He is a sailor!!

[Cal Blacksmith]

We spend the day with Adam, it was great!

We flew in yesterday
(Thursday) and arrived at our motel room at about 9 pm after a stop at
a coffee shop I insisted in going to. Thanks mom (Grandma for going
along with my plans!) Our flight was full but Adams Grandmother was
able to get on our flight going by going standby as her flight was
scheduled for later, it was a blessing to have her with us as there
would have been a 4 hour delay with us waiting for her at the airport.

We
got up at 5:15 this morning, to get ready and after a quick stop at the
free motel breakfast, it was on the road and heading for the base. We
got in line to enter the base at about 6:50 and the car (as well as the
dozens and dozens of other cars) was searched and all of us presented
our ID for entry.

The ceremony started at 9:00 with typical
military precision and lasted for an hour and a half, while the
graduating sailors (all 650+ of them) stood at attention and parade
rest, the whole time. The ceremony was a stirring one, full of
tradition and a strong sense of pride filled the hall. The ceremony
ended right at 10:30 just as the schedule stated and the sailors were
set free to start their 3 day liberty! Well not entirely free, they
need to return every night to sleep and if they have duty (as Adam does
Saturday morning from 0800 to 1200) they must serve that also. Adam has
what is called Snow Watch, this means that he must stand by to shovel
snow when it gets deep enough to do so. In the case of no snow, there
is cleanup duty such as mopping floors etc to do, however, as we were
returning to the motel after dropping Adam off at the base, it started
snowing. That was at 1945, (7:45 pm) and there is expected to be 2 to 4
inches falling in this storm. He likes being in the snow so hopefully
there will be enough falling for his duty time for him to get his fill!
In addition to his watch tomorrow, his division (training group) is
being punished because one of the group behaved badly at breakfast so
the whole division lost an hour of liberty tonight in addition, they
had to report back to the ship (housing unit) after graduation to get
chewed out so they lost about an hour and a half when leaving for
liberty. Oh well, that is the way it goes I guess.

Adam had been
planning his first meal after graduation, for weeks. We went to Red
Robbin where he had is favorite burger, fries and a cherry cola, not
the kind of meal that he has been choosing to eat for himself, normally
he has been eating low fat and wise calories to help continue his new
found physical fitness and loss of 16 pounds and 12 percent of body
fat! One meal won't kill him so it was a fitting celebration meal that
he had been looking forward to for these last weeks. Just after we were
seated, the manager came over and introduced himself. He asked Adam if
he had just graduated today and Adam replied that he had. The manager
then instructed our server that Adams meal was on the house as his way
of thanking Adam for his service and the manager also commented that he
had wanted to serve but was unable to. We all were very surprise by the
managers actions and comments, we thanked him for his actions and
comments while we were in a shallow state of shock!

Adam is in
the best physical condition of his life and he is justifiably proud to
have passed the PT (physical Training) test with flying colors. He was
worried about the running but even though he had shin splints that were
hurting him a lot, he pushed through the pain and though he is 24 years
old, he passed the test, exceeding the requirements for an 18 year old,
which were more stringent than for his age group.

He is, by
any and all standards a model looking sailor, fit, trim, strong with a
proud bearing in his manor and confidence in his actions, he is indeed
the embodiment of a sailor. We are so proud of him, it would be
impossible to be more so.

Adam will be staying on at Naval
station Great Lakes for his A school, this course is in basic aircraft
theory and when he is finished with that school, he will be going to
Pensacola Fla for a continuation school to his rating of an aircraft
tec. The plans after that are unknown as are his permanent duty station.

Our
plans for the rest of the weekend are a little in flux but we do want
to go to see the submarine at the museum of science and technology as
well as a trip to either the Sears tower or Hancock building, perhaps
both. I yet have to mention a trip to Buddy Guys Legends (blues club)
or the Auto Show which is on this weekend. so there are several things
to do and I don't think we will have any trouble filling the few hours
we will have with him.

All of your comments have been relayed and he is thankfull for all of your support.

I suppose I could go on and on but it is getting late and the bed is calling. More later as things happen!

[dtel]

CONGRATULATIONS to the whole family, fine young man you two have raised. You deserve to be proud and he should be for what he has accomplished, have fun.

[oscarsear]

Congrats to you and Adam. We've had one attend basic there and another headed that way. I don't know how you are with heights but I do not deal with them well. Friends treated us to dinner at the top of the Hancock building, GACK! The water in the toilets sways. You get nose bleeds going up the elevator. Odder still were the spiders. It was wintertime and quite cold and windy there in Chi town. But at the top of the Hancock Tower there were huge spiders in their webs, outside the windows, exposed to the weather at that altitude. Our first sailor is on a nuclear carrier somewhere in the Middle East. The next in line needs to grow up and I expect he will, right there.

[jamesV]

Congrats to Adam, also to you and your wife for raising him... [Y]

Plus a thank you for serving our country.

Yes Chicago is a fun city. I live about 30 min. away, right into Indiana and love going into the city. If you do go to the car show have fun, me and the gf are planning on going during the week.

The best part about the Handcock and the Sears Tower is the elevator ride up, brace yourself. Almost as fun as the Space Needle in Seattle.

James

[tommyboy]

Congrats to you and your family! I remember when my folks came down to see me graduate BMT and Tech School. Pretty proud moments...........

[Groomlakearea51]

Congratulations!!! All the best to Adam. His "A" school schedule and locations sound great!! [Y][Y][Y]

[BLSamuel]

Congratulations to Adam and your family. Thanks in advance for his service to his country and may the good Lord watch over and protect him from harm.

Have a GREAT weekend!

[SilverSport]

Congratulations and thanks for your Service Adam...Enjoy the U-505 and hopefully you get to do some of the other things you want to do...the Auto Show will be packed on opening weekend (I'm going Tuesday)...enjoy...the weather is pretty good for Chicago in February!

Bill

[BigStewMan]

Congrats to you and your family!  I remember when my folks came down to see me graduate BMT and Tech School.  Pretty proud moments...........

I remember having to call my folks the morning of boot camp graduation and tell them don't bother coming--my first taste of military discipline from some hyjinx the night before awarded me an extra two weeks of basic training. 30 years ago; so I can laugh about it now--sure stung when it happened though.

congrats to Adam and enjoy your career--i retired from the Coast Guard in 2003--it ain't a bad life! My only regret--i want my hair growing years back. i waited so long to be free to grow my hair long again, now that i have that chance, only the back wants to grow.

[J.4knee]

So he's gonna be an Airdale eh? I recently spent 4 days underway on USS Nimitz. Please extend my congrats to Adam, and please accept mine to you for raising a son with the fortitude to come forth and serve his country. Enjoy your time in the Windy City, Adam is about to embark on a whirlwind tour of life, we wish him success and are proud and thankful for his selfless offering to help keep us all safe.

[Daddy Dee]

Congrats to Adam. God bless you for your service to the country.

[USNRET]

Goes without saying how I feel. What A school? Has he considered volunteering for aircrew?

Jet mech myself. Door gunner, Search and Rescue swimmer and flight engineer; all in my younger days. What happens on liberty stays on liberty, Mom doesn't need to know any more!

[Marvel]

But at the top of the Hancock Tower there were huge spiders in their webs, outside the windows, exposed to the weather at that altitude.

I think they actually figured out those blew across from Michigan. Very strange...

There are spiders way up high on Mt. Everest, too, IIRC.

[Cal Blacksmith]

Day two, Sorry if this is long,

What a great day we had, it did have a major shake up of schedule
though. Adam was supposed to have snow watch from 0800 to 1200 but when
he got back to the ship, the schedules were redone and he wound up with
duty from 1800 to 2100 so we had to cut the day short and have him back
by 1700 so he could get ready for watch and to top it off, everyone had
to do some extra clean up this morning so he didn't have a chance to
leave until after 0900 then he had to walk to a phone to call us, so by
the time I got to the base to pick him up it was later still. He had a
shipmate that need a ride to a motel that his family was staying at and
we gave him a ride. There was also another sailor that went along with
us and we decided that it would be fine if he went along with us today.
He is a great guy and we all got along well. As the morning was getting
on, we decided to go to get some pizza on the way to the Sears tower
and we stopped by Gioratanos on the recommendation of this board and they were spot on, that was some of the best
pizza we had ever had, the crust was not doughy rather it was a cross
between bread and pie dough, very nice indeed! Adam and Steve had their
own pie, a cheese, sausage, pepperoni and fresh garlic. Grandma, my
wife and I had a tropical pizza, a pineapple, ham and cheese. Both pies
were very good, the sauce was sweet, the crust great, all in all, a
very, very good pizza!

The pizza shop was just 2 doors down from
a game store and Adam really wanted to stop in so we did. I had my PSP
with me and he wants to pick up one when he gets to A school and he has
more freedom to have personal items, which should be in a few weeks.
Adam bought a game and took a look at it on my machine but we will take
it home with us so he does not need to store it, I will send it to him
just as soon as he has his new address and it is OK to have personal
items.

We then drove over to the Sears tower, what an impressive
building it is indeed. The tour starts with a trip to the basement
where security gives you a check out and then you can buy tickets, they
are free to active duty service members which was nice and Adam
Insisted on paying for our ticketts. Next you watch a shot movie about
the history of the tower and then you to go up to the top! Well we
didn't quite make it to the 103rd floor as it was closed for remodeling
but we did get to the 99th floor and what an incredible sight it was
from there! The view was easily 20 miles even though there were storm
clouds in the sky.

I am glad there wasn't any wind while were
there though as I have heard that you can feel the building sway in the
wind and I wouldn't be all that comfortable with that. We stayed for
about an hour before it was time to return to base with Adam, The drive
is about 35 miles from down town Chicago to the base, we allowed about
50 minutes to get back and though the traffic was fairly light, we did
have a few slow downs though but we got back 10 minutes ahead of Adams
projected schedule. It sure would have been nice to have had him with
us longer so we could have seen more in down town today.

Grandma,
Cyndy and I stopped by the Navy Exchange on the way back to the motel
and spend about an hour there going through the Navy pride clothes and
items that we wanted to buy but when we went to pay, we were told that
we couldn't buy anything unless Adam was with us so everything stayed
at the store and we went back to our room. I had wanted to go to Buddy
Guys Legends for some jazz but by the time we got back to the room at
about 1830 I was just too tired to drive back down town by myself as
everyone else was just tired as well.

After a rest and
something to eat I now feel fine but it is 2200 and though the club
will be open, i don't want to stay up past midnight tonight so perhaps
Adam will be able to take in a little of the early show with me before
we have to head back tomorrow night for our LAST day together for a
while!

The time is passing WAY too fast and this trip too soon
will only be a memory. How I wish we could make it last longer. We are
so very proud of Adam and all that he has accomplished. Adam is off to
a great start, he is excited about his future and it is bright. I miss
the little boy that was born nearly 25 years ago, the child that he
was, the teenage years and graduating from high school. There were lots
of trials along the way and they were all worth it. I am so proud of
the man that he has become. I miss his company on a daily basis but
that only makes the time we now have together all that much sweeter but
the parting that much harder.

[Cal Blacksmith]

And the family

[dtel]

Very Nice family, have fun with him tomorrow.

[jamesV]

Great to hear about your day. Also nice weather we have been having this past week.

Great looking family picture, something to cherish for sure.

Congrats again to Adam..

James

[Cal Blacksmith]

Thanks everyone, I am sure it was a bit of the proud papa in me that made those long winded posts, thanks for the kind words. The trip went by so fast and we are both now back into our ruts I guess. I went back to work yesterday and it felt like we had never even left. Adam should be moving into his new "ship" or barracks today, as his school starts in about a week and they need the old "ship" for the new recrutes that show up every day!

The weather was very nice, in a Chicago sort of way (So Cal man here, remember?) We had some great times and there wasn't near enough time to see half of the things that were recomended. We did stop for some Polish food on Sunday night, I did some internet snooping and Smak Tak had 8 very good reviews and so we gave it a try. The food is traditonal indeed and though the establishment is only a storefront operation seating perhaps 25 at most, the foof is excelent and true to the old world (my family came from Poland/Germany and we still know what it is supposed to taste like!) A link is HERE The prices are very reasonable also, five of us had a nice meal and with drinks and tax the bill was under $65. We had some Chicago dogs at the airport (not the zenith of Chicago dogs I am sure) but they were very nice to have for lunch on the flight back to Orange County Ca. The scent of the dogs filled the airplane and I am sure there were many onboard that wished that they had bought such a treat for themselves for the trip home!