Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

Hi everyone.  I'm new to the group, but not N4M.  My sailor just got to Norfolk this week and is looking at getting all set up.  Just wanted to say hello!

hello! my sailor just arrived to Norfolk today :) I'm new to the group, but I was apart of the PIR group on here and loved all the support from everyone

My sailor just arrived back in Norfolk after letting his mom enjoy his company for 10 days!!

nicole1818 and LadyDi,

Welcome to N4M and we hope your sailors will enjoy the Navy as well as this area.

My husband and I have been here for the last 14 years, inviting sailors over to our home on the weekends. We play board games and sometimes other activities as well as eat together on Saturday evenings and on Sunday afternoon we invite them over for a home cooked sit down meal with home made bread and dessert. You can see more about us on our page on this site. If you think your sailors would be interested in joining us and having a place to hang out away from their ships or the base itself, please let them know about us. We can pm our cell number to you if you like.      My husband spent 20 years in the Navy: 10 enlisted and 10 as a Navy Chaplain so these sailors are important to us.:)

Yvonne and John Wagner

nicole1818, 

I am from the same area as you; in fact my sister lives in the same town as you do! Small world! :)

Yvonne

Welcome Lady Di & Nicolel818 :)

Nicolel818 & Yvonne - I'm in Discovery Bay, right over Vasco Road :)

Hello Ladi Di, Nicolel818 and JackieD! I used to live in Antioch before my move to Hawall a year ago! I was in Norfolk visiting my son 2 weeks ago..oh how I miss that kid!

Does anybody here know anything about hardship separation?

Found this info on the internet Lovemysailor: http://girightshotline.org/en/military-knowledge-base/regulation/de...

I know of someone who did do this but in the Air Force..and unfortunately it also hurted his career after getting out when applying for a job...just wanted to share. Hope this helps and everything is ok..

Hi Yvonne and John!  Thanks for the invite for my son.  I mentioned it to him last night when we talked and he sounded interested. I'll try and get him in touch some how.  He actually reports to the ship today for his first day - I'm anxious to see how it goes!

Hi Nicole1818 welcome as well to the group.  We're both newbie's here I see :) 

That's great LadyDi!  I will pm you my cell number so he can give us a call. The more sailors in our home, the merrier! :)

Yvonne

Wow! It is a small world! My sister doesn't live far from Vasco Rd. Amazing! I'm from Castro Valley.

Yvonne

Yvonne, it is a small world.  I was born and raised in San Francisco and I've been living out here for the past 8 years.  I love the quiet and peaceful surroundings out here.  My kids have family on their dad's side in Pleasanton.

San Francisco! That's my favorite city. I worked there for 21/2 years before getting married.

They Bay Area...my old stomping grounds. :)

Have a great evening.

Yvonne

Well my son leaves today to start a new journey overseas. My heart breaks that I am not able to be there to see him off.

Cindy D - I feel bad for you.  It just breaks your heart I am sure to not see your son off.  How often do you normally see your son each year?  How long will he be gone?

My son has not deployed yet, so I can't even imagine how that will feel not talking to him. 

HuffyMom23 - I usually see my son maybe once a year but it depends on deployments. He has been on 3 deployments in the last 3 years each for 6-9 months. He will be gone this time for 2 years. Skype will be my new best friend! He was excited to go so I a really trying to be strong but it will be a long 2 years.

awe I am sorry Cindy. Hang in there, It is hard I know. We are here for you to cry on our virtual shoulders.

You are a good egg Cindy

Tracy - We're going to be in Norfolk visiting our sailor as well (although my party isn't nearly as big!) Right now, the only thing I can find open on Thanksgiving that would be serving turkey is Cracker Barrel. There are three in the area. I called the one in Virginia Beach. Yvonne might have a better idea for us when she reads this!!!!!!!!!!

so my son is leaving on Saturday for Norfolk.   this time is worse than when he went to Chicago for basic and A school for me.   

Jeannie, he will like Norfolk - lots of great things to do, the winter weather is way better than Great Lakes, and hopefully you can plan a visit!  Norfolk and Navy Lodge info

i hope so..  so little information on this move.  gives me anxiety.

Co-Twin - The egg is so cute!

Tracy - My son left for one of his deployments the day after Thanksgiving and were staying at the Navy Lodge where they have the kitchens. So I ordered the cooked turkey dinner from Kroger's with all the fixings and then heated it up in the room and it was like having Thanksgiving at home. Well almost.

juliw- We won't be there on Thanksgiving day, but since he missed Thanksgiving and Christmas both last year, we wanted to have a "pass around" meal instead of ordering off menus once while we are there. I'm sure he gets tired of eating out and I know he misses family dinners. I may do as Cindy D did, and just order a big meal and take it back to the hotel. We're not staying at Navy Lodge, but I'm sure we can use the lobby to all sit and eat together one evening. We tried to upgrade our room to a kitchen, but too late for that as the hotel is full. 28 years ago we were there over thanksgiving when my sister was in A school, and my mom fixed an entire turkey dinner in the hotel kitchenette!

Tracy - I'm sorry that you can't get access to a kitchen of any kind. In my world, that's a horrible thing! We're staying at the Navy Lodge like Cindy D suggested and I can't get my family to agree to making a home-cooked meal for our sailor. *shaking head sadly* Everyone knows sailors want home-cooked meals........:)

So - just my 2 cents - The Navy Lodge is pretty nice (I've stayed there twice and both times never had any issues) and if your sailor wants some good chinese food I'd suggest, "Royal Garden".  Best curry chicken and fried rice!  If anyone is interested, I can pass out the address. 

Morning all!  I have a quick question, that you may or may not be able to answer.  My son actually lives in an apartment off base - and his ship is being retrofitted I believe at the moment.  However, last night he said he had to "sleep on the barge".... What is a barge? I keep thinking of those things you see being pushed down the Mississippi River by a tow boat :-)

Thanks auboun18!  He emailed me and said he was worried he'd fall out of his rack all night :-)  It's nice to try and put a visual picture in my head

My son is in Dam Neck, VA for C school and has 4 day weekend for Veteran's Day and also 4 days at Thanksgiving.  We live in the DCA area which is about 3.5 hours away. Does anyone know of a way that he can find out if any other Sailor either in Dam Neck or Norfolk might be coming this way?  He'd be happy to pay for the gas....

some hotels have  conference rooms. Maybe you could use one, they sometimes have a kitchen in them.

Hi Teri, one thought - if your son is under 25 and banks with USAA, he can rent a car from Avis, Budget, Enterprise or Hertz and have the "Young Driver 21-24 years old" surcharge waived.  That's a savings from $20 to $30 per DAY.  Log into USAA, go to Our Products -> Travel Discounts -> Car Rental -> choose company.

That's a good idea, but he banks with Navy Federal and I didn't see any offering like that on their website. An economy car from Budget would cost him (or me) over $200.

Hi Teri - My son is in Norfolk and he and his gf may end up driving to Maryland for Thanksgiving.  I'll find out if they are and if so maybe we can connect them for a ride.  I'll keep you posted!

Great idea, Ken-55 (OS Dad).  Also in the FWIW dept regarding car rental - even when Enterprise's $9.99 daily weekend rate doesn't show up on their website, it is often offered when you log in as an Enterprise Plus member (free to join) or in their emails.  They're at the Norfolk airport, on Military Highway near the airport, and other nearby locations.

Teri, another option is Amtrak from Norfolk (NFK) to Washington DC's Union Station (WAS), one-way starts at $56. http://www.amtrak.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=am/am2Station/...

I did a quick search. Open Table lists five restaurants int he area that have Thanksgiving dinner. Swan Terrace is wonderful, but booked solid. Mahi Mah's is a seafood place but it evidently does a traditional turkey dinner. Reservations are available. I didn't check all of the options, but there are some good choices, if a bit on the pricey side. Enjoy! http://www.opentable.com/promo.aspx?m=92&pid=1#state{PromoID:1|...}

Is there a group for Navy wives that don't have kids? 

Juliew.

:)

How many are coming to have dinner with L? I do know of the best place in town! lol. Can you guess where that may be? 

jeannie.carlsen, We would be happy to invite your son over to our home for Thanksgiving as well as joining us on the weekends. We get together with sailors on Saturday evening at 5:00, and feed them and play board games. On Sunday at 1:00 we sit down to a home cooked meal with homemade bread and dessert. You can go to our page on this site to read more about us.Let me know if he would be interested. I can pm our cell number for you to give him or we could contact him if he would be okay with that..

If any of you moms know your sons or daughters don't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving and you won't be coming here, please let us know. We would love to invite them to our house.

Yvonne and John Wagner.

Has anyone stayed at the Quality Inn Norfolk Naval Base on Hampton Blvd?  I have a Springhill Suites booked in Greenbrier and now I am not sure if that is too far out.