One week down (Almost)

I have to say that Dahlgren, VA has grown on me a little, tiny bit during this last week. At least at times. The people are incredibly nice around here. On Tuesday night, Sam and I ventured over to the Pizza Hut and our waiter was the nicest waiter I have ever had. Ever. He was super friendly and helpful and he smiled the whole time. I don't know if I've ever seen anyone quite that happy before. It was nice. I also went to the gym on base this week and when I walked in, the lady at the front desk asked if I was looking for the cardio room and told me how to get there. I'm not sure why she assumed I was looking for the cardio room when I obviously look like I lift weights all the time, but it was nice none the less. I also met our cleaning lady yesterday and she was incredibly friendly and went out of her way to be nice to me. Tomorrow we are moving to a bigger room, which will make our time more bearable. I am excited about being able to eat somewhere besides the bed. I think we may have a kitchenette as well. I really appreciate everyone's kind comments, messages, texts and phone calls this week. I have a whole lot of really wonderful people in my life and I am so grateful.

Dahlgren, VA

We have heard about this place from other friends and family who have had experiences here. My family has been to the McDonald's here. Navy friends have come to school here as well. We have been warned about what it is like here. After living with people for the last eight weeks, we were convinced that Dahlgren would be a wonderful place of stability and alone time for us after all those weeks of change. We both had high hopes for what Dahlgren would hold for us. We knew the town wouldn't be much. We knew that the Navy is not known for their luxurious hotel rooms. We knew there wouldn't be much to do here. We came here planning to enjoy the chance to simply relax together during Sam's free time. We left last Friday and spent one glorious night at a Marriot in Williamsburg. The bright, cheerful, clean and large suite we had that night probably did nothing to help our expectations for Dahlgren, VA. We drove on from Williamsburg on Saturday, looking forward to seeing something new, even if it's reputation didn't leave much to be desired. While driving here I noticed something very peculiar. I have never seen so many funeral homes so close together. I made a comment about this to Sam and we kept on driving. Very soon after making that comment we arrived here in Dahlgren, VA. The town consists of about as many Sheetz gas stations as there are funeral homes and of course a Wawa. Driving into the base, we saw a Food Lion and a Pizza Hut. My sweet husband was still being very optimistic at this point. We drove over to the hotel where we needed to check in and when Sam came out, he explained that there were not any suites left. There was one room left for us and it was most definitely not a suite. He said that the lady at the front desk was apologizing already and we figured that was not a good sign. Sam had reserved a suite for us two months ago, but apparently the reservation line is not the correct way to reserve a room and so they offered us the only room left. The building where our room was located was farther down the road and Sam commented hopefully that maybe it was newer since it was farther out. The minute we saw the building, we knew that this was not the case. As I look back over this experience, I am struck by how optimistic Sam was again and again. As we entered the building he commented that at least it didn't smell too bad. I would argue that "too bad" is a relative statement. We entered the room and were dismayed by what we found. A double bed, no table, a tiny bathroom, with a minuscule shower, old carpet, peeling paint, exposed pipes, a TV that is about 5 inches wide and requires you to tilt your neck sideways to see it from the bed and a nasty bedspread.


We took a look at the room and immediately decided that we would try to find a way to get a different room. After an unsuccessful attempt to do so, we decided that maybe we would feel better if we ate something. We drove over to the Pizza Hut and walked inside. The first thing we saw was a sign saying "whoa, wait a minute and we'll seat you". The old carpet and the smell combined with that sign pushed us over the edge. Sam simply stated, "you want Noodles and Company in MD?" We ran to the car and drove away from Dahlgren toward MD and we did not return until 11:00 on Sunday night. As reflected on our experience in Dahlgren, the large number of funeral homes suddenly made sense.

I would like to share a few of the humorous ironies we have noticed here. Outside our room there is a tennis court. This tennis court does not have any nets. There is rust all around. The court is cracked. There is a sign pointing out that you MUST wear tennis shoes when using the tennis court. It seems to me that the type of shoes you wear on the court is a small detail compared to the fact that the court is not usable.

Sam went to check in to the building where he has his school and upon entering he noticed a fancy rack with two different sized bags for umbrellas. These people pay attention to the strangest details. The room where you live has no table to eat on, but at least you have a place to store your umbrella once you get to work. Not only a place to store it, but the appropriate sized bag to place it in so that it doesn't drip. Yesterday I passed the cleaning staff in the hallway. I said hi to them and that was about the extent of our conversation. Later in the evening, Sam went to check again about the availability of another room and the lady at the counter knew that I was here. Sam had not told her, but somehow she knew. This morning, I heard them talking in the hallway saying, "They're fine, his wife is here and he didn't tell us, but now we know". I have concluded that this is a very strange place. Sam went for a run yesterday evening. He came back into our room about five minutes later and took off his headphones, because he had been told that you are not allowed to run with headphones on the base. If you are caught running with headphones, they will contact the CO of the base and you will have a talk. This is a very strange place.

All I have to say about this is, what would you want to steal here?

Needless to say, I am very grateful to be here with Sam. It's going to be a long and lonely seven weeks at times, but I appreciate every night that I can sleep with my sweet husband and every hour that we can spend together, even if they are few. Yesterday, I was in the grocery store getting food for us and I felt overwhelmed with thankfulness that I can be here. When you are in the Navy and there are many times when there is no need to shop for two, the simple act of buying enough food for two people brings great joy. I am thankful that Sam is not deployed and of course, that Annapolis is an hour and a half away and that we have two wonderful families who live there, because that is where we will be spending every weekend during this time.