T.G.I.F.

Well, it's finally Friday! (By the way, this is William. Bonnie has challenged me to write tonight's post, so here it goes!) Today we decided to drive to Annapolis, Maryland, which is the state's capitol city.

Our first stop was the U.S. Naval Academy. We arrived just in time for the next walking tour, so off we went.

Students at the Naval Academy receive free tuition, but in return they have to give back five years of service in the navy, effective after their graduation.

The picture below was taken just inside the entrance of the USNA's single dorm, Bancroft Hall. Bancroft hall houses all 4,000 students during the school year. It is the the second largest dormitory in the entire world. 1st place goes to a dorm in Moscow, Russia. There definitely weren't any dorms this nice at Clemson! Next we visited their chapel. Students are not allowed to marry, so after graduation they have droves of couples getting hitched in this chapel. They have as many as five weddings in one day during peak wedding season! Before we left the chapel the organist showed up for some practice, so we enjoyed a little preview before leaving. This is a view of the Annapolis harbor. Annapolis is said to be one of the most popular sailing destinations in the US, so this was a very common sight.Downtown Annapolis...lot's of specialty stores, but not for us. We spent all our money parking my truck at the hotel in washington ($30 per day!...they have no mercy here). Below is the capitol building. It is said to be the oldest functioning state capitol building in the U.S. It was used by the Continental Congress in the mid 1700's before our nation's capitol was developed and constructed. It was also in this building that George Washington resigned from the Continental Congress so that he could retire to Mt. Vernon. Two years later he was elected the first president of the US. Well, we have had a great time and are still trying to digest everything that we've seen this week. However, our feet are tired and we're ready to get back to the slower paced life in the south. See you soon!