Americana: The Naval Academy

It's not easy to be selected to the Naval Academy. But we're all safer and more secure because the best and brightest are chosen. Uploaded by usna.edu.

For 160 years, the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis has been turning out outstanding young men and women – “morally, mentally, and physically.”

It’s not easy to be selected to the Naval Academy. The usual path to admission is for individuals to be appointed by their Congressional representative, Senator, or by the Vice President. In addition, the Secretary of the Navy can appoint a limited number of students from the ranks of enlisted personnel, and a small number of spots is reserved for children of military members who were killed or totally disabled in action.

Uploaded by paranormalknowledge.com.

Almost as impressive as the Midshipmen of the Academy is the campus itself. Although much smaller in area than either West Point or the Air Force Academy, its location in beautiful Annapolis beside the Chesapeake Bay is unequaled. In fact, the entire campus is a National Historic Landmark.

Uploaded by photos.upi.com.

Graduates of the Naval Academy are usually commissioned as ensigns in the Navy or second lieutenants in the Marine Corps, and serve a minimum of five years. But to get to that point, they have to learn the attributes of integrity, honor, and mutual respect. They have to participate in athletics. They have to succeed not only in their chosen academic curriculum, but in professional and leadership training. And, more than anything else, the want to Beat Army!

Americana: The Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is an engineering masterpiece. Uploaded by virginia.org.

The Chesapeake Bay is about 200 miles long, from the Susquehanna in the north to the Atlantic Ocean. It touches six states and the District of Columbia, and is North America’s largest estuary. And it is a national treasure.

Everyone seems to agree that its name comes from the Algonquian Chesepiook. Some would translate that as “village at a big river,” while others assert it’s “great shellfish bay.” Our understanding of the name goes back to 1585 or 1586, when members of the Roanoke Colony first explored the Bay.

Uploaded by baydreaming.com.

I vote for the shellfish interpretation, because we love the Chesapeake’s treasure of seafood. Oysters… blue crabs… rockfish… scallops… clams. The Bay’s oyster population has been damaged due to environmental issues and over-harvesting, but it’s slowly rebounding due to careful attention to this valuable resource.

Some fascinating and charming towns can be found along the bay. You could easily spend a vacation on a driving tour along the Bay’s coastline. From tiny fishing villages like Urbanna, to historic towns like Havre de Grace, to charming Annapolis and richly diverse Baltimore. And the bay offers lots of opportunities for boating and sailing, with abundant marinas and frequent races and regattas.