NUKE moms

Canuka, 

Even being a part of the private Ombudsman FB group for my son's ship, I have noticed that the needs of the spouses are much different than what we have as parents. It took me awhile to be able to even read many of the comments - but that is one nice thing about having other moms to converse with. 

One of the reasons I started the Beyond BC group was so that any of our members with enlisted sailors could stay connected after BC, no matter which direction they went. 

Being able to be close for homecomings and such will be nice though!

Good thing I read this. I thought it was Wednesday! LOL

Good morning all and Happy Thursday! My sailor received orders for Hawaii !! does anyone have any recommendations of where to stay when I eventually go visit? I've never been to Hawaii and I hear it can be quite expensive.

Nautical Mom,

I have some suggestions for packing/shipping items if you want to PM me. We had a few concerns with his vehicle getting the paperwork organized and I could help you with what I learned. Also help you with some expectations about how his transfer will go. If he's an E4 or a frocked E5 he will have to live on base when he arrives.  If he's a Nuke he'll be assigned a sea dad who will help him when he arrives. I suggest you go to Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam and search the site for new arrivals to work through some expectations and they talk there about lodging.

Nautical Mom, I highly recommend the Hale Koa in Waikiki. It is a military resort run by the Army MWR. We stayed there and had a wonderful time. It is right next to a park, and there is a small military museum on the other side of the park. The cost is similar to other resort hotels there, maybe a little less, but there is no resort fee.
The catch is that, unless someone in your party is a veteran, your sailor will need to check you in. Call the Hale Koa for details on how to work that out.
Driving between Pearl Harbor and Honolulu isn't one of the high points. Traffic can be pretty bad.

Nautical Mom I too recommend the Hale Koa in Waikiki when you get to go visit. My son and I stayed there when his boat made a stop in Hawaii. It is an older hotel but you can not beat the price. While there you are given a card that allows you to shop at the small shop they have there. ( it is a very small mini nex) I enjoy also enjoy the onsite restaurant and luau. My son did have to make the reservation and stay  and pay for the room. I believe since your  sailor will be station there he can make the reservation and will not have stay there  with you. I so enjoyed staying there with the beach a very short walk and also being able to walk to downtown Honolulu. Yes traffic is a pain.

Nautical Mom - I hope you will get to enjoy the pleasure of visiting Hawaii at some point during your sailor's time there. 

Good Morning Everyone!! I hope you all have a great day!!

Hi All, and Happy New Year!  It's been a while since I was on here.  I found a local FB group of Navy Moms that has been my sounding board.  But I am venturing into new territory and need your suggestions.  My Nuke is graduating from Power School in a few weeks and this will be his first graduation that we are able to attend.  Any suggestions for making the trip memorable, traditions to uphold at/for graduation, things to see/do in or around Charleston?  Thanks in advance for your help.  I'm so excited to finally see him in uniform in person. We have only seen two "selfies" and his boot camp grad photo of him in uniform.  He's not much for showing off and he has chosen to not wear or bring uniforms when he has come home. 

Mama Bear - I "bumped" the discussion on sightseeing in Charleston up above.  There's some fun things listed there to see and do.  So glad you are able to go for Power School graduation.  I'm sure no matter what you end up doing you'll have a great time!

B'sNukeMom thanks.  I'll check it out.

Mama Bear - It is so good to hear from you. I miss not having more people asking about graduations and where to go or what to see. 

So, note (and someone had updated me to more recent but I forget now) I think the shop where they sell memorabelia, T-shirts, coins, etc at NNPTC closes at noon or earlier on Friday. If you want to get something from there, be sure your sailor knows that. Mine was busy with getting his orders, and we had inclement weather that put our graduation inside with two groups, so we did not get around to the store - I didn't even know where it was or that it was there - until it was closing. 

Also, be sure to get pictures with your sailor in uniform (no tag or know how to delete it). I am sure you plan to, but I was recently needing a picture of my son in his uniform with family and thankfully, I had his graduation pictures we had someone take for us. 

I don't recall what all is posted in the siteseeing discussion but note, Charleston was all street side parking meter payment when we were there last. And I think you could pay with a card. Be sure to double check Charleston's visitor center website for up-to-date information on the parking meters. At one point they were free after a certain time, but by the next time we were there, they had changed and charged on Sat. as well. Their website also has information on things to do. 

We also helped our son buy some things for his apartment and to be able to make his own meals, a lunch bag for taking food to Prototype (they had no cafeteria at the time). and just general things he might need in his apartment. 

Mama Bear - Congratulations on your son's upcoming Power School graduation.  That is the big one, size-wise.

We made it to Charleston two of the four planned trips...to deliver his car (during A School) and for A school grad. Then Covid hit.

First take photos of him in uniform and group shots...we took them in the quad. Who knows when you will see him again in uniform. 

There are many wonderful things to do & see; it really depends on your interests. 

The USS Yorktown at Patriots Point is a good intro to ship board life.

The HL Hundley is a Civil War submarine that was found in the 1990s. The museum is only open on weekends.

Downtown Charleston.

Fort Sumter (only accessible by boat).

Any of the many plantations, homes and gardens.

Olde Charlestown for history of the original settlement. 

Savannah, Georgia  -- we did a day trip from Charleston. 

Our first time was over Thanksgiving,  son stayed with us at a Downtown hotel. For A school grad, we rented a car and stayed near Northwoods Mall or Airport  - closer to base.

Two final thoughts:

1. My experience was all before covid.

2. Our son was torn between spending time with us and relaxing with his buddies after being under so much pressure. We expected to see each other in 8 months, it was really 13 months.

Have a great trip!

Mama Bear and others in SC, prayers for safe travels, freezing rain is in the forecast today for the area. Lord protect all of you!

I just wanted to add my 2 cents on the topic of exploring Charleston. There is a great Visitors' Center in downtown Charleston on Meeting Street. They have tons of pamphlets of things to do in Charleston and you can even book tours there--bus tours, historic building tours, etc.

We booked a bus tour that was a good start to give an overview of the city and then you can decide what to explore in greater depth. The tour guide gave a lot of history. He seemed to know his stuff.

Also, there are free shuttle buses  that travel to different points of interest. It's called DASH--Downtown Area SHuttle. There are 3 lines, Orange, Green, and Purple. All 3 of these lines stop at the Visitors' Center. I don't know if I can post links here, but here goes: https://www.ridecarta.com/services/dash/

If you have time stop by and see the Angel Oak Tree:

Angel Oak Tree

Cheers to our sweet daughter in love as she celebrates another trip around the sun!  Happy Birthday C!

Wish her Happy Birthday from us!!

Hi Know Weigh - Thanks for sharing about the shuttle services and such!!

I also second the Angel Tree! 

Thinking about all of our east coast sailors who received the snowfall!!

Good Morning Everyone!  I was so focused the other day on the weather that my sailor was having in his area that I forgot to check and see if GC had any snow?

Another reason we always say stay flexible, is the weather. When my sailor was at NNPTC, after Christmas standdown for his A school, they had an unprecedented snowfall. I believe they shut down for almost a week, thus they delayed their graduation by a week. And then his class did not have the same extended leave opportunity that some of the other classes around him had. 

My son also evacuated NNPTC twice while there due to hurricanes. That also caused delays with PS graduation. That one was to my benefit, as I was dealing with a lot of family issues at the time, but it still meant being in limbo until the last minute with travel plans. 

That was me this morning!! Trying to wake up!

Happy Friday!  I've got my RED on ;-D

Happy Friday All! 

I'm going to Prototype Graduation 2/11 - the final one!!!  and I'm excited and proud. However, my sailor has orders for Hawaii; do you know how long he'll be in Charleston after graduation before he leaves for Hawaii??

BZ to you and your sailor Nautical Mom! Will he be shipping a vehicle?    My sailor's travel orders were changed several times before they were finalized because he was arriving during stand down and he needed to work out from where he would leave his vehicle for shipment. I believe my sailor also requested and took some leave during this time so he could come home and pack what he wanted to take with him to Hawaii.  Once he gets his airline assignment he can check on the luggage dimensions.  We ended up purchasing plastic trunks on wheels instead of suitcases which made transport on either end a bit easier. You can purchase most of what you need in Hawaii, but he was glad he packed things like his baseball glove and favorite fry pan.

Nautical Mom - That is great!! Congratulations to your sailor! 

Nautical Mom - BZ to your sailor on completing the nuc pipeline! Usually they get 30 days leave before reporting to their next duty station, but nothing is set in stone.  It should say in his hard orders.....hopefully he has them already?

Congratulations Nautical Mom, I know how very hard they work to get there!

Thank you Northwoodsmom !!! : )

Hi CSW - yes, he is planning to take his vehicle and take leave, but I thought and was told that the Navy would pack him and take care of all of his shipping?? I am so confused and in Mom mode with my truck to go pack him in Charleston --- at least now I know what questions to ask him when I am there...AND I WILL BRING PLASTIC BUCKETS with Me...thank you so much !!

Welcome to our newest member ~ JNMnavymomOH!

Please be sure to read the ***NEW MEMBERS*** info at the top of the page.  Lots of good info there.  Also take a look at the Pages (20) to the right under the member profiles - be sure to hit "view all".  And the discussion forum above has some good info too - be sure to read Chipmunks "Nuke A School Daily Schedule".  And of course, feel free to ask any questions you may have.

Thank you Chipmunk :)

 B'sNukeMoM⚓️MMN

30 days' leave would be amazing!!! more questions to ask him, you have been a godsend for me on this site since boot camp and GC; thank you EVER SO MUCH for all of your guidance efforts, and time.  God bless you !!! I appreciate everything you do...

JNMnavymomOH!

Welcome aboard! 

Nautical Mom - thank you!  And I will keep my fingers crossed he does get the full 30 days!

Thank you!  We are just starting our journey and am trying to learn lots and prepare him (and myself) well.  

Somar - I'm only 4 hours from Charleston in Georgia so I could make that work, but good to know!