Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

1316 members

For families and friends of Sailors who are stationed at Norfolk; for either Sea Duty or Shore Duty Sailors. Just make sure to keep OPSEC issues in mind and not disclose ship movements in advance.

Weather - Norfolk

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angelicasailorsmom

Thank you Karen I will ask my son tomorrow I beleive he does!

Apr 10, 2011
Ken-55 (OS Dad)

Thanks all for the welcome!

Karen, my son's played hockey since he was little, Navy parents are a lot like hockey parents. ;-)

I'm a member at NavyDads also, but I've found N4M's a great place to hang and get info. N4M made PIR easy . . . it was as if I had been there before, I knew what to expect. As soon as I knew my son was going to Norfolk I came here looking for a Norfolk group.

I've applied to join the family web at www.anzio.navy.mil , would that be the best place to get/share info about deployment? I'm aware of the importance of OPSEC, but I'd like to know what my son's up to! ;-)

Apr 10, 2011
TJ's Mom

Hi All,

My son is aboard the USS Leyte Gulf. He will be stationed in Norfolk when he returns. He wife is looking a place for them to live. They would like to live in the Virginia Beach area. Can anyone suggest apartments or townhomes community that are in a nice and save area?

Thanks in advance for any help and I hope you have a great rest of the weekend!

Apr 10, 2011
dms

I read that virginia beach is a good place to live

Apr 11, 2011
SubWife2011

Yes, VA Beach is a good place to live, but so is Chesapeake, Yorktown, Hampton, and Portsmouth. I would never choose to live in the City of Norfolk, that area is just to sketchy.

Apr 11, 2011
SubWife2011

If anyone has any questions about the area feel free to ask me, I grew up in the area and still live here until this summer.

Apr 11, 2011
SubWife2011

It will be a little more expensive to stay at the ones on the beach depending on what time of the year you come. But I am not too familiar with the hotels on that side of the water sense I have not had to stay in a hotel here.

Apr 11, 2011
Fl..GATOR

Hi, I need help again!!!! LoL Is there a map of bldgs. of Norfork base on line? Looking for Grogan(sp?) hall address on base? Thanks

Apr 11, 2011
TJ's Mom

cshore7222, Was the Navy lodge clean and nice? I am thinking about staying there for homecoming.

Apr 11, 2011
dms

yes i saw pictures that a navy mom took it is remodeled and looks very nice

Apr 11, 2011
Sue(Daniel's Mom)

My husband and I stayed at the Navy Lodge and it was very nice. The phone # I have is 1-800 Navy Inn. If you call they will need your sons/daughters name and rate. They will book the room in the Sailors name and he/she will have to be with you when you check in. We felt that the rate was reasonable $64 to $74 per night depending on what type room you get. The Navy Lodge is just down the road from the base. It only took our son about 5 minutes to get from the base to the lodge. Oh, mu husband was not able to view it on the Net either. So calling might be your best bet. Good Luck !!!

Apr 11, 2011
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom

I put all the Navy Lodge info plus photos in the Discussions area up top a few weeksago...it's #7 on p. 1.

Apr 11, 2011
dms

my sailor wrote me this am back from liberty from the historic place you can get real italian food

Apr 12, 2011
Cindy D

Does anyone know if the navy has any legal service available for the sailors?

Apr 12, 2011
polli k

Yes, there is legal help on the main base @ Norfolk

Apr 12, 2011
dms

my sailor is on the USS Kearsarge she is an M1A3 she guards prisoners and patrols the base,guard duty. I am glad they are getting some relaxation

Apr 13, 2011
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom

The Kearsarge has had a very long but admirable deployment; gratitude & congrats to one & all! That's going to be a heck of a homecoming party when they finally arrive back home :-)

Apr 13, 2011
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom

Cheryl, your son chose well. Ghent is a lovely area near the base and Old Dominion University. Great shopping & restaurants, too.

Apr 13, 2011
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom

Sorry Jenda, don't know what's best, personally. I did just find an interesting website: http://www.navalbasehotels.com. You choose your naval base, then each hotel listing has a description & gives distances to local places. Up to the consumer to book through them or get a better price elsewhere.

Apr 13, 2011
diannep

098daughersbf: My son is also with the USS T Roosevelt. He arrived last May. What is your sailor's rate? Welcome!

Cheryl: Welcome to the group!

Apr 14, 2011
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom

Welcome!!

Apr 16, 2011
dms

hi shiba welcome what ship is your sailor on?

Apr 16, 2011
dms

some of us will have a HC soon and will see and hug our sailors

Apr 17, 2011
dms

oh let me add

!!!!!!!!

Apr 17, 2011
dms

my sailor will have to stay in barracks she had a roommate in wash did not enjoy that, did not have any good nights sleep so moved out. right now she is sleeping with over 100 she wares earplugs

Apr 17, 2011
dms

she is on the USS Kearsarge it is an amphibious assault ship huge

Apr 17, 2011
dms

we plan on going to HC if our sailor has ist leave won't know until the end of the month

Apr 17, 2011
dms

welcome robyn

Apr 18, 2011
Cindy D

My son is stationed on the USS Carr, the same ship that the deceased sailor was from. Sad story, prayers to all!

Apr 18, 2011
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom

Welcome Nikki!

My two cents - I've been a Realtor for many years (not in VA) and advise parents to investigate the best schools for their kids and start their home search there. Google "top rated schools norfolk va" for example.

It can be better to have a smaller home and a great school, versus a newer larger home but a lesser education.

Also think commute - shiny new homes are often farther from downtown/work, and the hour-each-way commuting parent loses a ton of quality family time (10 hrs/week adds up! over months!).

Something to know about the area around Norfolk is that there are tunnels and bridges that can really disrupt a commute, so avoiding those is a plus.

I'm one who mentioned Ghent the other day...

Apr 18, 2011
SubWife2011

Nikki, the best area for schools around here is going to be in York County. It will be a bit of a commute, but they are the best schools. I grew up here and went to Hampton City schools for elementary, then my parents took me out of hampton and paid tuition for me to attend school in York County. If you live in York County you wouldn't have to pay tuition, the only reason we had to pay it was because we still lived in Hampton. I would not live in Norfolk (really bad area), there is really only a couple good neighborhoods in Newport News, a few good ones in Hampton, Chesapeake is a good area (not sure about the schools on that side of the water though), VA Beach is decent. If you choose York County, I would suggest finding a place in Grafton School Zone. Your son would probably go to Grafton High school and your daughter would go to either Dare, Coventry, Grafton Bethel or Seaford Elementary. The good neighborhoods in the county are Tabb Lakes, Coventry, Brandywine. Those are the decently priced homes. If you want more expensive there are the Greenlands on Hampton Hwy. Hope that helps!

Apr 18, 2011
dms

USS Kearsarge full steam ahead !

Apr 20, 2011
NecornhuskerMom

dms--I totally agree with you... where the USS Kearsarge goes the USS Ponce follows... We will be coming for homecoming!!! We are so excited!

Apr 20, 2011
dms

i am hoping for nice weather

Apr 20, 2011
NecornhuskerMom

Yes, I hope Mother Nature takes pity on us and gives us wonderful weather. I have never been to the east coast.

Apr 20, 2011
Marcy ~ Corpsman Mom

NECornhuskerMom, you're going to love it!! I'm so excited for all of you as your homecomings approach. Got your signs, flags and pompoms ready? :) These are some I snapped at the Iwo's homecoming in November...sweet!

Apr 21, 2011
NecornhuskerMom

Not yet.... That is on my to do list ..... I am trying to stay focused so that I can work....

Apr 21, 2011
NecornhuskerMom

I think that the Tiger cruise would have been awesome but we can't get there on time for that!!! Maybe next time.

Apr 21, 2011
dms

we are still waiting for our sailor to find out which leave ist or 2nd so we cannot plan anything we are on the list for the tc ugggg waiting

Apr 21, 2011
dms

if we miss this one there is a good chance we can go on the next one, might be a few years from now. just really excited to see our daughter for a couple of weeks. we have been going to see more places and on more flights in the last 3 years visiting our sailor than we have in the past 15 yrs chicago, washington and now virginia

Apr 22, 2011
dms

the temp will be around 75, humid and virginia is expected to have close to 4 in. of rain so be prepared for that

Apr 22, 2011
ckmom

I hope to see a lot more we don't go anywhere to for from home. So Great Lakes has been the only place I have gone so far to see my son. I wanted to go to Pennsacola and Jacksonville Fl. but that didn't work out. I'm going to the homecomming when the Bataan comes back with or without my husband. We have a dairy farm so that's why it is so hard to get away. Some days I hate the farm. LOL

Apr 22, 2011
dms

i wish the BATAAN a safe mission they are replacing the Kearsarge

Apr 22, 2011
TJ's Mom

Hi, My son was just tell me about the tiger cruise but he don't know to much. Just wanted to know it I could go. He is aboard the USS Leyte Gulf. Can anyone tell me more about it? Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!

Apr 22, 2011
annamichael

My sailor is currently in school for IT in Pensacola. We are hoping he gets stationed in VA. Can anyone give me a little insight into their day to day.. Like, when they are not deployed, what is their schedule? I know everyone is probably different, but what has been your experience? I'm asking because I would like to get an idea of how it will be when I move with him. Is it an 8-5 kind of thing? Do you see them everyday?

Thank you for your insight! It's very much appreciated.

Apr 24, 2011
SubWife2011

Becky: Those apartments are in an Ok neighborhood, she will be close to shopping. And they are right off of the interstate so it might get a little loud during certain parts of the day, but it should be fine.

Apr 24, 2011
Charlotte Anne

Hi, It is Easter Sunday and I am just having a hard time not having my son home. It seems that these are the hard days. I felt bad for him today because it did not seem like anyone was doing anything. I know it isn't a federal holiday, but I just felt like something could have been done. I think I am feeling sorry for myself. Sorry everyone. He has been at Norfolk for about 3 weeks. I think he needs to meet some more people. Does any one out there have a son or daughter working with helicopters? He will be starting C school in the fall.

He is thinking of taking a college class this summer.. Is anyone out there???

Apr 24, 2011
Illinibeam13

Prayers for Vincent and his family. It's so sad to hear about that.

Apr 25, 2011
Illinibeam13

My boyfriend is on the GHWB too. This will be his first deployment, he arrived in norfolk on friday evening. It's going to be a rough rest of the year.

Apr 25, 2011
duhhuh58 Ship 10/Div 267

Becky, no the don't as long as their permanent address is back home. my brother retired from the navy and he drove around with an expired dl for years. i don't know what the rules are not but then (about 11 years ago) as long as you are not stationed in your home state (his was PA) you can do that.

carol

Apr 26, 2011