Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

ALNavyMom,

yeah, you have to remember that they bill you. :) We need to get an EZ Pass soon. I think they are available at any exchange. I know we can get them at the Little Creek base.

Yvonne

Hello again.

Spoke to my Sailor last night, she is having a little bit of a hard time adjusting to staying on the ship overnight. Most nights she says no one really stays there and she feels lonely and she was so cold that she barely slept. She does have a friend that has an apartment off base but there are others that live there and while she did stay there with her one night, she says she wasn't comfortable.

Questions for you - is it common for Sailors to have their own apartment off-base? My Sailor did mention something to me about a housing application that she was going to fill out but that she heard that there is a waiting list.

I'd appreciate any feedback...thanks in advance.

Marcy - yes! she was very happy and appreciative that we took the time to drive the car out to her and of course I was super glad to see her too!

aboun18 - what are barracks rooms? and where are these located?

I have an unmarried sailor in Norfolk. He returned from deployment and has a barrack room. He doesn't spend much time there though because of his work schedule and the fact that he has no drivers license. He tends to sleep on a barge.

Singingbird and Leach 73,

I know it's hard for the sailors living on the ship and hard to find a place to live if the barracks are not available. We have sailors who come over to our house in both situations. We may not be able to offer a place for them to live, but we would love to give them a place to hang out on the weekends. We've been opening our home for the last 14 years to the sailors and soldiers and marines....we feed them, play board games with them, take them to special events in the area and just provide a home away from their own homes that they left behind. We get together on Saturday evenings from 5 to 9 and on Sundays from 1 to 5.

If you think they would be interested, we can pm our phone number to you so they can get in touch with us or we can contact them.

I know that if our children were in the military we would appreciate anyone who would do the same. :)

Yvonne and John Wagner

So I am reading some of the comments and it is interesting how some of our sailors are in the same situations.  My son was staying on the barge when he first got out to Norfolk and also told me a lot of times there was hardly anyone there at night unless it was the duty people.  He has had a base room for a couple of months now and tries to stay there as much as possible.  He does not have a vehicle yet and says those cabs definitely get expensive.  We are down to trying to find the right company to ship his motorcycle out there and then I think he will be good.  Hopefully he will get tired of the motorcycle after the weather cools down and will get a vehicle. 

I know when he was on the barge, he mentioned sometimes missing his supper, and then either took a cab to go eat somewhere, or just held off until breakfast.  But then he was crabby because he was hungry. ha  If I had a daughter staying by herself on the barge at night, I would worry too.  The barrack my son stays in on the base is quite a distance from the main gate, so he doesn't really even do much on the base.  Just stays in his room and watches TV or sleeps.  Sometimes he goes and plays basketball and works out.  He said once that motorcycle gets there, he is going to stay busy.  He will learn though I am sure, that a truck will look way better when it rains or is cold.  His grampa offered to pay half on a truck with him if he would sell the motorcycle.  We don't want him to have it due to the fact that it is his first bike, and is very powerful.  Darn him and his cousin for arranging this deal. :( I will be so worried about him riding out there on the freeway.  He is from a small town and the nearest big city is nothing when it comes to driving.  But no matter where you are, people still do not see motorcycles and that is what scares us the most.  But when you are that age, you just don't seem to think anything will happen to you. Hopefully in his case, he will stay safe and not have any problem. 

from what I hear there is a waiting list for these barrack rooms.

gosh it just makes me sad that our Sailors have to go thru this with not feeling comfortable. Sure my worry level is elevated because of my daughter and most of the time she is alone.

:(

it think that now she is missing boot camp and great lakes. At least she wasn't alone and didn't miss a meal.

singingbird, you are welcome! And let us know if you need our contact number. :)

And CO-TwinSalorsMom is right. If your sailor needs a ride to our house we or one of our other sailors would be happy to pick them up!

Yvonne and John

OK breannarae  first off have someone teach you how to drive that stick. It is not hard. My sailor bought a car that is a stick and he taught himself how to drive it. 

Second maybe you could do little projects and write little letters each day and store them in a decorated box or tied with ribbon (red white and blue maybe) save them for when you can either send them or give them in person.

Breannarae Also join the Sub mom group

breannarae,

I agree with CO-TwinSalorsMom...get someone to teach you how to drive a stick shift. It isn't as hard as you may think. That way you will be able to get around. 

And also try and find some other wives you can get together with and have some friends who are in the same 'boat' as you are. :)  

There are always ways to get around the fact that right now you are stuck. Projects are good! If you have a bike that would be a way to get around things that are close enough for a bike ; not necessarily walk to.

Hope that helps!

Yvonne

CO-Twin -Yes my daughter is a church-goer and I told her to see if she could find a good church to go to on Sundays that is near by the base. Or is there a chapel on the base?

Any ideas? We go to a non-denominational church here in the suburbs of Chicago.

I will let her know about the Wagners. Thanks so much!

singingbird - i will reply to the message that you sent to me. Thanks!!

Leach73  My sailor goes to the Hampton Church. He likes it. Must be close to the pier and barracks he is in? he does go with a buddy.  It is non denominational I think.

CO-Twin, thanks! I will tell my daughter about the Hampton Church so she can look into it and find out service times.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Hi!  I am new to this group.  My sailor is in GL & he received his orders for shore duty in Norfolk.  We are still waiting to hear when he will be on leave to come home first.  I am wondering how he gets to his job & where he will live.  He is single & an E-3.  Are there buses available on base that run constantly?  Are the barracks going to be close to his work?  I guess it all really depends; just being a concerned mom.  When he joined the Navy, I figured all of these things would be taken care of, but from what I'm reading some sailors really require their own car.  Any thoughts?

Thanks NonnaB!  I am frustrated with that news!  I never anticipated him needing a car on base, but I understand since the base is so big!  I honestly thought he would be on a ship, but who knew?  I'm  not sure how we'll handle this & he hasn't mentioned it.  (he probably has no clue yet since he's not there.)  I am also reading about the barracks being full.  Is that going to be an issue for him?  Surely he'll have a place to live when he gets there?  This is very confusing!  Please enlighten me!

seasport--my son just arrived in Norfolk the beginning of May and he ended up buying a car after being there a week.  He is in the barracks and also an E-3, but his chief told him he would be able to move off base so that is what he is planning on doing I believe.  He also had some excitement the other day--got stuck in an elevator for 45 minutes.  You should have seen the pics and videos he uploaded to facebook about that...lol

Oh my!  That's funny now, but probably not at the time he was stuck!  Well, actually, my son is an E-2, not yet an E-3.  My mistake.  This whole Navy thing changes all of the time doesn't it?  It sure keeps me on my toes!

Jana, does your son like Norfolk?  I hear many sailors don't like it.  They just have to make the best of it for sure.

It is really hard to get anything out of him.  When I have asked all he will say is it's allright.  He was stationed in Italy at a hospital before this and they were a pretty close group.  They were always traveling and he got to travel to so many places in Europe when he was there that he wouldn't have gotten to visit if he wasn't in the Navy.   I think he kind of misses that close group and the traveling, but he does know some people stationed there, but I think like you said he is just making the best of it.  He really wanted a duty station on the West Coast but the only available ones were on the East Coast--the needs of the Navy you know.    His 5 year active duty contract will be up when his time is up in Norfolk and he plans on not reenlisting.   

It may take a little effort to find what's available but there's tons to do - 10Ks, the beach, Busch Gardens, summer concerts and festivals, and the area has tons of colleges and events too.  To see what's available, "Like" the FB page for Naval Station Norfolk https://www.facebook.com/NavalStationNorfolk, read through this FFR page http://www.discovermwr.com/navalstationnorfolk/index.html, and watch this one too HamptonRoads.com for events. 

Here are upcoming Liberty Trips for single sailors, one to Washington DC, one an "adventure weekend" in West Virginia, could be a good way to meet people, too!  :) 

Here's a pdf of the 2014 Run schedule:  2014%20Run%20schedule.pdf (Little Creek has a Run For Glory 5k with Obstacles on June 19)

And the Norfolk Tides are the triple-A team for the Baltimore Orioles and the ballpark is right on the river in Norfolk, pretty cool.  Schedule http://www.milb.com/schedule/index.jsp?sid=t568

I figured when my son said his ship was in a shipyard, that he would be able to get a shuttle to the base or the NEX.  I myself was surprised that wasn't an option.  My son has spend ALOT of money on taxi cabs since he has arrived the middle of January.  He is so over doing that. 

I know he is frustrated, but what can he do if he doesn't have transportation yet.  He couldn't wait to get to Norfork from the Great Lakes, but now he says he would like to be stationed in San Diego. He hasn't said he doesn't like Norfolk, just that he would like to experience both coasts. 

Thanks for all of the information ladies.  Marcy that's a big help!  My son also wanted the West Coast too, who doesn't?  Do the sailors have to walk everywhere on base at Norfolk, and/or rely on friends?  Really, there's no bus/shuttle system on base at all?  Currently, in GL,my son & friends will buddy up which makes the cab fares more reasonable. They'll do that some weekends for a hotel room too, just to get away.  Most of my son's class got the same orders, so at least he'll know someone; just not sure they'll be living close together. (probably not) We live in Texas & my parents are 6 hours from Norfolk. Hopefully, we can make plans to take a trip to Norfolk, since it won't take forever to get there, unlike Texas.  Sometimes it's just best to fly. It's nice to know other sailors don't have cars either.  My son will probably be frustrated too.  We all just want our sailors to be happy!  Happy sailors=happy moms.

I believe there is some type of shuttle on the base.  I could be wrong though.  My son is living far away on the base from the main gate, so it is a long walk to anything.  He walked to and from school every day his senior year.  He would walk in all elements just because he wanted the exercise.  But when I say something to him about walking on the base, he says everything is far away. ha

  His situation is when he is staying on the barge in the shipyard away from the base.  He has to take a cab back to the base and anywhere else he goes.  He does have some friends he does stuff with, but he is patiently waiting for us to get his motorcycle to him.  This trying to figure out what shipping company to use is making me a nervous wreck!  Plus I have to mail a huge box to him first with his jacket, helmet, etc.  That won't be cheap. ha I just don't know what company to trust and also, they just don't seem to be able to get it out there as quick as he would like. :)

Marcy - you need to round up all our kids who are being shy about discovering things, and get them going! ha :) When my son says he is bored which normally is only on the holiday weekend if he doesn't have duty, we always give him grief about all the things there is to do.  But he fusses about spending money on that cab.  He says as soon as his transportation gets delivered to him, he is going to go all over and do things. We will see..

The base is huge, plus there's life beyond the base!  :)  which is why a car is necessary. Also, as far as weekends go, my son doesn't drink, so I'm also glad that he's the DD, and that he need not rely on others.  For those without cars, I will just toss this thought out, don't want to start a battle but I've said this here before.  The sailor who scrimps to buy the car, pays registration, insurance, gas, oil changes, tires, brakes, repairs from Virginia's sink-hole-size potholes, parking, even car washes, on the SAME pay as everyone else (maybe less than some) has my respect for stepping up as an adult out in the world.  Someone kicking in $5 here and there doesn't really make it.  (Says the mom of a sailor with the car.) 

HuffyMom, I can imagine your mixed feelings about the motorcycle.  Hopefully the first snowstorm, or hurricane that blows by, will help him take up Grandpa's offer to go in in a truck!  :)

@HuffyMom, yep some need a bigger nudge than others LOL But just trying one trip is a great start.  On the base, they have sailing lessons available for sailors at the marina this summer.  It's a nice marina too, some great boats there.  I would love to have that opportunity right where I live!

Yeah, I remember, in January when my son graduated from boot camp, I thought it was horrindous for him to have to walk all the way from his ship to the visitor's center to meet us in that freezing cold, snow!!  He is a Texas boy for heaven's sake!  I just knew he was going to get hypothermia!  lol  He has faired that weather better than I could. I offered to mail him an umbrella, he said he didn't need one. I guess he didn't want to been caught dead using one, or maybe they weren't allowed.  I have no doubt he will take advantage of his liberty with trips to various places.  That is...if he has any money left from cab fares etc...He is currently paying on a student loan also. 

HuffyMom, I have a friend at work that shipped his sailor's car to her in Washington State at one time.  Would you like me to ask what shipping company he used?  It may take a couple of days for me to get back with you. I don't blame you, that would make me very nervous too!!

Have him take a cab to the Navy Lodge on Hampton Blvd, I just called and the smallest room they have is one with two queen beds, rate $76, available for tonight only, phone # is 757-489-2656.  He'll be right by the base and can get in touch with his command.

Address is 7811 Hampton Blvd, all cab drivers will know it.

Only Navy enlisted and veterans and their families can stay there, he'll be safe there too.  I took a sailor there last fall when his sponsor failed to show.  Wish I or my sailor was there to help!

Sent you a PM too :)

OH GOOD!!  Looks like he lived up to the Marine Corps mantra "improvise, adapt and overcome"!

Don't blame you for worrying though, as it's all a new experience.  We're all here for you!