<p>wouldn't a hot meal made on your mom's stove and a good evening of nothing be better than that?</p>
<p>oh yeah...</p>
<p>Have Mom put a gold bar in your Turkey and there ya go. Bling Bling</p>
<p>this is last years thread about ideas for Christmas..cjcatl</p>
<p>Jamzmom - it sounds like your son has finished the trip that my son is going on this month. We have been discussing what kind of clothing he needs for the trip from Tacoma to Hawaii to CA and over again. Did your son need foul weather gear? If so, what did he need? My son is an engineer so he has some coveralls and heavy duty boots, but we are not sure what else he needs to pack. Thanks, for the posting.</p>
<p>2010bandcomom -- Howdy from the end of my sea year here at home.</p>
<p>Hawaii, huh? Well, Hawaii of course is gonna be a nice trip -- tell him to pack some swimming trunks... they have excellent beaches year round down there. It's always nice to pack one or two nice outfits for going out on liberty -- some slacks and a polo or something. . . most ships allow their cadets time off, and he'll wanna go hang out in hawaii... who wouldn't? </p>
<p>Tacoma this time of year is going to be -cold-. As an engineer, he'll be down in the engine room all the time. . . so a couple changes of coveralls will be nice depending on his preference -- I've seen engineers change three or four times a day -- especially on steam ships which have <em>hot</em> engine rooms. Theres no need to pack more than like, two sets of coveralls -- just a few more undershirts and stuff. Engine rooms often reach temperatures in excess of 100 degrees. ...Glad I'm a deckie. Also, I doubt his ship will do this, but mine went from T`aiwan to Tacoma so it went up closer to Alaska as it was the shortest route to take. Imagine me out in the summer time with short sleeves suddenly looking at puffins wondering why it's so cold. First stop I made in Tacoma was for a hoodie. It will be cold and rainy there probably, so if he intends on getting off the ship, a rainjacket and warm clothes will be nice...</p>
<p>As far as foul weather gear goes... eh. Most ships I was on didn't have the engine cadet out on deck for anything, but he may just want to pack a light poncho or something that won't take up too much room <em>just in case</em> but I doubt he'd ever need it... maybe during a rainy life boat drill or something. . . Or unless he wants to chill out on deck. Laugh.</p>
<p>Try to pack as little as possible. . . it sucks lugging all of our books and everything around. But additional things to pack as an engineer? I wouldn't really know as a deckie, but I figure bandannas would be nice.. wipe off your hands, keep the sweat out of your eyes. They usually supply gloves on the ship, but he may want to take his own pair that he's more comfortable with -- quite a few pairs if he's going to go that route since gloves get worn out quick. They'll supply safety goggles and earplugs and all that noise so you won't have to worry about that. Other than that, just typical common sense stuff.. make sure his heavy duty boots are steel toed and broken in enough to where he doesn't get blisters... pack enough undershirts if he wears them -- he's going to sweat. A lot. I've known guys that take their own gatorade mix and stuff to have to keep themselves hydrated... And on the plus side of things is: The ship always has a slop chest -- a ships store -- that he can buy stuff out of just in case he finds anything he needed. Theres also plenty of shore time to go out and get things. . . everyone on the ship usually knows the closest malls and shopping centers, and if they don't -- the taxis will. But again -- pack as little as possible, gatorade and stuff like that can be bought in port.</p>
<p>Hope this helps. . . back to my vacation.
Jamz</p>
<p>If a person was spending any time on deck while in the port of Tacoma from this time of the year and into the end of April, I would think they would want a decent foul weather jacket. </p>
<p>As far as beating around town while in the Seattle/Tacoma area, this is the rainy season. But it doesn't (very often) get too cold. We have 1-3 weeks of really cold winter weather and then most of the time it doesn't even freeze at night and it in the mid 40s to mid 50s and drizzling during the day.</p>
<p>jamz ...great post say hey to your mom and have fun till nov 3rd...my son is in your company...3rd is the best....cjc</p>
<p>Was at Camp Murray and McChord AFB (South of Tacoma) this week. Serious winds on Thursday. Suspended flights at McChord and sent folks home early.</p>
<p>Also, when you are in Tacoma, figure out how to get the the Clover Leaf for pizza. Its a ways from the port in the North end towards the Narrows, but worth the trip.</p>
<p>Yeah, it was pretty windy on thursday. From now until April the wind storms will come and go. We have some real interesting wind storms when you combine them with 80-100 plus feet trees.</p>
<p>Jamz thanks for all of the info and to the rest of you that responded. It helps alot to know what to take.</p>
<p>Thanks again.</p>