<p>First I want to thank everyone who has answered all my previous questions -- it appears that I am just full of them (questions). </p>
<p>A current mids parents told us that it would be great to have a collapsible cooler with cold drinks and snack/sandwich ready for our plebe when they come to say so long to us. We were told that the plebes usually are too busy/nervous to eat during the day and would be both thirsty and starving -- makes sense. They told me to be sure the drinks were clear liquids and the food wouldn't stain their whites. Of course all my questions occured to me later and I could not ask the other parents. So,</p>
<p>-- Has anyone else heard of this?</p>
<p>-- Logistically how does it work? Will I need to carry the small cooler around with me or is there a place to keep it during the day? (I will not have a car - am staying at a hotel near the academy and will walk in) Do I leave it at the hotel and try to run back there just before the ceremony?</p>
<p>Thanks again. I would love to say that this will be the end of my questions but I would be lying.</p>
<p>Don't bother lugging a cooler around with you. You can buy cold drinks and snacks in the Mid Store. They have granola bars, energy bars, crackers, etc. I am sure that will be more than adequate. They will get an evening meal after they leave you so don't worry about them going totally hungry. Make it easy on yourself and buy something right before you find a spot for the evening ceremony. You need to reserve all of your carrying capacity for all of the Navy loot that you will purchase in the Mid Store! :)</p>
<p>Personally, I wouldn't bother. Your plebe will be eating & drinking what USNA serves for the next 6 wks (not to mention 4 yrs) and, I promise you, won't starve. Also, you'll have only 15-20 mins to say goodbye. Just enjoy the time together.</p>
<p>Remember picture IDs for all parents and guests over 16 years old are required to pass through all gates to USNA! (just like at the airport!) I agree with USNA mom; buy snacks and cold drinks in the midstore. The midstore also sells a very nice small collapsible cooler (holds a six-pack) with the USNA logo on the side (which might come in handy in the hotel and on future visits). I think it was in the area with bins of stuffed animals, pennants, license plate holders. You can get ice for the cooler in Dahlgren Hall.</p>
<p>um, actually i would reccomend bringing a cool drink and snack-you have a whole hour together, and it's a ridiculously hot/humid evening. my mom brought a sandwich, cookies and cold water, and it was lovely. it may be the "last thing on your mind"...but it won't be the last thing on your plebe's.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. I will make my purchases at the Mid Store and make sure I have a little extra in case there is another hungry/thirsty plebe nearby.</p>
<p>Except that mid store/dahlgren may be running out of food, the lines may be long, etc., etc., etc.</p>
<p>Even though they will be fed later on, it is the end of a LONG day. For everybody! Bring a drink, bring a
snack. It's YOUR kid, YOUR last time together for some time, YOU know whats best. It is HOT, its HUMID, and its a LONG day. Do whatever YOU think is best.
Son gulped down the drink, ate what he could of the sandwich, wolfed down the cookie . . . it was not that much to carry around most of the day compared to the 80-lb bag he had been responsible for most of the day.
If you can't carry it around, find a bush to stash it behind.</p>
<p>I don't care where you are from, New Orleans, Atlanta, Houston, Miami . . . it is more humid than you can imagine; especially come PPW.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Personally, I wouldn't bother. Your plebe will be eating & drinking what USNA serves for the next 6 wks (not to mention 4 yrs) and, I promise you, won't starve. Also, you'll have only 15-20 mins to say goodbye. Just enjoy the time together.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>That's my recollection, but Wheelah's is more recent, so....</p>
<p>For those of you who haven't gotten one, a good CamelBak is perhaps the most mind-bendingly useful stupid idea ever to come down the pike. Fill it with ice, fill the remainder with water, and you have ice-cold water for the entire day. It is standard equipment for me now whenever I go anywhere with my girls. If you wrap a hand towel around the bladder before butting it in the pack, the bladder won't sweat as much. It sure beats buying water or whatever in the Mid Store.</p>
<p>IIRC, the Plebes go to dinner soon after swearing in (have they changed the schedule)? Either way, and as USNA1985 said, they won't go hungry.</p>
<p>The LAST thing on my mind during the 20 minutes they gave us to say goodbye was food, though, but that's just me.</p>
<p>If you can't carry it around, find a bush to stash it behind.
-bill</p>
<p>bill,
Now that might just bring out the bomb squad! You are too funny and so nurturing! Who said you were cranky?</p>
<p>Heck, last year I gave my daughter a big hug just before she boarded the plane in Los Angeles along with a handful of other Southern California candidates bound for BWI. This young woman had just renewed her passport for the fourth time before she left for I-day, so she was more comfortable doing this on her own. Its okay for candidates to show up without their families too. Of course, I was the first to arrive on PPW, and she flew home every chance that she had during Plebe Year. I also went to Annapolis a couple of times this year which was fantastic! </p>
<p>Equatorial Africa is like Annapolis in August! ;)</p>
<p>Experiences for everyone are different. In 2004 when my son reported, we only had 20 minutes to say our goodbyes. Last year apparently they had closer to an hour. Who knows, this year may be different. In the 20 minutes we had my son drank a little and that was about it. He had an early report time that day and apparently his cadre had the group in King Hall to eat twice during the day and my son ate at both occasions. He was definitely not hungry as he had more than enough to eat both times. The time was spent excitedly telling us about the events of the day. Of course if your Plebe has not eaten I am sure they will appreciate it. My son has told me on more than one occasion to relax, he will be taken care of. It is hard to get over the need to "mother" them.</p>
<p>Does anyone know what the evening is like after dinner for the plebes during plebe summer? Don't laugh, but this is a mom talking: is there any way they can have a snack before bed--like a banana or apple? I know during the year they can probably bring something back to their rooms from King Hall, but Plebe summer is so intense.
What's it like in the evening?</p>
<p>after dinner they might have a brief, a meeting with the supe (the singalongs are great fun), drill practice outside, company commander time...or any number of other things. they have a half hour of personal time every day, where they can write letters and eat snacks: this is from 9-9:30 every night, so conceivably they could eat a healthy snack but they aren't allowed to have perishable food in their rooms so i don't see how fresh fruit would work it's way in, but it's at every meal so i wouldn't worry.</p>
<p>ps. i was only kind of kidding about the singalongs: during plebe summer your meter for fun drops so low that anything not involving someone in your face is bliss...hence the singing kind of being fun.</p>