NUKE moms

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Comment by NF Mom yesterday

Dor,  have to disagree with Mark on this one. 

Stay off I-5 in down town Seattle.  The Ferry Terminal in Seattle is in downtown Seattle.

Plot a route from the Seattle Tacoma Airport( SEATAC ) that takes you north on I-405 to I-90, then go West 10 miles on I-90 ( stay in the left hand lane on I-90 ) until the Freeway ends and keep right on the "end of free way exit" until the stop light.  Go left at the light ( which puts you on 4th Avenue going North ) and you are driving parallel to the docks, a few blocks off the docks, and very close to the Ferry landing.  The Ocean ( and the Ferry Terminal ) is downhill and to the west when you are driving in downtown Seattle ( and to the left if you followed the above directions and are driving North on 4th Avenue ).

Just use goggle maps to figure out the turns from there.  Hint: Alaskan Way is both an elevated Freeway and the four lane surface road  below the elevated Freeway.    You have to take the  four lane Alaskan Way surface road  to get to the Ferry regardless of coming in via I-5 or I-90.  I-5 and I-90 cross about a mile before I-90 ends.  The convention center which I-5 goes underground through is right there as well.  Getting on, or off, I-5 in that part of Seattle is bad news even for the long time Seattle residents.

Alaskan Way is very clearly marked as to how to get to the Ferry just stay off the elevated Freeway ( aka Alaskan Way Viaduct ).

My sister-in-law, who  has lived in the Seattle area for 55 years will avoid using  I-5 in downtown Seattle like the plague.  My husband, who is not risk adverse, became a believer after a few conventions in downtown Seattle where he learned the hard way about I-5 exits and entrances near the convention center in downtown Seattle.

The Ferry ride is worth the trip all by itself :)

Comment by Dor(Navy/ArmyNatGrd/AirForce)Mom yesterday

mark -thanks for the tips -relieves some of my stress...when I am with my boys it is always sunny -LOL

Comment by Mark yesterday

As someone who has worked in the Navy nuc program for thirty (yikes!) now, I 'd like to offer my take of the "OCD" thing.  I'd say what a nuc learns (hopefully) is that the average person cannot necessarily be relied upon to do things right, or often, even to care about doing things right - it's cynical, but it's a lesson one learns the hard way.  It's important that when things really matter, one must take it upon themselves to look out for their interests.  It would be nice to rely on others, but if a person hasn't proven their reliability, you can't count on it if you have an important stake in the outcome.  Obviously, taking on the world that way will (often justifiably) get some folks' noses out of joint.  So, another important life lesson, if one values their personal relationships, is knowing when the "OCD" mode is appropriate, and when it is not.  In many things though, it is as the great Ronald Reagan once said, "Trust, but verify."

Comment by Mark yesterday

Dor,

You should find it reasonably easy to find the Seattle-Bremerton ferry.  The exit off I-5 is well-marked for the ferries and the signage on the route to the terminal is good also.  Pay attention to the signs though, because the route gets a little weird by the waterfront these days, with the construction they're doing to build the new tunnel along the waterfront to replace the elevated freeway by the water.  The other caution is that the booth sells tickets for both the Bremerton and Bainbridge Island ferries, so make sure after you pay, you get in the right lineup.  The cars for the Bremerton ferry continue straight ahead after paying, the Bainbridge cars take a right turn and pass under to the other side of the walk-on passenger overpass, so be aware of that.  If your flight arrives at 9, you'll probably be on the 11:10 boat to Bremerton, the next sailing is at 12:35.  The drive from the airport is just over 20 minutes, so you should easily make the first boat.  The ferry is definitely the relaxed way to go, BTW - I take it whenever I can, even if I have to wait an hour on the Seattle side.  Sorry the weather this weekend won't be as spectacular as the last, but Sunday looks good.  Hope you enjoy your visit!

Comment by J's mom yesterday

Betsyleebig, what week is your son in? Is he is T-week? If so, just tell him almost everyone feels like throwing in the towel during T-week. It sounds like stress levels are extra high because they are losing 3 instructors and they classed up the largest class ever--more people trying to get their checks, and fewer people to do them is going to make for some high levels of stress for all of them, I fear. The last time my son was in a T-week he was very discouraged....but things got better the following week, especially since they reduced the required checks almost by half! It's even harder for about half the guys because many failed to get high enough on the PFA, so they have the added physical training on top of the long hours and lack of sleep. Personally, I'm convinced that the program is stressful by design; they maximize the stress to make sure they can cope under stressful conditions once they are deployed. My son doesn't smoke, but just to get a break and a chance to talk with the other sailors, he always takes the smoking breaks (sans the cigarette), that way he gets some stress by relief and saves himself from lung cancer at the same time.

Comment by LeaannaShip14Div191 yesterday

NavyMomLG...that was my thought exactly re: the OCD. I think they all must have it, the Navy just helped them refine it!

Comment by Betsyleebig yesterday

Son  called.  Seems  to  be faltering   under  the  pressure  of  prototype all  of  a  sudden. Says  he  can't  sleep.  Haven't  heard  him  him  this upset in  a  very  long  time.  I  don't  know  what  is  happening  this  week.  I  tried  to  explain    there  are  days  you hate  your  job  no  matter  what   your  job  is.  He  has  4  more  days  on  this  shift.  Told  him  to  speak  to  his  supervisor. Any  suggestions?

Comment by J's mom yesterday

Dor, that's what my son said. The AF has met their quotas and will not be recruiting for the rest of the year. (I think their new year starts in October.) The ROTC queue was too long to pin any hopes on it as well, unless he wanted to go army, which he did not.

Thank you all for sharing the great job possibilities! I am relieved to hear that there are many options/avenues.

Comment by Dor(Navy/ArmyNatGrd/AirForce)Mom yesterday

NF mom  -my great nephew is trying to get into AF and after many phone calls not answered and only one email that said he didn't get any messages and would be intouch -3 weeks later nothing -so he is thinking about ROTC for AF...unfortunately this is do to the HUGE budget cuts....my son said any "tiny" infraction and you are out -it is making him  very nervous and he has won achievement awards so I know he is not a slacker -but I see that the threat is there and that is hard to deal with on a daily basis....

regarding college degrees -my nuke received his by taking a few classed in between school and when his nuke schooling was added to previous credits =college degree...he is currently working on his MBA and his is not deloyed at the moment -sub going into dry dock so he should finish before he is out :)

well 2 more days and I am off to see my sailor :)

so Mark -we are renting a car at the airport and driving to Silverdale via the Ferry so if you hear about some hicks in the water becasue they missed the ramp it will be us!!! am just hoping we find the ferry OK -never did that before. we get in at 9pm Sat and sailor boy has duty so will see him in the am :)

Comment by NavyMomLG yesterday

I will chime in that the training and experience the Nukes are getting will set them up for many opportunities, not just the nuclear field.  I work in the finance industry and one of our top portfolio managers is a former Nuke.  My Nuke son is actually considering neuro-prosthetics as a post-Navy career.  The combination of intelligence and training that makes them successful Nukes is widely recognized in the civilian world.  I liked the comment about them coming out of it slightly OCD.  I have a feeling most of them probably went in slightly OCD!

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