Liberty Weekends

So it has been a while... I think I'll try to keep all the Navy stories on the Navy Times and everything else here, as usual. Gosh... "usual"... hardly so! But it's nice to be here again!

At the moment I'm at the Enlisted Rec Center on base, which has the most comfortable and quiet places for relaxing and browsing. My second weekend of liberty is drawing to a close.

Last weekend, as I left boot camp and transitioned into A School, I had the entire time off with my family and my friend Mike, only needing to call my barracks (or ship, as we call them) every night by 9:30 and every morning by 8 to let them know I was fine. Sleeping in a motel, even a Motel 6, was luxurious! And compared to the galley in boot, Denny's was like a King's table. One of the things I missed most was toast! So that was the first thing I knew I wanted. Everything was like a dream... eggs (not served in a scoop) garnished with cheese... fluffy pancakes... oatmeal and sausage... and the company could not be beat!

That's what I loved the most. Just being with my favorite people. Played games of Backgammon with Dad again... went shopping for some essentials at Walmart... had nice things to eat (pasta, Chicago-style pizza, a burger and tortilla soup). The train ride to Chicago (and the Navy Pier) on Saturday was the best though. Took about an hour and a half and just sat and talked and watched the countryside slip by. It was cloudy, but everything was clearly visible, even when we went up in the Farris wheel on the pier. I was so tired though! Saturday night everyone insisted I get some rest while they went out for a late dinner. That felt a little odd at first, given they had come to see me... but as soon as they left I instantly fell into a deep sleep, not even twitching until they returned... thankfully a half-hour before my call-in time! :)

Sunday, several of our plans fell through... the museum on base was only open until 11 am! We decided to check out the off-base Navy Exchange (NEX) and I was surprised it was a regular supermarket. There were no uniform items available. We wanted to check out some of the little shops at towns we saw from the train the day before, but the time schedule wouldn't give my family enough time to do that and get to the airport. So we took a drive out to see "Round Lake" out in the country, and on the way spotted lots of nice options for dinner.

It was really sad saying goodbye to everyone. My family took off from the restaurant, and then I had a couple hours with Mike before I had to be back, and that was very nice. He could only drive me as far as the gate (because of a silly rule) and then we had to say farewell as well. While I walked back to my room under the stars, I couldn't help but be a little sad. It was jarring to get back to my bleak room in a strange building with a lot of strangers and have a brief on all the new little rules and then be told that one had to get breakfast before 5:40 if one wanted food... while not knowing exactly where the Galley was. So I cross the line between talking about Liberty and Navy life... but I suppose keeping them exactly separate will be impossible. It was certainly difficult to jump back into being a Sailor after being a Recruit for so long and then suddenly a daughter and friend all weekend. It was really good to be with people from my Recruit Division... at least we knew we were in it together. There's nothing that strengthens you more than knowing that. It has helped me survive everything here in Great Lakes.

After a challenging first day, things got smoother really fast. The week felt incredibly long, but I picked up on things just fine. I think I might even be ready for transitioning into real classes tomorrow! :) The coolest thing was getting my Christmas leave settled really early. Had to go to the NEX in stages, getting everything I needed, but after it was all set, I felt much better.

I didn't take much liberty at all Friday evening this week, so this weekend really started yesterday morning as I was able to sleep in! Woke up at a whopping 0730 and took a private, hot shower! Talk about Liberty! I took my time in my room afterwords, fixing the ribbons on my uniforms to reflect earning my sharpshooter, and putting my E-3 devices on my service uniform. Also straightened my closet, getting everything ready for next week. I really can't stand disorganization. I even took the time my first Sunday night to unpack the sea bag. Couldn't stand having everything here and there, thrown about, as I had left it after first checking in last Friday. (I was in a super rush to get out the door and see everyone!) So now it's in even more perfect order. :)

I tried to use the library, but it didn't open for another couple hours... so I checked out "The Loft", where I am now. Lots of cool stuff here... games and quiet places and so on. It was then time to meet up with my friends for a trip to Gurnee Mills Mall. We got a taxi by the main gate and sped over there, passing many of the things I saw with my family last week. I just wanted to hang out with my shipmates, really. It was Riley's 19th birthday, and she got her hair done. We ate snacks together, did a lot of walking and talking and then enjoyed a fabulous dinner. I was rather curious about the place... people have been talking about it since boot camp. They said last weekend it was packed with folks in uniform. Glad I waited until yesterday!

And everyone knew who we were... many of the cell phone salesman didn't let us walk by without a greeting of some kind. One guy said, "I know you guys have money. You could even buy me lunch. You should buy a cell phone." Didn't know they'd be that direct. And my friend and I talked to a high-school girl at the salon while we were waiting. She was wondering about Boot Camp. :)

Got back in plenty of time for a very quick muster, and then I was surprisingly able to get on chat! That was a lot of fun, even though I got lots of questions from girls on my deck about why I was sitting in the passageway. :)

This morning I woke up at 0700 and got out in time for breakfast too. :) I went ahead and purchased the sweater (for wear with the khaki and black uniform) this morning, tried very desperately for a quiet place at the USO, but couldn't find one... and then landed at The Loft.

Kind of a quiet day so far. It's nice to be able to go where you want on base without fear. :)

Jp