Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

I'd post the question on the FRG's Facebook page; or message and/or email them.

Hi all, my son deployed the morning (3/11/13) on the USS San Antonio. Would love to see some pictures as I wasn't able to be there. Heard he was 'manning the rails'.

It is not good news I'm afraid.

Cindy D, thank you for your son's contact info.  He got right back to me yesterday after I texted him!  We will be in touch with the furniture lady after Nathan finds a house to rent.

Colleen, your  welcome!  My son has an apt at Beechwood near base and really likes it.

Singingbird- There is a lot to learn, isn't there?  Your best bet for getting mail to your Sailor as quickly as possible (once it reaches the ship) is to include rate and rating (such as MM3) and the division name.  There may be more than one person with the same name on a ship, so the more specific you can make it, the better! 

Have fun sending those letters and packages. I wish the post office gave rewards points...:-)

singingbird, this is also a cool group for care package inspiration plus tips 'n' tricks!   http://www.navyformoms.com/group/carepackageideas

beachmom, ain't that the truth??  We'd be cleaning up at the P.O. lolol

Absolutely!!

Ship 12 and Cindy D, thank you for the apartment info.  I will let my son know.

Sandra Am, My son, daughter in law and 7 week old grand daughter live in Admiral's Way complex. It is located right next to Mariner's Watch on Warwick Ave. We have visited at least 7 times over the past 9 months that they have lived there. Both places are very well kept. In fact Steve's place had new carpet, and some fresh paint added before he moved in. He would have been at Mariner's instead, but he misunderstood how the income limit worked to qualify. They now need to move to a 2 bedroom place, since the birth of the baby. They went back over to Mariner's to look at 2 bedroom places. That is where he has wanted to live. However, now that he has something to compare to, they have found that the kitchen is so much smaller than what they have. Mariner's is a larger complex. It is with an electronic gate to enter. We have not been inside, just son & dil. I can't imagine they are dirty. Like I said, that is the place my son wanted. Admiral's has assigned parking with spaces for visitors. Just have to get a permit at the office. We usually seem to get there when the office is closed. There is a ton of off street parking. We have left at different hrs of the evening, had to walk thru the complex to our car. At no time have we ever felt unsafe or had suspious people hanging around. I dont put much clout into google searches. I hope your son looks at the housing himself and then makes a descision. I'm in no way dissing the person who gave you the info, just saying it's like anything else. You may love a hotel or restaurant, and I may think they are the worse places on earth !

Sandra AM,  My son turns 21 on the 27th.  Would like to surprised him with something, we wont be visiting him till the 30th. 

Does anyone know of a good bakery, that would deliver him a special cake? 

I'm looking for some help, my daughter and another sailor are moving in to a apartment at the beginning of April. I was wondering if anyone can suggest where I can tell them to look for furniture that doesn't cost that much as they are scheduled to deploy next February. The girls have no furniture, I will be going down the week of Easter to see my daughter and try to help her organize her apartment as this is there first apartment.

Also does anyone know anything about apartments called Merrimack Landing??? 

Thanks!!!

Thank you for the cake info.  I'm to late to order a cake for an APO/FPO address.  That takes 2-3 weeks for delivery.  My son only has the ship address, even though he is in port.  Any other suggestions, thank you.

Sandra enjoy your time with your son and daughter in law and that precious baby!!

Hope the weather is better there than what we have in Missouri.

My son is on the USS Bataan.

Scocer Mom this site might be of some help. http://cinchouse.com/  And of course thrift shops or consignment shops are always a great source. I do not know what is in the area though.  Our son is living on the barge right now. He is assigned to the USS Enterprise but is waiting for new orders before he settles anywhere.

Soccer Mom, my son did well on Craigslist.  Also went to this Ikea, about 2.5 hours north on 95 in Woodbridge - for desk, bookshelves, tables, lamps, even kitchen stuff.  It all fit in the car, and he hired a handyman to assemble it all in about an hour  - smart if you've ever put together Ikea stuff! lol

jackarita26,  That is very sweet of you, I don't expect anything like that.

Very thoughtful!!!!

jackarita26 I just remembered he will be out at sea on his birthday.  I just mailed him a card and I will be seeing him March 30th.  So his cake will be a couple days late.  Thanks,  you and your daughter are very thoughtful.

There are a number of Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters thrift shops in the area, here's their site with addresses - http://www.chkd.org/giving/thrift/; there's also this one near the main gate into the Little Creek Naval base; it benefits the SPCA - http://www.secondchancethrift4pets.com  And two moms here recommend a store, don't know the name but you can ask LoriLAB, her son just bought stuff there for his new house  :)

On April 27, my neighborhood is having a community yard sale.  It is a pretty amazing event, each home sets up their sales in their own driveways, but as many as 100 home will have sales.  The neighborhood is on the water, fairly upscale and a lot of older people who are looking to downsize.  This could be a great place to pick up some furniture and household items.  The neighborhood is called Baycliff; it is off Mill Dam Road near the Hilltop area of Virginia Beach.  If your sailors are looking for some good deals, tell them to check it out!

There are also a number of thrift stores in the area:  Childrens' Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD), Goodwill, Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Second Chance Thrift Store (supports SPCA).  You can google any of them to find the most convenient locations.

I know that I have seen the information before, but I can not seem to locate it.  Trying to help my son and look ahead for a place for him to rent when he comes back from deployment.. Any suggestions of places?  I would really appreciate the input.

Norfolk and Virginia Beach are becoming well known for their restaurants.  Lately the area has been appearing on "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" with Guy Fieri quite a bit.  He has checked out Doumar's (Norfolk, burgers, great ice cream) Leaping Lizard (Virginia Beach, sandwiches, salads, farm-to-table), Citrus (Virginia Beach, breakfast) and several others.  Depending on your tastes, you should be able to find some great, locally operated places to eat.  Lots of seafood places along Shore Drive in Virginia Beach (Croakers, Dockside, Bubba's, One Fish, Two Fish) and then more eclectic dining in downtown Norfolk along Granby Street (Pasha Mezze, 456 Fish and many others).  Really, if you are downtown anywhere, you can park your car and wander into any one of a number of good restaurants. 

Happy eating!

Will be visiting my son over easter and next week.  Need some ideas on what my husband and I can do while my son is at work during the day.  Thanks in advance!

I think it depends on whose name is on the lease and specifics to the lease itself.  Your DIL should contact the Housing Service Center at the naval station at (757) 445-2832.  They should be able to guide her through that process. 

Good luck!

Thank you Denise (Dee), trying to plan our week out.

The boat cruises are great, I always learn something new from their tour guides! Another fun thing to do (if you like baseball) is go see the Norfolk Tides, the AAA farm team for the Baltimore Orioles. Really, there is something here for everyone: beach, fishing, camping, history (Colonial Williamsburg, Fortress Monroe and the Jamestown Colony), museums (Chrysler Museum, Nauticus, USS Wisconsin), restaurants, tour boats (both the Norfolk Navy base tours and the dolphin watch boats from the Virginia Aquarium), sports (Tides, Admirals, college teams), Busch Gardens...it is a fun place to visit!  

Thanks everyone for your help, started making a log of all the places we can choose from.                                                                                                        Can't wait to see my son, he will be 21 tomorrow, that is my youngest out of 4.  He's getting older but I'm not. lol 

My son has been in Norfolk a month now. As luck would have it his car, which we only delivered 2 weeks ago, needs engine work. Can anyone recommend a reputable auto repair place that works on Toyota's? Or do you know of a service at the base that he can get recommendations for such? I would like to steer him in the right direction to make sure he doesn't get ripped off. He is pretty inexperienced when it comes to car repairs. Thanks.

Selms - This place was recommended to my son by another Navy mom on here.  Her son and other sailors take their cars there. My son had to replace his engine after he got stuck in a flooded street last year.  His car's a Toyota Avalon and the dealership was going to charge him around $7000 to replace.  This place was a lot less.  Accurate-Tune Plus, 1312 Monticello Ave, Norfolk, VA 23510 (757) 226-8863.  Ask for JT.  I don't know if he's just a mechanic there or the owner.

Thank you JackieD !

Good article from CNN.com here; some reassuring words that are welcome in the face of Kim Jung Un's bizarre saber-rattling.  

Hello,

My son is reporting the the Bush this week and doesn't have a car. Is it possible to survive in Norfolk these days without a car? Is there any base shuttle service or other transportation to get them to the exchange, etc.?

Thanks!

My opinion is that it's pretty hard to survive without a car there (my son would say impossible).   There are cabs, but a car is pretty much a necessity.  And of course there's life beyond the NEX, and tons to do in the area.

Hard to believe the largest Navy base in the world doesn't have base transportation that will get you to the important places. Well, I guess he'll be looking for a car soon.

Lauriekay, thanks for the laugh!  :)  Dad of Sailor, if your son is interested, there is a single-session program called Car Buying Strategies for sailors on the base; here's the link  Fleet and Family Support (scroll down, it's the second one); the description reads, "Car Buying Strategies: "Looking for a car? Don't get taken for a ride! Learn all the important do's and don't's BEFORE you step onto the car lot in this single-session program. Topics include negotiating, trade-ins, discounts, financing, high-pressure sales tactics, and tricks to watch out for."

Marcy...thanks for the info I'll pass that onto him. He was really hoping he wasn't going to need a car as he wants to save his money but I guess if he wants to do anything he's going to have to get something.

One more thing, he got a good insurance rate with USAA.

And that reminds me of this - sailors under 25 who need or want to rent a car, can have the under-25 daily fee (which is a lot) waived if they log into USAA, go to the Travel link and click through to one of the companies offering this (Enterprise is one).

My son has a truck and I know he takes his friends around for a cheap rate, that don't have a car.  I would think someone will be willing to help him out untill he can get a car.  My son is one of these, has to drive, not comfortable with others driving. He has always been like that, he started driving at a young age, we have a large dairy farm, so that is why he is like that. LOL

ckmom, glad to hear he gets paid!  Some car owners feel awkward asking for money, and it's not fair to the sailor who stepped up and bought a car, pays gas and insurance, brakes, tires, and maintenance - oh those Norfolk potholes! - and not get something from their friends who get rides.  Hopefully those friends are stuffing a few bills in the driver's drinkholder without being asked.   

Gary Sinise, a tremendous supporter of our military, is bringing his band to Portsmouth's NTelos Pavilion on the Elizabeth River on May 11!  It's just across from Norfolk's Waterside and a walk from the ferry at High Street.  The concert's free and only open to DoD cardholders :)   Love him!  

Bad news from my sailor - not too bad in the grand scheme of things but huge setback for him...... where do we turn now.  He's just been diagnosed colour blind (borderline but nonetheless colour blind).  Also he needs corrective lenses now - he's 23 and never needed them.  He was tested right before boot camp, at MEPS and in boot camp and every time he had 20/20 vision.  Now on the Bush he needs glasses.  He's devastated because he saw his navy career lasting  20 years - will this hold him back at all?  I want to fly up there and take him to a specialist for a 2nd opinion - I want the navy equipment testing lol!  Feel so bad for him, I just want to hug him.

thanks Lauriekay1 I will try to get him to go