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Monday, September 28, 2009
Lima Company, Platoon 3249 Video
Click here to see a video of Nitro's platoon at boot camp.
There was a mess up and it should've been posted on a Friday 2 weeks prior to graduation, but there was a heat alert and they didn't get filmed until after they got back from the Crucible. So, PLT 3249 didn't get their platoon video posted until the day before Family Day! We were the only ones from Lima Company who had to wait to see our boys! (It was brutal. lol) Of course, our platoon was already Marines when they were filmed. The others were still recruits. hehe
Nitro is the fifth from the left on the top row, by the way.
There was a mess up and it should've been posted on a Friday 2 weeks prior to graduation, but there was a heat alert and they didn't get filmed until after they got back from the Crucible. So, PLT 3249 didn't get their platoon video posted until the day before Family Day! We were the only ones from Lima Company who had to wait to see our boys! (It was brutal. lol) Of course, our platoon was already Marines when they were filmed. The others were still recruits. hehe
Nitro is the fifth from the left on the top row, by the way.
MCRD Family Day Moto Run
I had hoped that I would find time this weekend to write about the Moto Run on Family Day, but my weekend was just another exercise in chaos. Again, I was scheduled Saturday and Sunday both at my part time job. I didn't complain because I did take 2 weeks off for Nitro's Marines graduation and the wedding, but I just wonder why the boss scheduled me both days again. At least this week, I don't have to work again until Thursday. :o)
I forgot to tell about one of the most memorable parts of Family Day at the recruit depot! Keep in mind that we had not seen our boys for 13 weeks! The anticipation of FINALLY seeing Nitro was almost more than I could stand. Granted, we saw their platoon the night before, but Shelby and I didn't actually SEE Nitro in that group.
Anyway, everyone was instructed to gather in the courtyard...which was an area next to the Command Museum and across the parking lot from the Parade Deck. We were told that a DI was going to come out and give us some instructions about Family Day.
Little did we know...lol
One of the DIs made his way to the center of the courtyard and stepped up on a small platform...and then gave us a lesson on how to respond when he's talking to us. And, yes, I mean the whole, "Yes, sir!", "Aye, sir!", "No, sir!" bit. Even some that I wasn't familiar with until then. Like, when they want you to pay attention, they say, "Eyeballs!" And you respond, "Click!" Or, if they want to make sure you're listening, they'll say, "Ears!" And you say, "Open!" When they tell you to "Move!", you say, "Fight!" It was interesting. So, while he's giving us instructions about what we're going to do and where we're going to go during the Moto Run, we had to respond appropriately. lol I'm sure the recruits adapt pretty quickly, but that got so confusing at times for this civilian! lol
The funniest part was when people would decide they didn't need to participate...and he would call them out...sometimes from across the courtyard. lol
Anyway, after much instruction, and much redoing his instructions, we moved out to the parking lot where the platoons were going to be lining up and found our spots. When the boys came out in formation and prepared to run, I had to kind of laugh inside. They were in their green t-shirts and shorts. Nitro NEVER wears shorts. And here he was, in shorts, in front of hundreds of people! lol
As they were lined up, we could see Nitro's eyes darting back and forth looking for us. And, though he never actually smiled, we made eye contact and I could see a smile in his face. It's weird with him. His mouth can stay immobile, but you can see a smile on his face. His eyes are very expressive.
The new Marines ran 5 miles that morning. Once the length of the parking lot where we were lined up. While they made their way around where they needed to be, the DI from the courtyard had us doing more "exercises". Then we were instructed to move to the other side of the parking lot where cones were set up. The guys came running back by again and, of course, everyone cheered them on! Then we were instructed to move to the theater.
The platoons lined up in front of the theater in formation and, if I remember right, it was announced that PLT 3254 was Honor Platoon. (Nitro told me later that they lost by 2 points. The DI who did initial drill messed up and costed them 3 points. If they hadn't counted the DI's mistake, they would've earned Honor Platoon by 1 point. Bummer.)
The DI randomly chose a girl to act as his "girlfriend" during one part of his presentation that he was going to do once we all got into the theater. He was kind of teasing her a little bit and embarrassed her at one point. Anyway, then he dismissed the platoons to shower and get ready for Liberty Formation. And we all went inside the theater.
Once everyone was inside, he had his "girlfriend" come up on the stage with him. He was showing us how a Marine will escort someone while he's on liberty. (Basically, making sure that he always leaves his right arm free to salute.) Anyway, he was demonstrating how he might escort his girlfriend...and was walking her back and forth across the stage saying, "Here's where we had chow. There's the squad bays over there. There's where we scaled a wall in our skivvies." During this, we were all kind of chuckling and giggling. Then he started saying things like, "I'm so glad you're here. I missed you. Did you miss me?" And the girl (Dominique) said, "Yes." He said, "What did you miss most about me?" And, without missing a beat, she said, "Your butt."
The whole theater erupted in laughter and he just stopped dead in his tracks. lol Then, once it calmed down a bit, he said, "Now I'M the one who's embarrassed. I don't know what to say. This is probably the first time I've been rendered speechless." lol It was soooooo funny!
Then, after finding some volunteers, he demonstrated how the new Marines were going to escort their mom, or grandma, etc. Basically, always keeping their right arm free.
After that, we moved out to the bleachers for Liberty Formation. The platoons were introduced and released fairly soon. Then there were LOTS of hugs!!!
The rest I already wrote about in a past post, but I did forget to tell the story of the Moto Run. It made for a very fun morning on Family Day! And it was a great way to get everyone excited about base liberty!
More later...
I forgot to tell about one of the most memorable parts of Family Day at the recruit depot! Keep in mind that we had not seen our boys for 13 weeks! The anticipation of FINALLY seeing Nitro was almost more than I could stand. Granted, we saw their platoon the night before, but Shelby and I didn't actually SEE Nitro in that group.
Anyway, everyone was instructed to gather in the courtyard...which was an area next to the Command Museum and across the parking lot from the Parade Deck. We were told that a DI was going to come out and give us some instructions about Family Day.
Little did we know...lol
One of the DIs made his way to the center of the courtyard and stepped up on a small platform...and then gave us a lesson on how to respond when he's talking to us. And, yes, I mean the whole, "Yes, sir!", "Aye, sir!", "No, sir!" bit. Even some that I wasn't familiar with until then. Like, when they want you to pay attention, they say, "Eyeballs!" And you respond, "Click!" Or, if they want to make sure you're listening, they'll say, "Ears!" And you say, "Open!" When they tell you to "Move!", you say, "Fight!" It was interesting. So, while he's giving us instructions about what we're going to do and where we're going to go during the Moto Run, we had to respond appropriately. lol I'm sure the recruits adapt pretty quickly, but that got so confusing at times for this civilian! lol
The funniest part was when people would decide they didn't need to participate...and he would call them out...sometimes from across the courtyard. lol
Anyway, after much instruction, and much redoing his instructions, we moved out to the parking lot where the platoons were going to be lining up and found our spots. When the boys came out in formation and prepared to run, I had to kind of laugh inside. They were in their green t-shirts and shorts. Nitro NEVER wears shorts. And here he was, in shorts, in front of hundreds of people! lol
As they were lined up, we could see Nitro's eyes darting back and forth looking for us. And, though he never actually smiled, we made eye contact and I could see a smile in his face. It's weird with him. His mouth can stay immobile, but you can see a smile on his face. His eyes are very expressive.
The new Marines ran 5 miles that morning. Once the length of the parking lot where we were lined up. While they made their way around where they needed to be, the DI from the courtyard had us doing more "exercises". Then we were instructed to move to the other side of the parking lot where cones were set up. The guys came running back by again and, of course, everyone cheered them on! Then we were instructed to move to the theater.
The platoons lined up in front of the theater in formation and, if I remember right, it was announced that PLT 3254 was Honor Platoon. (Nitro told me later that they lost by 2 points. The DI who did initial drill messed up and costed them 3 points. If they hadn't counted the DI's mistake, they would've earned Honor Platoon by 1 point. Bummer.)
The DI randomly chose a girl to act as his "girlfriend" during one part of his presentation that he was going to do once we all got into the theater. He was kind of teasing her a little bit and embarrassed her at one point. Anyway, then he dismissed the platoons to shower and get ready for Liberty Formation. And we all went inside the theater.
Once everyone was inside, he had his "girlfriend" come up on the stage with him. He was showing us how a Marine will escort someone while he's on liberty. (Basically, making sure that he always leaves his right arm free to salute.) Anyway, he was demonstrating how he might escort his girlfriend...and was walking her back and forth across the stage saying, "Here's where we had chow. There's the squad bays over there. There's where we scaled a wall in our skivvies." During this, we were all kind of chuckling and giggling. Then he started saying things like, "I'm so glad you're here. I missed you. Did you miss me?" And the girl (Dominique) said, "Yes." He said, "What did you miss most about me?" And, without missing a beat, she said, "Your butt."
The whole theater erupted in laughter and he just stopped dead in his tracks. lol Then, once it calmed down a bit, he said, "Now I'M the one who's embarrassed. I don't know what to say. This is probably the first time I've been rendered speechless." lol It was soooooo funny!
Then, after finding some volunteers, he demonstrated how the new Marines were going to escort their mom, or grandma, etc. Basically, always keeping their right arm free.
After that, we moved out to the bleachers for Liberty Formation. The platoons were introduced and released fairly soon. Then there were LOTS of hugs!!!
The rest I already wrote about in a past post, but I did forget to tell the story of the Moto Run. It made for a very fun morning on Family Day! And it was a great way to get everyone excited about base liberty!
More later...
Friday, September 25, 2009
USMC Boot Camp Graduation
Nitro's graduation day finally dawned!!! We didn't get up and around as early as we did the morning before, but we did want to get to MCRD early enough to see the color ceremony. It was very cool. With Nitro's graduation falling on 9-11, there was a special moment of silence and some special words about that day in history.
The Marine Corps San Diego Band was awesome!!! They played patriotic songs, but they also played some fun songs...like 'Sing Sing Sing'. Here's a taste of what they do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPKa6PM83Ns Of course, at graduation, they were marching. lol
After the color ceremony, we just made a beeline to the bleachers so that we would have a good seat. Then it was a waiting game. lol We were at the bleachers around 8:30 or 9:00 and graduation was scheduled to start at 10. There wasn't much else to do but wait...and admire the really gorgeous palm trees that are all over the base! (I LOVE palm trees!)
Once graduation started, it was overwhelming!!! There were 519 new Marines in formation on the Parade Deck!!! Watching them march into position was amazing! When the Battalion Commander came out and addressed them by saying, "Good morning," it gave me goosebumps to see them all come to attention and shout back, "Good morning, sir!" in perfect unison! He then turned to all of us and said, "That is discipline, ladies and gentlemen."
It was awesome!
Several things happened during the graduation ceremony, but I can't recount it all. lol I would need to see the video to review what all they said and did. They did have the platoons parade from one end of the bleachers to the other so that we could see all of them marching in formation in their dress blues (minus the black jacket). And, of course, with that many new Marines, that parade lasted awhile...and so did the cheering coming from parents, and families, and friends!!! lol
Finally, the time came for the platoons to be dismissed. I don't know exactly what they said when they were told to dismiss or how to describe it, but it was COOL! Nitro walked us over to the area where he would need to pick up his C-bags, duffle, and garment bag. Then we loaded it all into the van and headed back to the hotel to drop everything off.
I should mention that graduation day was actually the day that we went to the uniform store so he could buy the new cover. He didn't buy it on Family Day. Poor memory. lol
After getting to the hotel, we programmed the Garmin and headed to the USS Midway to check it out. Since Nitro was in his uniform, we all got in free! They do that every Friday for the graduating Marines. Very cool! During the whole tour of the Midway, Nitro was approached and congratulated by numerous people...alot of retired Navy men and Marines. It was so cool to be with him when they congratulated him and shared some of their experience. That's the only way I can describe what they shared with him. There was so much pride, honor, and dignity when they shook his hand and spoke to him about the military. Very cool!
Visiting the Midway was also a treat because Muftak's dad served on the Midway when he was on active duty in the Navy. It would've been fun to have Muftak's parents with us when we went to San Diego, but it was even more apparent how much his dad would've added to the trip once we were on the Midway. When we got back home and they were here for the wedding, we talked about it and he started telling story after story...and the best part was that, after touring the ship, we had a better idea of what he was talking about...esp. when he would talk about being on the hangar deck. Now I know what that looks and feels like to be on the hangar deck! lol He said he didn't miss California, but he would like to get out there sometime and see the Midway. Maybe... Keeping our fingers crossed that Nitro gets stationed out there! lol
Well, I think I covered everything, except I DID forget to write about the Moto Run on Family Day. But that's too much to put in this post, so I'll backtrack tomorrow and tell about that. It was an experience!!! lol
The Marine Corps San Diego Band was awesome!!! They played patriotic songs, but they also played some fun songs...like 'Sing Sing Sing'. Here's a taste of what they do: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPKa6PM83Ns Of course, at graduation, they were marching. lol
After the color ceremony, we just made a beeline to the bleachers so that we would have a good seat. Then it was a waiting game. lol We were at the bleachers around 8:30 or 9:00 and graduation was scheduled to start at 10. There wasn't much else to do but wait...and admire the really gorgeous palm trees that are all over the base! (I LOVE palm trees!)
Once graduation started, it was overwhelming!!! There were 519 new Marines in formation on the Parade Deck!!! Watching them march into position was amazing! When the Battalion Commander came out and addressed them by saying, "Good morning," it gave me goosebumps to see them all come to attention and shout back, "Good morning, sir!" in perfect unison! He then turned to all of us and said, "That is discipline, ladies and gentlemen."
It was awesome!
Several things happened during the graduation ceremony, but I can't recount it all. lol I would need to see the video to review what all they said and did. They did have the platoons parade from one end of the bleachers to the other so that we could see all of them marching in formation in their dress blues (minus the black jacket). And, of course, with that many new Marines, that parade lasted awhile...and so did the cheering coming from parents, and families, and friends!!! lol
Finally, the time came for the platoons to be dismissed. I don't know exactly what they said when they were told to dismiss or how to describe it, but it was COOL! Nitro walked us over to the area where he would need to pick up his C-bags, duffle, and garment bag. Then we loaded it all into the van and headed back to the hotel to drop everything off.
I should mention that graduation day was actually the day that we went to the uniform store so he could buy the new cover. He didn't buy it on Family Day. Poor memory. lol
After getting to the hotel, we programmed the Garmin and headed to the USS Midway to check it out. Since Nitro was in his uniform, we all got in free! They do that every Friday for the graduating Marines. Very cool! During the whole tour of the Midway, Nitro was approached and congratulated by numerous people...alot of retired Navy men and Marines. It was so cool to be with him when they congratulated him and shared some of their experience. That's the only way I can describe what they shared with him. There was so much pride, honor, and dignity when they shook his hand and spoke to him about the military. Very cool!
Visiting the Midway was also a treat because Muftak's dad served on the Midway when he was on active duty in the Navy. It would've been fun to have Muftak's parents with us when we went to San Diego, but it was even more apparent how much his dad would've added to the trip once we were on the Midway. When we got back home and they were here for the wedding, we talked about it and he started telling story after story...and the best part was that, after touring the ship, we had a better idea of what he was talking about...esp. when he would talk about being on the hangar deck. Now I know what that looks and feels like to be on the hangar deck! lol He said he didn't miss California, but he would like to get out there sometime and see the Midway. Maybe... Keeping our fingers crossed that Nitro gets stationed out there! lol
Well, I think I covered everything, except I DID forget to write about the Moto Run on Family Day. But that's too much to put in this post, so I'll backtrack tomorrow and tell about that. It was an experience!!! lol
Thursday, September 24, 2009
MCRD Family Day
Just thought I would let you know that MCRD stands for for those of you who don't know and don't like guessing. :o) It stands for Marine Corps Recruit Depot. While Nitro was at boot camp, this is where he spent most of his time and completed a lot of his training. Phase 2 (3 weeks of boot camp) was spent at Camp Pendleton, as was the time they spent on The Crucible, which was at the start of training week 11. Week 12 was Marine Week...and that's when we were in San Diego.
Thursday, September 10, was Family Day. We got to MCRD early (like 7:00 am early) because we were told by several people to get there early to ensure a good parking space. Well, after spending a whole day there, we discovered there is no such thing as a "good" parking space. If you're going to stay in one spot all day, maybe...but, for us, NO. We started walking to the Bay View restaurant for breakfast, and got picked up by the restaurant shuttle...which should give you some indication how far the restaurant was from everything else....it had its own shuttle! lol
After breakfast, we made our way back to the Parade Deck area (via the shuttle again). Then we walked over to the Command Museum (not far) and visited the gift shop. While we were there, I noticed the Battalion coins and Crucible coins. I'm glad I spotted them because I remembered someone saying that they make great gifts for the new Marines. Ok...so I bought a couple. :o)
After that, we found a cool spot to sit for a little while, then made our way to the bleachers on the other side of the Parade Deck. That was quite a walk. The Parade Deck is HUGE and you can't walk across it. I seriously think you could get shot by a Marine if you did. lol j/k Anyway, we made it around to the bleachers and found a good spot. We knew where Nitro's platoon would be lined up for Liberty Call, so we just sat and waited.
I don't remember what all they did during Liberty Call. It wasn't super long, but then they dismissed the platoons for base liberty. We headed back to the other side of the Parade Deck again and to the Food Court. It was packed with MOBS of people.
And, just on a side note, why is it that people waiting at the END of the food line will have people save tables for them??? Where are the people at the FRONT of the line supposed to sit and eat when they get their lunch??? I was so irritated by the time we finally sat down! Want to know where we sat? On the edge of a gazebo type thing next to a railing. We found a couple of lone chairs that were unclaimed and I made Nitro sit and eat his lunch. He was going to stand! All these stupid people were just sitting there watching us eat...watching our new Marine STAND and eat part of his lunch before we found him a chair!!! And, to top it off, by the time we FINISHED eating, they were just getting their food!!! Seriously??? What is wrong with people???
Ok. Done with my rant.
After we ate lunch, Nitro wanted to go to the Command Museum and look around. I have to honestly say that there is some really cool stuff in there...IF you are a male and IF you are interested in war and weaponry. lol I was bored out of my mind! lol But Nitro, Muftak, and my dad were in big boy museum heaven! lol
When we girls finally managed to coerce the boys out of the museum, we headed to the uniform shop. Nitro wanted to buy himself a better "cover". The white Marines cover (hat) that they are issued with their dress blues is of a lesser quality than most Marines wear on a regular basis. So, he bought a new cover and sighed when he put it on. He said, "Oh, man, this one feels soooo much better than that other one!" lol
After that, we headed back to the food court. I managed to convince everyone that it would nice to just sit and visit. We had all been walking so much already. So, we got some ice cream and sat and talked. That's when Nitro told us that recruits don't get ice cream at boot camp. So, he was enjoying what we got him! lol He told us story after story about things that happened at boot camp...some funny, some gross. (If anyone asks if you want to hear about the "gas chamber", just say no...unless you like hearing snot stories. Ugh.) He also answered a lot of questions.
A couple of things I noticed about him first was how straight and tall he walked...and how he hardly smiled or laughed....for awhile. lol His voice was also husky. My mom thought he was getting a cold, but I said, "No, that's from yelling for the last 13 weeks!" His voice is still husky sounding, even after 2 weeks of civilian life.
Anyway, 6:00 came way too fast. And it was time for Nitro to report to his squad bay. Base liberty was over. We left after hugs, knowing we would see him again the next day...and be able to take him home with us!
After getting back to the hotel, we decided to go to Hard Rock Cafe. Aravis has never been to one and she really wanted to go. So, we plugged the information into the Garmin in our rented VW Routan and headed out. We drove into La Jolla and Garmin told us that we had "arrived at our destination". Only, there was no HRC! We got out and looked in this sort of strip mall place and my mom asked someone where it was. Turns out it had been sold to someone else and was no longer there! lol Soooo...we headed back to the hotel and stopped at a Wendy's instead. lol
The rest of the night was just spent hanging out at the hotel. And, as another side note, you could tell we were living outside of our natural time zone, because we were all in bed by 9:00 or 9:30 every night! lol
Graduation tomorrow... ;o)
Thursday, September 10, was Family Day. We got to MCRD early (like 7:00 am early) because we were told by several people to get there early to ensure a good parking space. Well, after spending a whole day there, we discovered there is no such thing as a "good" parking space. If you're going to stay in one spot all day, maybe...but, for us, NO. We started walking to the Bay View restaurant for breakfast, and got picked up by the restaurant shuttle...which should give you some indication how far the restaurant was from everything else....it had its own shuttle! lol
After breakfast, we made our way back to the Parade Deck area (via the shuttle again). Then we walked over to the Command Museum (not far) and visited the gift shop. While we were there, I noticed the Battalion coins and Crucible coins. I'm glad I spotted them because I remembered someone saying that they make great gifts for the new Marines. Ok...so I bought a couple. :o)
After that, we found a cool spot to sit for a little while, then made our way to the bleachers on the other side of the Parade Deck. That was quite a walk. The Parade Deck is HUGE and you can't walk across it. I seriously think you could get shot by a Marine if you did. lol j/k Anyway, we made it around to the bleachers and found a good spot. We knew where Nitro's platoon would be lined up for Liberty Call, so we just sat and waited.
I don't remember what all they did during Liberty Call. It wasn't super long, but then they dismissed the platoons for base liberty. We headed back to the other side of the Parade Deck again and to the Food Court. It was packed with MOBS of people.
And, just on a side note, why is it that people waiting at the END of the food line will have people save tables for them??? Where are the people at the FRONT of the line supposed to sit and eat when they get their lunch??? I was so irritated by the time we finally sat down! Want to know where we sat? On the edge of a gazebo type thing next to a railing. We found a couple of lone chairs that were unclaimed and I made Nitro sit and eat his lunch. He was going to stand! All these stupid people were just sitting there watching us eat...watching our new Marine STAND and eat part of his lunch before we found him a chair!!! And, to top it off, by the time we FINISHED eating, they were just getting their food!!! Seriously??? What is wrong with people???
Ok. Done with my rant.
After we ate lunch, Nitro wanted to go to the Command Museum and look around. I have to honestly say that there is some really cool stuff in there...IF you are a male and IF you are interested in war and weaponry. lol I was bored out of my mind! lol But Nitro, Muftak, and my dad were in big boy museum heaven! lol
When we girls finally managed to coerce the boys out of the museum, we headed to the uniform shop. Nitro wanted to buy himself a better "cover". The white Marines cover (hat) that they are issued with their dress blues is of a lesser quality than most Marines wear on a regular basis. So, he bought a new cover and sighed when he put it on. He said, "Oh, man, this one feels soooo much better than that other one!" lol
After that, we headed back to the food court. I managed to convince everyone that it would nice to just sit and visit. We had all been walking so much already. So, we got some ice cream and sat and talked. That's when Nitro told us that recruits don't get ice cream at boot camp. So, he was enjoying what we got him! lol He told us story after story about things that happened at boot camp...some funny, some gross. (If anyone asks if you want to hear about the "gas chamber", just say no...unless you like hearing snot stories. Ugh.) He also answered a lot of questions.
A couple of things I noticed about him first was how straight and tall he walked...and how he hardly smiled or laughed....for awhile. lol His voice was also husky. My mom thought he was getting a cold, but I said, "No, that's from yelling for the last 13 weeks!" His voice is still husky sounding, even after 2 weeks of civilian life.
Anyway, 6:00 came way too fast. And it was time for Nitro to report to his squad bay. Base liberty was over. We left after hugs, knowing we would see him again the next day...and be able to take him home with us!
After getting back to the hotel, we decided to go to Hard Rock Cafe. Aravis has never been to one and she really wanted to go. So, we plugged the information into the Garmin in our rented VW Routan and headed out. We drove into La Jolla and Garmin told us that we had "arrived at our destination". Only, there was no HRC! We got out and looked in this sort of strip mall place and my mom asked someone where it was. Turns out it had been sold to someone else and was no longer there! lol Soooo...we headed back to the hotel and stopped at a Wendy's instead. lol
The rest of the night was just spent hanging out at the hotel. And, as another side note, you could tell we were living outside of our natural time zone, because we were all in bed by 9:00 or 9:30 every night! lol
Graduation tomorrow... ;o)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
San Diego Trip
This is a post that might be in more than one part. I'm going to start writing and then just see where it takes me. If I ramble too much, I'll just stop and finish later. :o)
We got to San Diego on the morning of Sept. 8. It turned into a lazy day. We got settled in the hotel, then found lunch at a very nice place called The Gathering. We made jokes that it sounded like a druid restaurant or a place where satanists hang out. lol But it was nice and the waiter was very polite and funny. My dad can be Mr. Jokester when dealing with servers, so when our food came out and Dad's plate was last, my dad made the joke that our server "saved the best for last". Well, when our meal was over, the server checked on each of us, then handed the bill to my dad and said, "I saved the best for last again." lol We made sure he got a good tip! :o)
That evening, some of us went to the beach (Aravis and my dad stayed at the hotel). We found Mission Beach only a mile or two from our hotel and the walk from the parking lot to actual sand was only about 100 feet. (I'm actually bad with distances, so I'm guessing. lol It wasn't very far at all!) It was GORGEOUS!!! I would love to live ANYWHERE that close to the ocean!
The next day, I don't really remember what we did in the morning other than having breakfast at the hotel, but Shelby and I found that another Recruit mom and gf were staying in the hotel with us. So, we found them and they said they would take us to MCRD so we could visit the gift shop. Cool!
Well, Shelby and I rode with Papa K (Recruit Solomon's dad) and the others were in the truck behind us. Papa K told them, "Yeah, I know how to get there." But, after getting in the car, he said, "I don't know where I'm going." lol Luckily, you could see the base from the hotel, so it wasn't like we had to go very far. lol
Anyway, we pulled up to the gate and the Marine working there told us he couldn't let us on base. And Papa K said, "Isn't there somewhere we can go, though? Like, isn't there a museum or something?" The Marine said, "Yes, sir, that's the magic word." Then he told us where to go to get to the Command Museum...which is where the gift shop is.
Once we got there, we found the museum had closed like 2 minutes before. So, we wandered outside talking about just whatever, when one of the girls came in and said, "There are recruits on the Parade Deck!!!" We went running outside to see if it was our platoon. It's hard to convey how HUGE the Parade Deck is. When we're standing on one side of it, it's hard to make out anything other than people on the other side. Luckily, one of the guys had some binoculars with him and we determined by the numbers on the platoon flags that they were in 2nd Battalion. Our platoon is in 3rd and 1st Battalion was on the Crucible at Camp Pendleton.
So, after figuring out that it wasn't any of our guys, we just started wandering back to the museum and our vehicles...when we saw another platoon marching towards us...
They had their platoon flag...
And it said 3249!!!
So, all of us were frantically looking for Nitro and their recruit, Solomon!!! We didn't see Nitro, but Shelby and I started crying anyway! They marched within about 6 feet of us!!!
The funniest part was that we weren't supposed to actually see them until Thursday!!! lol
Anyway, we got back to the hotel and let everyone else there know that WE saw them!!!! lol
The next day, during base liberty, Nitro told us that, as they rounded the corner at the end of the Parade Deck, the DI said, "There's family out here, so strut your stuff, boys!!!" lol Nitro said he spotted Shelby first, then immediately saw me standing a little bit behind her! Solomon also saw his family, so the two of them got to go back to the other guys and say, "I saw my family!" :o)
As this post is getting longer by the second, I'll save Family Day for tomorrow. :o)
Until then...
We got to San Diego on the morning of Sept. 8. It turned into a lazy day. We got settled in the hotel, then found lunch at a very nice place called The Gathering. We made jokes that it sounded like a druid restaurant or a place where satanists hang out. lol But it was nice and the waiter was very polite and funny. My dad can be Mr. Jokester when dealing with servers, so when our food came out and Dad's plate was last, my dad made the joke that our server "saved the best for last". Well, when our meal was over, the server checked on each of us, then handed the bill to my dad and said, "I saved the best for last again." lol We made sure he got a good tip! :o)
That evening, some of us went to the beach (Aravis and my dad stayed at the hotel). We found Mission Beach only a mile or two from our hotel and the walk from the parking lot to actual sand was only about 100 feet. (I'm actually bad with distances, so I'm guessing. lol It wasn't very far at all!) It was GORGEOUS!!! I would love to live ANYWHERE that close to the ocean!
The next day, I don't really remember what we did in the morning other than having breakfast at the hotel, but Shelby and I found that another Recruit mom and gf were staying in the hotel with us. So, we found them and they said they would take us to MCRD so we could visit the gift shop. Cool!
Well, Shelby and I rode with Papa K (Recruit Solomon's dad) and the others were in the truck behind us. Papa K told them, "Yeah, I know how to get there." But, after getting in the car, he said, "I don't know where I'm going." lol Luckily, you could see the base from the hotel, so it wasn't like we had to go very far. lol
Anyway, we pulled up to the gate and the Marine working there told us he couldn't let us on base. And Papa K said, "Isn't there somewhere we can go, though? Like, isn't there a museum or something?" The Marine said, "Yes, sir, that's the magic word." Then he told us where to go to get to the Command Museum...which is where the gift shop is.
Once we got there, we found the museum had closed like 2 minutes before. So, we wandered outside talking about just whatever, when one of the girls came in and said, "There are recruits on the Parade Deck!!!" We went running outside to see if it was our platoon. It's hard to convey how HUGE the Parade Deck is. When we're standing on one side of it, it's hard to make out anything other than people on the other side. Luckily, one of the guys had some binoculars with him and we determined by the numbers on the platoon flags that they were in 2nd Battalion. Our platoon is in 3rd and 1st Battalion was on the Crucible at Camp Pendleton.
So, after figuring out that it wasn't any of our guys, we just started wandering back to the museum and our vehicles...when we saw another platoon marching towards us...
They had their platoon flag...
And it said 3249!!!
So, all of us were frantically looking for Nitro and their recruit, Solomon!!! We didn't see Nitro, but Shelby and I started crying anyway! They marched within about 6 feet of us!!!
The funniest part was that we weren't supposed to actually see them until Thursday!!! lol
Anyway, we got back to the hotel and let everyone else there know that WE saw them!!!! lol
The next day, during base liberty, Nitro told us that, as they rounded the corner at the end of the Parade Deck, the DI said, "There's family out here, so strut your stuff, boys!!!" lol Nitro said he spotted Shelby first, then immediately saw me standing a little bit behind her! Solomon also saw his family, so the two of them got to go back to the other guys and say, "I saw my family!" :o)
As this post is getting longer by the second, I'll save Family Day for tomorrow. :o)
Until then...
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Where to Start...
I guess I'll start with Nitro's graduation. In May, we had a party for him at the church. Alot of family and friends were there to celebrate with us. Nitro had told me that, under no circumstances, were we to have a graduation "ceremony". lol So, we didn't. We just had cake, punch, and a slide show. It went really well and we got to see some friends that we hadn't seen for awhile.
But Nitro's graduation was only the prequel to a long summer.
A month later, he left on a plane for boot camp. It all felt surreal at the time. In fact, at the airport, he told Shelby that it didn't feel "real yet". Once he had to go through security, leaving the rest of us, he said he was getting nervous.
During those 13 weeks that he was gone, we didn't get a single phone call...but we got several letters. I read them and re-read them....over and over. Most of the letters to us were very short and to the point. Shelby's letters were LONG...most of the time. They don't get much time to write, so I'm guessing he wrote hers, then wrote ours in what little bit of time he had left over. ;o) lol
He kept us updated on how he did during different stages of boot camp. We were most concerned about Swim Week, but he passed. YAY! That's all we needed to hear. I hope he recognized that he should probably do some swimming now that boot camp's over...they have to re-qualify for that stuff at different intervals during the course of their time in the Marines.
While Nick was in boot camp, I wrote almost every day. I wanted to write every single day, but honestly, I couldn't do it. lol I missed only 2 days, though, so I did pretty good. There were times I would start the letter then not have a clue what to write about! lol I was very glad he wrote as much as he did. On average, we got 1-2 letters a week. Which, for anyone who knows Nitro, is VERY good! lol
As we got closer to graduation, things really started getting stressful. We were trying to plan a trip while, at the same time, trying to plan a rehearsal dinner and make sure we had all the financing done for our part of the wedding. There was so much overlap of the two, that, in fact, I got a call from the cake shop about the groom's cake while I was sitting in the bleachers waiting for the graduation to start! lol
We left for San Diego on Sept. 8 bright and early in the morning and got to the airport about 9:30. It was perfect timing...enough time to get a rental car, get to the hotel, then figure out what we wanted to do for lunch. And the weather was beautiful!!!
There were 6 of us in our group: myself, Muftak, Aravis, Shelby and my parents, so we got a suite at the hotel. It was nice. We had a balcony overlooking the interstate...and just to the other side of the interstate....MCRD! In fact, the last night, Nitro was in the hotel with us and pointed out his squad bay to us! lol Shelby and I stood on the balcony the first night we were there and said, "He's in there...somewhere." lol
We managed to make it to the beach (Mission Beach, to be precise) 3 times while we were there. And it was gorgeous!!!! The waves were awesome! The weather was GORGEOUS the whole time we were there! We even managed to get my dad into the ocean...a man who doesn't like water! Of course, he didn't get in past his knees, but still... lol
That Thurs., the 10th, we spent the entire day at MCRD. Nitro had base liberty from 1-6, so we got to spend time with him then. Everyone was talking about where we should go or what we should do. I suggested that we just sit and talk. I knew he had a million stories about boot camp that he was probably dying to tell, so I was willing to just sit and talk....which is what we did.
Friday, the 11th, was graduation. The HUGE flag on the parade deck was at half mast in honor of 9-11. It gave me goosebumps to see it. By noon, Nitro was all ours and we were able to leave base with him. The flight home the next morning was uneventful. But it was good to be home!
There are so many little "stories" about things that happened on our trip; I think I'll save them for later...maybe tomorrow, if I can get motivated to write some more. I'm actually still recuperating from the weekend. lol Wow! :o)
But Nitro's graduation was only the prequel to a long summer.
A month later, he left on a plane for boot camp. It all felt surreal at the time. In fact, at the airport, he told Shelby that it didn't feel "real yet". Once he had to go through security, leaving the rest of us, he said he was getting nervous.
During those 13 weeks that he was gone, we didn't get a single phone call...but we got several letters. I read them and re-read them....over and over. Most of the letters to us were very short and to the point. Shelby's letters were LONG...most of the time. They don't get much time to write, so I'm guessing he wrote hers, then wrote ours in what little bit of time he had left over. ;o) lol
He kept us updated on how he did during different stages of boot camp. We were most concerned about Swim Week, but he passed. YAY! That's all we needed to hear. I hope he recognized that he should probably do some swimming now that boot camp's over...they have to re-qualify for that stuff at different intervals during the course of their time in the Marines.
While Nick was in boot camp, I wrote almost every day. I wanted to write every single day, but honestly, I couldn't do it. lol I missed only 2 days, though, so I did pretty good. There were times I would start the letter then not have a clue what to write about! lol I was very glad he wrote as much as he did. On average, we got 1-2 letters a week. Which, for anyone who knows Nitro, is VERY good! lol
As we got closer to graduation, things really started getting stressful. We were trying to plan a trip while, at the same time, trying to plan a rehearsal dinner and make sure we had all the financing done for our part of the wedding. There was so much overlap of the two, that, in fact, I got a call from the cake shop about the groom's cake while I was sitting in the bleachers waiting for the graduation to start! lol
We left for San Diego on Sept. 8 bright and early in the morning and got to the airport about 9:30. It was perfect timing...enough time to get a rental car, get to the hotel, then figure out what we wanted to do for lunch. And the weather was beautiful!!!
There were 6 of us in our group: myself, Muftak, Aravis, Shelby and my parents, so we got a suite at the hotel. It was nice. We had a balcony overlooking the interstate...and just to the other side of the interstate....MCRD! In fact, the last night, Nitro was in the hotel with us and pointed out his squad bay to us! lol Shelby and I stood on the balcony the first night we were there and said, "He's in there...somewhere." lol
We managed to make it to the beach (Mission Beach, to be precise) 3 times while we were there. And it was gorgeous!!!! The waves were awesome! The weather was GORGEOUS the whole time we were there! We even managed to get my dad into the ocean...a man who doesn't like water! Of course, he didn't get in past his knees, but still... lol
That Thurs., the 10th, we spent the entire day at MCRD. Nitro had base liberty from 1-6, so we got to spend time with him then. Everyone was talking about where we should go or what we should do. I suggested that we just sit and talk. I knew he had a million stories about boot camp that he was probably dying to tell, so I was willing to just sit and talk....which is what we did.
Friday, the 11th, was graduation. The HUGE flag on the parade deck was at half mast in honor of 9-11. It gave me goosebumps to see it. By noon, Nitro was all ours and we were able to leave base with him. The flight home the next morning was uneventful. But it was good to be home!
There are so many little "stories" about things that happened on our trip; I think I'll save them for later...maybe tomorrow, if I can get motivated to write some more. I'm actually still recuperating from the weekend. lol Wow! :o)
Monday, September 21, 2009
Yes, I'm Still Alive!
Life has a way of keeping you so busy that you miss out on alot.
Well, my life has been one thing after another lately, leaving me no time to blog. BUT...after this past weekend, things have figuratively hit a standstill...for awhile.
I don't have the mental energy to put into a blog today, but will try to get something going tomorrow.
Let's just say that since I last posted in April, my life has changed dramatically.
So, I'll close here by saying...
STAY TUNED.
:o)
Well, my life has been one thing after another lately, leaving me no time to blog. BUT...after this past weekend, things have figuratively hit a standstill...for awhile.
I don't have the mental energy to put into a blog today, but will try to get something going tomorrow.
Let's just say that since I last posted in April, my life has changed dramatically.
So, I'll close here by saying...
STAY TUNED.
:o)
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