cadet blogs

Spring Break and Coming Back

(The Cadet Experience, Class of 2012) Permanent link All Posts

March 9, 2009

Last year I couldn’t wait to go to Spain on a school trip for spring break. This year, I am just happy to be home and spend some time with my family. Saturday night I attended an art show that displayed two pieces of my older sister’s art and yesterday I attended my younger sister’s choral performance, two things I am usually unable to do. Today and tomorrow, I plan on just lounging around the house, sleeping, watching television, and then meeting my mother for lunch. Since she is an accountant, spring break is never a good time for her. I might go shopping and then I have to go to Sonic. The Coast Guard Academy does not have “slushies” or “icees” as we call them, so one of the best places at home to get a frozen drink is at Sonic. And from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m., their drinks are half price. So with a real fruit lemon berry slush in hand, I am going to go pick up my younger sister from high school and run with her at track practice.

March 12, 2009

Yesterday I woke up at 3:50 a.m. (on purpose) to begin a road trip with my dad that would eventually bring me back to the archways of the Academy. We drove all the way from St. Louis to colonial Williamsburg in Virginia. I thought our weather in Missouri was weird, but Virginia was something else. We walked around colonial Williamsburg last night around 9:00 and according to our car, the temperature was 78 degrees! I was sweating in my short sleeve shirt and jeans! But today, I woke up to go for a quick morning run and it was wet and cold; probably around 40 degrees.

In Williamsburg today, we were grateful for the shops and houses that offered a little bit of warmth. Some “colonials” had fires in their backyards. The two places we spent the most time in were the woodworking shop and the bindery. One of the book binders we talked to had been an apprentice in England for seven years to learn this trade. He has been a book binder for the past forty years like both of his parents before him. We went on to the woodworking shop for about an hour, as my dad has his own workshop in our basement and enjoys talking about wood and furniture with the professionals. The men there were very talented and I was especially intrigued by the eagle chair with arms that morphed into eagle’s heads at the ends. (At first, I thought they were snakes.)

March 15, 2009

It wasn’t as difficult to come back to the Academy today as it was at Christmas with the “Dark Ages” to look forward to. Though we have mock boards and boards, two more Chemistry and Calculus Tests, as well as tests in other classes, and at least two more formal room and wings, I keep reminding myself: only six more weeks. Six more weeks until fourth class year is over and summer training, whether it be Eagle or a cutter, begins. And then we will be third class and have our own fourth class to look after.

Katie.M.Schumacher@uscga.edu

More about Katie.

Posted by Leann Strickland at 2/7/2012 4:14 PM