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Comment by lori on November 9, 2012 at 3:04pm

FeatheredNest- as for things to do- it's going to be COLD there so all the things I would suggest wouldn't work. My son graduated in May and the weather was perfect. We spent the brief amount of time we had with him doing outside stuff. The Navy pier. Botanical Gardens. Walking around Chicago. But there are inside things - the Sears Tower [ and your sailor gets in free] being one of them. Someone who was there in the winter months will have more suggestions I'm sure. We stayed in a really nice place about 10 min away from the base. I can ask my husband for the name. It was inexpensive but very nice and had good reviews. We stayed the first night at the Red Carpet Inn that was close to the base just so we could get up very early to wait in the line of cars. I wouldn't recommend it for the whole time though. Very low budget. We were not able to get rooms at the Navy Lodge but from everything I've heard it's very nice and close. If at all possible try and get to the Meet and Greet the night before. I helped coordinate that and made silk flower corsages for the ladies. I choose different colors to represent the different groups. I had so much fun meeting some of the moms I was in contact with. A couple have remained very good friends and we are still in contact.

Joanne- so glad you got one last quick call from Kev last night. How will you know if the address is correct or not? How frustrating!

Comment by FeatheredNest on November 9, 2012 at 12:41pm

Thank you ladies for welcoming me......  Yep we had a little bit of a scurry with our Recruiter (not his fault tho)  he has been helpful.  We went to Annapolis.  YES he is my baby.....  the kid in the box....blew me away - talk about empty nesting at its finest!  I sat and cried and cried....still have left it that way until I get the PIR letter.....  He was shipped out early so that he would graduate 12/21 BUT nope it is 12/28.  Any ideas on where to stay?  what to do?  anything is helpful....  YEP I'm stalking the mailman....  they laugh but understand......  thanks again for the words of encouragement!

Comment by lori on November 9, 2012 at 12:09pm

Welcome FeatheredNest! So good to have new MD mom's come in here! I can imagine how you are feeling. Even though it's been 2 years since my son went off to bc I can remember all the times I waited by the phone- ran to the mail box- longing for a word from him. Then when he was deployed it was waiting for any word from him through email. Is your son the first or last to leave home? For me it was my last. My baby. Joanne can relate as her son has only been gone for a week to basic training and it was her last at home. She still has her sailor [older] sons box!!! I sent mine back to him filled with goodies when he graduated bc. You should receive the PIR letter very soon. You could call your sons recruiter if he was helpful [ ours wasn't] so I just had to wait. So glad you joined us!

Comment by FeatheredNest on November 9, 2012 at 11:55am

Hello Everybody from Owings, Maryland!    My SR shipped 10/25 - received the "kid in the box" - cried for three days however I have not received the PIR letter.   His recruiter told me that he is scheduled to graduate 12/28.....   anybody else have the same?  suggestions?

Comment by Betsy, mom of Stennis sailor on November 8, 2012 at 10:12am

Anna, you are in such a great area, as Joanne mentioned, there are so many options for day trips or weekend getaways.  I love Gettsyburg too and DC is always a great choice.  You can also go north too to the largest mall on the east coast (or it used to be that) in King of Prussia, PA or Philadelphia.  I love the WV mountains.  My husband and I went to Davis, WV to a B&B for Thanksgiving last year and Snowshoe Resort is beautiful for skiing or snowboarding.  There are many other ski resorts within a couple of hours of us, too.  I saw where you went through the Shenandoah Mountains on your way home.  There are also caverns down there called Luray Caverns.  In WV, there are little civil war towns like Harper's Ferry and that is only about 1 or so from us.  Deep Creek Lake is about 3 hours from us and it is beautiful in the winter.  If you want to venture a little bit further away, Ocean City, MD is about 3 hours and Atlantic City, NJ is also a little over 3 hours from here.  NYC is about 4 hours, so that's also doable for a weekend trip.  The Baltimore Inner Harbor is full of fun things to do, like the National Aquarium, Science Center, Betsy Ross House and many, many awesome restaurants.  Ft. McHenry is in South Baltimore and the home of our National Anthem.  

Joanne, ((Hugs)) I can almost feel your heart ache.  We are all praying for Kevin.  We are all here, so come often for a ((Hug)) or just to tell us how you are feeling.  Don't forget to pick the brains of my friends Denise and Lori U. about the Army too.  I've never heard of spoonful.com either, but I'm going to check it out.  

  

Comment by Anna V on November 7, 2012 at 3:17pm

I have not heard about spoonful....I'll definitely check it out :-)
Thank you
So ladies...any of you have favorite places to go in MD - either scenic, B & B's, winter fun, etc...? Keep in mind, I'm new here so probably, the sky is the limit.

Comment by Betsy, mom of Stennis sailor on November 7, 2012 at 9:22am

Joanne, Yikes, I have a feeling that guy will probably make a lot of enemies in basic.  It sounds like Kevin is doing very well so far.  He is in my prayers every day.  How is mom doing?  

Linda, I will be praying for Joey.  I'm so happy that you will be able to see him soon.  

Anna, Wow, exciting things going on in your family.  That's wonderful that you will soon have a new daughter in law.  I'm glad that you had a great trip, although they are always way too short, aren't they?  :(  What kind of car does your son want to buy?  

I talked with Adam online yesterday and I was so glad that I did, because his last email was really kinda down.  He seemed a lot better yesterday.  We talked for his entire break time from work.  I have finished his Christmas shopping and have most of his gifts (mostly small ones) going directly to his ship.   

Comment by Linda on November 6, 2012 at 11:18pm

Anna - When my daughter was in grade school, she danced at Savage Dance Company in Sykesville.  Megan did it for recreation but they had competition teams too. Nicki is very nice - she was a 2nd grade teacher (I think) before she began doing this full time.

I enjoy cooking when I have time - which is not much lately.  I really enjoy baking and will be doing some of that soon!

We heard from Joey tonight and he takes his oral boards on 11/9 at 8:30 am.  He's done well so far and I know he can do this, but I'm still on pins & needles until he calls with the results.  His graduation is now 11/30 (was 11/21) and I don't think we will be able to go as I have another committment out of town. He said this is nothing like Power School - only about 10 min long.  He still is coming home for Thanksgiving and will be back for a few weeks in Dec.

Comment by Anna V on November 6, 2012 at 7:14pm

Joanne ~ the oldest Navy son is 25 (college degree done, now Navy career started...) and thank you :-)

Seems we have lots in common...multiple kids in the armed forces and cooking, too!! I love that you are making a cookbook for a Christmas gift - with specialty recipes. 

Oh...Kevin's able to call more because Basic has not started...that makes sense. You know, those talkative ones will keep getting in trouble until they get sick of all the extra push-ups and sit-ups they'll be doing, LOL! 

I have a TOTALLY different question for you MD girls: You who live in my general area (Westminster - Carroll County), what are the best dance schools that you know of? Weird, right? But my background is dance/arts and I'm so new to this area that I'd love any good input here. 

Comment by Anna V on November 6, 2012 at 10:00am

Joanne ~ thanks for the recipe link! I use allrecipes.com, too... My kids keep encouraging me to put together a cookbook...so far I have organized 3 "volumes" of family recipes. I think cooking is my second calling, LOL! Glad you heard from Kevin so much! 

Betsy ~ good on the "woman" issue...I hope he keeps his options open :-)  

We had a great (yet short) time in NC at the Regiment homecoming. So glad D is back and getting settled. Says he's taking Christmas leave and will come to MD! And, we've been coaching him along with buying his first vehicle...saved his $ for almost 2 years :-) He should have a new-ish-pre-owned vehicle in his possession by this weekend!

Looks like our oldest Navy son (nuke) will propose this month to his college girlfriend - called us to say he had the ring...he's so excited and she is too... we really like her. They are mature, thankfully. Just hope the two younger brothers wait for the RIGHT one too.

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