieces last spring. She told our guide, Taryn, all about it, mentioning that as her piano book didn't have the Air Force song, she picked the Marine song instead. Ooops! Once our true identity as Air Force fans was known, Taryn was very gracious, although she didn't let up in her vocal disgust for the reffing calls that led to the loss for her beloved Navy. Thank goodness we aren't directly associated with Army...the Navy motto of "Go Navy, Beat Army" is emblazoned on every corner, banner and available signage.

For all the rivalry fun, the campus is a place of dignity and beauty. Nearly one-third of it was built on fill, as the growth of the institution required more space (the dining hall alone is the size of two football fields). It's now home to 4,600 midshipmen (undergraduate students), and 20% of them are female. All students live in Bradford Hall, the second-largest dormitory in the world (the first is in Moscow). Its 1,800 rooms and five miles of hallway form a huge H in the middle of campus, and its atrium is a colossal space containing marble from each of the 43 states in existence when it was built. The campus' most famous piece of granite is outside...the Herndon monument. Each spring, at the end of the second semester, the freshman ("plebes") race to the Herndon obelisk and attempt to shimmy up its height to replace a freshman "dixie cup" cap with the midshipmen hat. The hitch is that upperclassmen have slathered pounds (literally) of Crisco onto the stone. The average time spent on the challenge is 2 1/2 hours! Check out one of the clips on YouTube; search for "Herndon Climb."

From Herndon to Hampton, a national park site north of Baltimore that comprises an enormous mansion and estate dating back to the Revolutionary War. The home remained in the Ridgley family until the 1940s, when it was bought by a non-profit and turned over to the park service. At the time of its completion, 1780, it more than likely was the largest private home in America.

Captain Charles Ridgley took a modest inheritance and developed it into a fortune through shipping and ironworks. But the secret to his grand lifestyle was the numerous slaves who worked in his home, his fields, his factories. Some of the slaves were freed over the years, usually upon the death of the current master, but the decision was, more often than not, a removal of someone who had worked past their prime. They were cut off from their families who remained enslaved, left with nothing to survive. What appeared as largesse was in fact a different kind of bondage.

The house itself is beautiful, and curators have decorated rooms in various periods, reflecting the generations of Ridgleys who called it home. But its grandeur was definitely tarnished by its roots in slavery. The girls were shocked to see some of the iron braces and chains used to control and demean even the youngest of the slaves. As parents, it's difficult to watch your children be exposed to such harsh images. But shielding them from these pieces of our country's history isn't fulfilling the purpose of this trip. Hope we made the right decision.

The front entrance of Bradford Hall, through which the cadets file to their midday meal following noon formation (complete with bagpipes and drums)

A large reception hall, up a grand flight of stairs, contains nautical paintings and chandeliers with Bohemian crystal. Taryn shared that the earthquake in late August struck during one of her tours...while she was standing beneath one of the huge chandeliers. She didn't stay there long, as bits of crystal and plaster showered down from the swaying fixtures. After hearing the story, Kendall wasn't too thrilled to stand beneath them.

Navy's mascot, Bill the Goat. In 1890, the football team didn't have a mascot as it headed to its first game against Army. They picked up a goat from a nearby farm, dressed it in Navy colors and paraded it around the field. They won the game 24-0, and the rest is history!