Norfolk Sailors - Family & Friends

Hi all - Happy Wednesday!

If any of you are visiting in Norfolk and have time you need to try & get to the Mermaid Factory.  I went there a few weeks ago when visiting our son - did a girls trip and it was a blast!  You paint your own mermaid - they have all kinds of things you can put on them.

Here's the 3 we did  - mine is the red, white & blue one (of course!).  I also have lots of glitter on mine!  If you click on the picture you can enlarge it so you can see it better.

They also package them up real nice in a sturdy box that you can carry on the plane to get them home (they tell you to carry it like a "pizza").  We spent almost 3 hours there and had a blast.

Hi All,  My son just received orders to Norfolk.  He is looking for a rental home for him and his bride.  We could sure use Help!!  He will be on the Bush..

Just found this group, my son is on the Abraham Lincoln.

Welcome!

Welcome to the group Thirdday! Hope your son enjoys his time on the A. Lincoln. 

I want to let you know that my husband and I invite sailors over to our home on the weekends. On Saturday evening we eat and play board games, or go mini golfing, attend civil war re-enactments, etc,. On Sunday we get together and sit down to a homemade dinner with homemade bread and dessert. Sometimes we watch movies or sports, or just get to know each other. If you think he would be interested , let us know. 

Yvonne and John

So, my daughter found her instructions to email the USS Bataan to request a sponsor. We attempted to do this but the email is undeliverable for a variety of reasons. Anyone have any suggestions or experience in this area?

She's been home for the last 2 weeks. She did A school in Pensacola. Thanks for the info. She did wait till the last minute..again...bootcamp doesn't fix everything. 

abuon18...great info!!! Makes me feel better she at least has a phone number. I did tell her to check with the USO at the airport...looks like I wasn't so far off. 

Sassenach,

I read your comment about your son being here on the Ike and also he's an avid 18th century re-enacter! My husband is an avid civil war buff! When we first moved here 17 years ago we thought about re-enacting, but since we came here to open our home on the weekends to the sailors stationed here it didn't work out. We do take our sailors to the re-enactments when they come here though. 

I don't know if your son would be interested, but we would love to invite him over to our home.  Saturday night is our board game night...and of course we feed the sailors dinner. Sometimes we go mini golfing, go to re-enactments, make a day trip to the Outer Banks in NC, etc. On Sunday afternoons we sit down to a home cooked dinner with homemade bread and dessert and do various things afterwards. Sometimes watch a movie, sports or just get to know each other. If you think your son would be interested let us know and we can pm you our cell number so he can get in touch with us or we can get in touch with him if that's easier.

paigec, I would also like to invite your daughter over. We try to give the sailors a place to hang out with other sailors (and us). Let us know if she is interested. :)

Yvonne and John

Well, we never did hear from a sponsor but having the number to the Quartermaster was a godsend!!!! Thank you again so much AUBON 18!!! They put someone else in touch with my daughter who has been a great source of information and support. The plane leaving home airport was late taking off...so that caused her to miss her layover flight. Next flight was 4 hrs later. On top of that they delayed her new flight by 2 1/2 hrs. She is just now in the air. They changed her departure gate 4 times. She was able to spend some time at the USO (which was on the other end of the very large airport) where she encounterd a very nice chief who made some calls to make sure she whereabouts were properly documented and then texted her later and asked her to keep in touch so he would know she arrived and was settled in ok. She did keep in touch with the Quartermaster and they reassured her they were tracking her and not to worry.

The sailor picking her up has been so understanding considering she was supposed to arrive at 315pm this afternoon.  

This crazy day is not quite over yet..I look forward to hearing from her and know she is checked in and safely aboard a ship. 

Fingers crossed :)

abuon18...she did make it to her ship!! She put her stuff away and got to bed around 2 am. She's not on duty this weekend so she gets to explore and get familiar with the place until Tuesday.  She's found some friends and talked to her chief and things are moving along. Sounds like her plans are a bit up in the air but that's the military...Navy flexible!!! May the journey begin!! Again, very grateful for the support she got yesterday. This website has been a lifesaver. 

any mom's on here have kid heading or currently attending C school at Dam Neck

Not a mom, but my husband and I open our home on the weekends and Holidays and invite sailors to come over. We feed them, play board games, do some outdoor activities.Let us know if your sailor might be interested. :)

Yvonne and John

Hello,

My son has been assigned to a helo squadron in Norfolk. Anyone have any sailors with similar assignments?

Hi cao503! My son is attached to an HSC squadron. That's helicopter sea combat and rescue. He's currently deployed though. 

Hi Julie,

My son will be with the HM 15. When not deployed does your son live on base? Is this what your son has always wanted to do? My son is undesignated so I am not sure what he will be qualified to do. Any info you can give will be greatly appreciated.

to Moms,

If your sons are here in Norfolk we would be happy to invite them over to our home on the weekends. Go to our page on this site and you can find out more of what we do. We feed them, play board games, go to special events in the area. We are like a 'home away from home' for them. We've been doing this for 17 years. :)

Yvonne and John

My son is in HSC 22 and he's been in for several years. Unfortunately for me, he deploys a lot. When he's on base he does live in the barracks. My son chose the Navy his senior year of high school when he realized college was really expensive. We live in a small rural community and there was nothing here for him. He made the choice to get out and do more. I don't know how undesignated works so I can't help you with that. Funny that Miss Yvonne commented here earlier because I was going to send you to her. Her and her husband are retired Navy and they love to adopt our children! (Yay!) She or Mr. John can probably give you the any real Navy information that you want. I can tell how my son feels about the barracks but the day-to-day-workings of his job or squadron. Welcome to the Navy Mom world!

If anyone is looking for a B&B to stay at in VB my son recommends Beach Spa Bed & Breakfast.  He and his GF stayed there over Thanksgiving - it's about 2 blocks from the beach.  He said it was really nice - and the owners were fantastic.

Hello, my daugher is completing A school and will need to report to Norfolk at some point after the holiday.  

Hi all. Hope everyone has a happy holiday! My sailor’s ship is headed to the shipyard in the New Year. Any advice for him? Also, what are living conditions? I assume he will still be on the ship, but I don’t know. Any info and advice is greatly appreciated.

Misisu, When my son reported to his ship, it was in the shipyard for repairs. No one could live on the ship. He was assigned to live on board a berthing barge docked nearby. Your sailor's experience may be different.

misisu and Navymomof2daughters,

Just wanted you two to know that my husband and I open our home on the weekends and invite the sailors over for food and board games on Saturday evenings and on Sundays for a sit down home cooked lunch. Sometimes we watch movies, play games or just get to know each other. Please let them know that if they want to hang out with us and other sailors, they are more than welcome to come over and get away from their ships. :)

Yvonne and John

P.S. You can check out our page on this site to find out more about us. :)

P.P. S. We live in Virginia Beach, VA. :)

Y and J

My son will be finishing up Sub school in Groton in March and will be heading to Norfolk. I was wondering how the barracks are set up? Are they more like dorm rooms or are they more apartment like where they have a small kitchen so they can cook some things for themselves? TIA!

Wendy520,

I know some of the barracks are set up with a kitchenette, a bathroom and two bedrooms. The kitchenette usually has a microwave and a fridge. 

I would like to let you know that my husband and I invite any sailors who want to, to come over to our home on the weekends. We feed them, play board games, watch movies, watch some sports , etc. We also go to special events in the area. You can find out more about us if you go to our page on this site. :) Maybe you can let him know about us. 

Yvonne and John

ProudNavyMom,

Happy to hear your daughter is going to school in Norfolk. Just like I told Wendy520, we'd like to invite your daughter to join us on the weekends if she is allowed off base. :) Let me know if she's interested and I can pm you our cell # or if she is okay with this , we can get in touch with her. 

Yvonne and John

Hi my son is currently in Norfolk completing his FRS training and just received his orders for the Helicopter Mine Countermeasures HM-14 Squadron. Also known as Vanguard. Is there a group on here for that squadron?

TACsMom - I did a search for Vanguard and the only thing that came up was the aircrew group.  Maybe someone there is also a member of your son's squadron:

http://navyformoms.ning.com/group/aircrew

To all you moms out there,

We know you worry about your sons and daughters here in Norfolk/Virginia Beach. I would like you to know that my husband and I provide our home for these Sailors as a place to come over on the weekends, hang out, play board games, eat home cooked meals, even cook if they want to :) and go to activities in our area(re-enactments, Williamsburg, and even trips to the Outer Banks in NC. Please let your sailors know about us. We can pm our cell number to any of you. To know a little bit more about us, go to our page on this site. 

Yvonne and John

My son is at Norfolk-just arrived and needs to get his taxes done.  He says it is too long of a walk.  He will be deploying on a ship soon.  Can he just do his taxes online?

My son's ship is out of Aviation war pin guidebooks.  Does anyone know how I can get him a copy?

Hi jayne, navybmr.com has study guides.  Here's the link:  navybmr.com warfare study guides  

Jayne, I sent you a friend request and a private message. Also if you go to our page on this site you will see more of what we do on the weekends with the sailors.

Yvonne and John

My family is headed to visit our sailor in the area next week. Does anyone have any recommendations on things to do, places to visit or eat that are not very expensive? We would appreciate the input. Thanks

Misisu: Your sailor can get a National Park Servce Interagency Annual - Military Pass for free. "This is a free pass for active duty military personnel and their dependents, with valid documentation (CAC Card or DD Form 1173). Valid for 12 months from issue date. The Military Annual Pass admits passholder and three accompanying adults unlimited  admittance." The Yorktown Battlefield and Jamestown Settlement are north of Norfolk if you are up for a short drive.

In downtown Norfolk you can tour Battleship Wisconsin at the Nauticus (https://nauticus.org/).

Touring your sailors ship is also a great time. Always nice to see where they spend their time.

You can tour Cape Henry Lighthouse and walking along the beach in Virginia Beach Boardwalk for free.

Here are a few links I saved prior to previous trips to Norfolk in case they are helpful.

Norfolk Naval Tour and Information Center:  45min Guided Tour

http://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnrma/installations/ns_norfolk/abo...

Cape Henry Lighthouses: https://www.nps.gov/came/cape-henry-lighthouses.htm

Military Aviation Museum: http://www.militaryaviationmuseum.org

Sandbridge Beach: http://www.sandbridgebeachva.com

Chesapeake Bay Distillery: Tours on Saturday. Located at the intersection of 17^th Street and Baltic Avenue, our new facility features a Vabc store and the Blue Ridge Tasting Room.  Per Virginia ABC requirements, the tasting event allows for four one half ounce samples of alcohol.  These are available for our patrons at $7.  Tours are available 12p-4p on Saturdays at no charge for our patrons: https://www.chesapeakebaydistillery.com

Reaver Beach Brewing: Tap Room, no tours: http://www.reaverbeach.com/

Enjoy your trip!