Illinois is too cold.
Seriously, what made the Navy think it was a good idea to move Recruit Training from San Diego to Chicago?
Anyway, this past weekend, I got to visit my husband for his basic training graduation. Under the cut are some pics from the trip.
At the Recruit Training Command Pass-In-Review, cameras were only allowed inside the hall where the ceremony took place. Ricky was part of the color-guard, so he was kind of easy to spot.
Funny story: when I arrived at the hall, there was a group of sailors holding flags up in the center of the hall. I knew ahead of time Ricky was part of the color-guard so I rushed over to find his flag. I saw him standing in the crowd and stood in his line of vision. All of a sudden, his eyes widened and he began smiling, crushing his military bearing. I shook my head at him, telling him to suck it up and get straight-faced :).
Left: Inside the drill hall.
Right: "When is the ceremony going to start?"
Left: Ricky's division.
Right: The divisions marching in.
Left: Like any graduation, lots of screaming.
Right: All of the divisions, fully assembled (and my dad commenting that some of the divisions can't stand in straight lines, what's the matter with them).
After that, Ricky was with me until 8:30pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Left: Outside the hotel, in the cold.
Right: Inside Gurnee Mills (I like the cracker jack uniform on him, DON'T JUDGE ME.)
On Saturday, we took the train from the base to downtown Chicago, which was about an hour long trip. Because he was in uniform, the conductor didn't make him pay. But we did pay about $5 for the both of us on the way back. Most of these pics are from the John Hancock Building on N Michigan Avenue.
Left: Navy Pier on Lake Michigan.
Right: Downtown skyline, with the view of the Willis (Sears) building.
Left: More of Lake Michigan.
Right: Chicago shoreline.
Left: On the skydeck.
Right: Me, being a dork-face on the photo-op area.
Left: The Magnificent Mile.
Right: Sunset over Chicago.
Left: After an audio tour (narrated by David Schwimmer), a warm espresso tastes yummy.
Right: And apparently, Ricky hasn't had hot chocolate in a while.
Left: On the train ride home. Poor guy had watch at midnight the night before.
Right: Hello, snow. We've never met before.
It seems as if during this trip, my dad and Ricky seemed to talk a lot more. Oh my god, there's bonding, what the frick?
"And I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget Nina's dad
Who gave that freedom to me..." -- Ricky, during breakfast @ Wildberry on Sunday
Hopefully, he'll be granted weekend liberty so I can fly back up and spend more time with him.
---
All I have to do now is call my bank, so I can change my account's last name to his. :)
Anyway, this past weekend, I got to visit my husband for his basic training graduation. Under the cut are some pics from the trip.
At the Recruit Training Command Pass-In-Review, cameras were only allowed inside the hall where the ceremony took place. Ricky was part of the color-guard, so he was kind of easy to spot.
Funny story: when I arrived at the hall, there was a group of sailors holding flags up in the center of the hall. I knew ahead of time Ricky was part of the color-guard so I rushed over to find his flag. I saw him standing in the crowd and stood in his line of vision. All of a sudden, his eyes widened and he began smiling, crushing his military bearing. I shook my head at him, telling him to suck it up and get straight-faced :).
Left: Inside the drill hall.
Right: "When is the ceremony going to start?"
Left: Ricky's division.
Right: The divisions marching in.
Left: Like any graduation, lots of screaming.
Right: All of the divisions, fully assembled (and my dad commenting that some of the divisions can't stand in straight lines, what's the matter with them).
After that, Ricky was with me until 8:30pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Left: Outside the hotel, in the cold.
Right: Inside Gurnee Mills (I like the cracker jack uniform on him, DON'T JUDGE ME.)
On Saturday, we took the train from the base to downtown Chicago, which was about an hour long trip. Because he was in uniform, the conductor didn't make him pay. But we did pay about $5 for the both of us on the way back. Most of these pics are from the John Hancock Building on N Michigan Avenue.
Left: Navy Pier on Lake Michigan.
Right: Downtown skyline, with the view of the Willis (Sears) building.
Left: More of Lake Michigan.
Right: Chicago shoreline.
Left: On the skydeck.
Right: Me, being a dork-face on the photo-op area.
Left: The Magnificent Mile.
Right: Sunset over Chicago.
Left: After an audio tour (narrated by David Schwimmer), a warm espresso tastes yummy.
Right: And apparently, Ricky hasn't had hot chocolate in a while.
Left: On the train ride home. Poor guy had watch at midnight the night before.
Right: Hello, snow. We've never met before.
It seems as if during this trip, my dad and Ricky seemed to talk a lot more. Oh my god, there's bonding, what the frick?
"And I'm proud to be an American
Where at least I know I'm free
And I won't forget Nina's dad
Who gave that freedom to me..." -- Ricky, during breakfast @ Wildberry on Sunday
Hopefully, he'll be granted weekend liberty so I can fly back up and spend more time with him.
---
All I have to do now is call my bank, so I can change my account's last name to his. :)