Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

Marcy, one more question (I promise), this weekend, when we go on base, to go on his ship, does my son need to wear his uniform? Or civi's?  I would ask him to ask his sponsor, but like I said, she's not very responsive to these types of questions. 

If he's off duty he can wear civilian clothes.  Sponsors run the gamut, which makes me crazy.  My son's a sponsor and really enjoys the responsibility.  Keep an eye on the weather for the weekend and the storm that's developing - http://www.wvec.com/weather - but looks like you'll be ok. The base bus tour is really interesting, for both you and your son:  https://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrma/installations/ns_norfolk/ab...

Hi everyone! I've been following this post for a few days and just wanted to share with AOnavymomTN that I'm going to Norfolk this weekend also! How exciting! This is my first visit as well so it will most definitely be a learning experience. Marcy - you have tons of great information! Thank you for sharing! Anybody have a great hole-in-the-wall place to eat that they'd like to share? 

Thank you all for giving me great information! If ya'll think of anything else, please pass it on. :)

Some of the places I like on a visit - In Norfolk, Charlie's American Cafe is a classic hole in the wall for breakfast and lunch, Tom Hanks even ate there while they were filming "Captain Phillips."  Press 626 is a cool cafe and wine bar in an old house.  Fair Grounds for coffee, also in an old house.  Doumar's Drive In for a barbecue sandwich and a shake -  a landmark that's been there forever, and they come to the car :)  On the Portsmouth side, Still is amazing for tapas and cocktails, tucked away and down a few steps like a speakeasy :)  I always try to go there on a visit.

There is!  I started it in 2010, it has lots of good suggestions by members.  http://navyformoms.com/group/norfolksailorsfamilyfriends/forum/topi...

AOnavymomTN and juliw, 

plea se check out our website to see the activities we do with the sailors who come over on the weekends. (if you go to our page on navy4moms our website address is there. Enjoy your visit here and give us a call if you have time. I can give you our cell number if you pm us. 

Yvonne

Hello to all!

where do I find out informartion about the family cruise and/or Tiger cruise?

If you're on their lists, the Family Readiness Group and the Ombudsman for your sailor's command will provide information when one is coming up.  You can email them with your questions, too. 

Here's a Tiger Cruise FAQ for one that took place in 2012.  Some things will be different for yours, but it will give you an idea.  http://navyformoms.com/profiles/blogs/tiger-cruise-frequently-asked...

I might have lost my Sailors graduation pictures from Jan. 2013. Does anyone know if we can still reorder those?

Hampton Roads Fourth of July Fireworks and Events, with weather postponements noted at the bottom:  http://www.wvec.com/community/4TH-OF-JULY-Fireworks-parades-events-...

Virginia Beach Oceanfront and Mt Trashmore fireworks and events have been rescheduled b/c of the storm - http://www.wvec.com/news/Most-July-4th-events-rescheduled-at-Oceanf...

If anyone's going to the Oceanfront fireworks display, just know that the traffic in and out is absolutely awful!  Just a heads-up  :)

BTsmom,

Contact the NEX Photo Lab to see if they can help~~

847-578-6205    Hope so!!

Good morning!

thanks so much Marcy!

Have a great 4th of July!!! I'm already beginning to feel the sentiment come over me as it will all be more meaningful with now with my daughter being enlisted! I keep her and all of our Sailors in prayer.

God bless America!! God Bless our Sailors!!

HOOYAH!!

Guys I have a son in Norfolk.  Its his first deployment and his ship will be under repair for more than a year.  He keeps calling me he is bored.  Is there any couple who can adopt him for weekends?  I can vouch he is a good son. Thank you  Malen

Malen,

My husband and I invite sailors over to our home on the weekends. Saturday nights are our game nights...we feed them and play board games and sometimes go bowling or mini golfing. On Sundays we sit down to a home cooked meal with home made bread and get to know each other. If you go to our page on navy4moms it will give you our website information and you can see for yourself our pictures of our activities. We would love to meet your son and invite him to join us!  If he needs a ride we can arrange that too. :) We'd be happy to give you our cell number so he can contact us, or we could contact him if you like. Tonight we are going to see the fireworks downtown Norfolk.

Yvonne and John Wagner

John I would be very happy if you could invite him. His name is Jedd and his number is 3606702461.  Thank you and I really appreciate you both  

@abuon18.  He is with USS Truman

John and Yvonne,

I told him to take online classes  so he will not be bored. He is not a mall person..a homebody guy :) 

It was for her bootcamp PIR 1-18-13. She's telling me not to worry about it. But....I'm a mom. I'm very upset that I did this. CatMom509 would that NEX be able to still help?

BTsmom - CatMom509 is right, call the photo lab at the Great Lakes NEX.  Here's some more info:  http://navyformoms.com/group/bootcampmoms/page/division-t-shirts-an... and PIR picture package prices

Anyone have a sailor planning a wedding?  On July 14 this bridal boutique in Suffolk, Virginia is giving away wedding dresses to military brides.  Here's the info and requirements to qualify:  http://www.wvec.com/community/Boutique-to-host-Operation-Wedding-Go...

Well according to that site I'm stuck out of luck. They only keep  individual photos for a year. MAN!!! I am so angry at myself! It really stinks. Heavy sigh.

Thanks for everyone's help.

BTsmom, did you call them to be certain? 

Thank you for pushing me to call. They still have them! I am sooo excited. It literally made my morning. Yay!

My sons ship was suppose to move from the shipyard to the base today.  Makes me happy because now he will have a 5 minute drive versus the 20-30 minute drive to the shipyard.  I think he will be able to do so many other things now being on the base.  I haven't talked to him today so hopefully it got moved.  He said it would be a really busy day.

He is bummed that the rest of us are leaving on vacation Saturday and he won't be able to go.  But such is life in the military. He said how come the year I can't go, everyone else goes.  He has not met one of his sisters boyfriend, so he is really anxious to "check him out". ha  Her boyfriend just got out of the ARMY after being in for 9 1/2 years.  I think they would have a lot to talk about. He did 2 tours in Afghanistan and 1 tour in Iraq. 

Storms yesterday really wreaked havoc in the area  - Norfolk had flooding, Virginia Beach had winds up to 70 mph and even a tornado touchdown.  Photo from wvec.com of downtown Norfolk and the Midtown Tunnel flooding - just what you want to see when you're under a river - NOT!  Any motorcycle-riding sailors trading in for a car yet?  :)

Amazing! I was looking through my son's things in his room and found my Sailor's graduation pictures from bootcamp! Yay! Saved us lots of money! 

Thanks for the support in trying to get new ones.

BTsmom, that's good to hear; you're welcome.  Pay it forward! :)

new to group. My daughter just arrived there from Japan. She is an OS to work with HSC group.

Welcome blm!  This is a fun and active group, lots of great people and information.  

For anyone with a sailor looking for something fun to do, the Military Challenge in Virginia Beach is coming up Saturday, July 26 - pass along this link to register:  Military Challenge 2014.  

BTsmom,

I'm glad you found the original pics and good to know the Photo Lab keeps the photos for longer than a year~~

Love this! "If preparing dishes in a cramped kitchen sounds daunting, imagine cooking in a small space hundreds of feet below the sea's surface for 170 of your closest friends."  Story:  Cooking in tight quarters: A submarine (aboard USS Pennsylvania; from the Philadelphia Inquirer)

Kathy-HSC is Helicopter Sea Combat, she is an Operations Specialist

Here's a serious question. I've been thinking about joining the Blue Star Mothers but my Sailor will more than likely never be deployed and pretty much stateside. I think I would feel guilty because I have no idea what it's like. What do y'all think about this?

BTsmom,

I don't think it matters if your Sailor wouldn't be deployed overseas.  He is enlisted and serving our Navy.  You can choose however you want to spend your time helping out our military in general.  It will be a great feeling to be involved and helping fellow Sailors, Soldiers, Marines, Airmen, or Coast Guard!!  Go for it!!

CO-Twin,

I think it is a matter of the details count.  A little boat doesn't compare to a big destroyer and a ship is in no way a sub.  It is always better to get the terminology correct.

Can anyone tell me what is the weather like around Mother's Day in May in Norfolk??  Thinking of planning a visit to my Sailor daughter~~

It should be nice by then, everything starting to bloom.  Here's what May looked like this year, sort of all over the board but mainly warm!  Might be better later in the month to be safe for the warmer temperatures, because you never know.  These were the temps in May 2014:  http://www.accuweather.com/en/us/norfolk-va/23504/may-weather/1828   

and this page goes into more detail about average precipitation, clouds etc for May in Norfolk - http://weatherspark.com/averages/29954/5/Norfolk-Virginia-United-St...

So Sad... My norfolk son  can not get down to Goose Creek for his twins Graduation. Airfare too expensive and he is in school right now so could only come for the weekend. His best buddy in out to sea.