Scout Day Tour and Academy Football Game

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Submitted by Dr Waisanen on Mon, 08/24/2015 - 21:32
Identifier: 20051119-Scout Day at US Naval Academy
Purpose of outing: Day Trip
Mode of travel: Car
Planning horizon: 5-6 months (Reservations June/July)
Capacity: No limit (had 8 youth, 8 adults, 2 guests, 2 family members
Fees: $10 per scout $15 per adult Parking in Germantown Elementary School parking lot was $10 per vehicle
Distance: 50 mi (6215 Rolling Road, Springfield, VA)
Location: US Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
Contact: Troop 1501, Debra B.
Dates: 2005-11-19 (mid November)
Description: Every year the Naval Academy sponsors a day in which Scouts are invited to receive a tour of the Naval Academy and attend a Navy Football game. We met at Messiah United Methodist Church at 6:15a.m. and departed at 6:35a.m. We arrived at Germantown Elementary School (1411 Cedar Park Rd, Annapolis MD) parking lot around 7:30a.m. From the elementary school we were able to take a shuttle bus to the Academy to start our tour. We gathered in the Auditorium to be welcomed and to pick up our tour guide. Tours of the Naval Academy were provided by Eagle Scouts that now attend the Academy. The tour was conducted at the plebes discretion – our tour included facilities such as the Field House, Chapel (to include the final resting place of John Paul Jones), training ships, and grounds. Some confusion ensued over the pickup point for the movement to the football stadium and resulted in some lost time (our guide indicated one location but another provided an alternative location). We finally took the shuttle back to the stadium to eat lunch and watch the cadets march on to the field. The game stated at 1:30 p.m. Departure was determined by each vehicle’s driver (some people left at half time and others chose later departures). A patch was provided to each participant because of early registration. The Naval Academy is located in Annapolis MD: We took I-495 to US 50 East. We exited US50 at Exit 24 and parked in the Germantown Elementary School parking lot (parking was $10 per vehicle).
Advancements: This activity did not have any advancement activity associated with it.
Assessment: 1. Although this event is an annual activity and was fairly well organized by the Naval Academy Association of Eagle Scouts, the information for the Scout Day was slow to come from the Academy. 2. Would recommend having the boys sign up early and order only a few extra tickets. 3. It was a cold, windy day with extensive outside exposure (tour and game) so appropriate cold weather dress was very necessary. 4. It was also extremely difficult to obtain information about camping – could not reach the point of contact (Joe McGeeney). 5. Recommend doing again but maybe on an every other year schedule (and try to camp once too). 6. Recommend each person bringing along a Powerbar or some type of simple snack along with a bottle of water for the tour. We spent enough time outdoors that it would be possible to have a snack; otherwise it is a long time between breakfast and lunch.