Acceptance Day Parade

hoopjack13

5-Year Member
Joined
Aug 12, 2012
Messages
72
My mom booked a trip to Colorado for August 4th-7th in order to watch the acceptance day parade. I've seen a couple places that families only get to meet with cadets for about an hour after the parade, is this true? We have family in Colorado so it will just be a little vacation for my parents but I was just wondering how much I would be able to see them. And my girlfriend won't be able to come to parents weekend because she has a figure skating competition.. would it be worth it for her to come with for acceptance day? Would I have any weekend opportunities between acceptance day and Thanksgiving leave to fly home a day or two or for her to come out and visit me? Thanks!
 
Usually it's around 2-3 hours. I have heard stories that some got less due to other duties but our experience in 2010 was about 3 hours.
 
DW went to A-Day in 2012 and loved it. 3 hours was about the actual time with the DS. She wouldn't trade the time for anything. She enjoyed the parade, seeing the Falcons up close, and just eating with her son. She also brought him some supplies (food, sports gear, etc).
 
Awesome, thanks for the replies. What about the two days following A-day? I know I'll be busy with transition duties but will I have maybe an hour or two either day to visit with parents?
 
Awesome, thanks for the replies. What about the two days following A-day? I know I'll be busy with transition duties but will I have maybe an hour or two either day to visit with parents?

Nope. You will have more to do than you will have time for.
 
You also will not have your phone, so coordination with your parents will be very limited. As a C4C, your time is not your own yet, so I would not count on being able to slip off to see your family, but there's always chapel on Sundays and random "chance" opportunities, I suppose.
We went to A-Day and really enjoyed it. Parade at 10, ended just before 11, and the cadets had to be at a briefing at 2, which meant that we started packing up lunch, getting stuff out of the car and generally moving towards the squadron around 1:15. By the time we got to my daughter's room (long walk, lots of stuff, no elevators for doolies) and unloaded, it was probably close to 1:40, enough time for her to escort us out of the cadet area and get to her briefing. It was a great, albeit short, visit.
 
You also will not have your phone, so coordination with your parents will be very limited. As a C4C, your time is not your own yet, so I would not count on being able to slip off to see your family, but there's always chapel on Sundays and random "chance" opportunities, I suppose.
We went to A-Day and really enjoyed it. Parade at 10, ended just before 11, and the cadets had to be at a briefing at 2, which meant that we started packing up lunch, getting stuff out of the car and generally moving towards the squadron around 1:15. By the time we got to my daughter's room (long walk, lots of stuff, no elevators for doolies) and unloaded, it was probably close to 1:40, enough time for her to escort us out of the cadet area and get to her briefing. It was a great, albeit short, visit.

With coming from PA, any parental attendence at A-day is going to be a game-time decision and may not be know by the Cadet except for a 'hope to' on the Doolie Day call. Where can you have Lunch that doesn't take a long time to get, and can any bags of things I bring for him be brought with me at the beginning of the day instead of hustling for it later at the end. Thx
 
With coming from PA, any parental attendence at A-day is going to be a game-time decision and may not be know by the Cadet except for a 'hope to' on the Doolie Day call. Where can you have Lunch that doesn't take a long time to get, and can any bags of things I bring for him be brought with me at the beginning of the day instead of hustling for it later at the end. Thx

We came in the night before and pre-ordered sandwiches from Panera, brought a cooler bag from home and went to Walmart and stocked it with drinks, chips, etc. Raided the hotel ice machine first thing in the morning and picked up the lunch. Got a parking spot in the lot directly adjacent to the parade field (I think it's a cadet lot and luckily found a spot there, pretty close). As soon as shoulder boards were pinned on, we pulled out the food and a blanket we had brought and set up next to the parking lot...not too far, but in the shade. We noticed that some parents set up their picnic ahead of time in the various grassy areas, so you can do that, I think. We had brought our cadet alot of stuff -- school supplies, blanket, pillow, food bin, homemade snacks -- so decided to leave them in the car since we had a good parking spot. We fed not just our cadet but also a couple others from our hometown, and they gladly helped us pack up the car and carry stuff to the squadron. Now that I think about it, I don't think you could bring coolers or big bags into the parade area; I recall that bags got searched, but I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly...that could have been PW.
Do not expect to get lunch at Arnold Hall or anywhere you have to stand in line after the parade; not enough time. Easy enough to pick up something on your way in. Have fun and good luck! I hope you're able to go; it meant the world to our daughter and to me too!
 
We came in the night before and pre-ordered sandwiches from Panera, brought a cooler bag from home and went to Walmart and stocked it with drinks, chips, etc. Raided the hotel ice machine first thing in the morning and picked up the lunch. Got a parking spot in the lot directly adjacent to the parade field (I think it's a cadet lot and luckily found a spot there, pretty close). As soon as shoulder boards were pinned on, we pulled out the food and a blanket we had brought and set up next to the parking lot...not too far, but in the shade. We noticed that some parents set up their picnic ahead of time in the various grassy areas, so you can do that, I think. We had brought our cadet alot of stuff -- school supplies, blanket, pillow, food bin, homemade snacks -- so decided to leave them in the car since we had a good parking spot. We fed not just our cadet but also a couple others from our hometown, and they gladly helped us pack up the car and carry stuff to the squadron. Now that I think about it, I don't think you could bring coolers or big bags into the parade area; I recall that bags got searched, but I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly...that could have been PW.
Do not expect to get lunch at Arnold Hall or anywhere you have to stand in line after the parade; not enough time. Easy enough to pick up something on your way in. Have fun and good luck! I hope you're able to go; it meant the world to our daughter and to me too!

That was all very helpful, thank you for taking your time to share that. I didn't think about the car getting close enough, and it might doable to get there first light when the Gate opens and see if one can get a decent parking place. Also a good idea to search out Cadets from the same Parent Club and get them included if they like. He's trying to be the brave tough guy saying its ok if no one can make it. But, I think being a Basic and having a parent there after what they've accomplished would be huge. No matter if he says or shows it!!
 
We came in the night before and pre-ordered sandwiches from Panera, brought a cooler bag from home and went to Walmart and stocked it with drinks, chips, etc. Raided the hotel ice machine first thing in the morning and picked up the lunch. Got a parking spot in the lot directly adjacent to the parade field (I think it's a cadet lot and luckily found a spot there, pretty close). As soon as shoulder boards were pinned on, we pulled out the food and a blanket we had brought and set up next to the parking lot...not too far, but in the shade. We noticed that some parents set up their picnic ahead of time in the various grassy areas, so you can do that, I think. We had brought our cadet alot of stuff -- school supplies, blanket, pillow, food bin, homemade snacks -- so decided to leave them in the car since we had a good parking spot. We fed not just our cadet but also a couple others from our hometown, and they gladly helped us pack up the car and carry stuff to the squadron. Now that I think about it, I don't think you could bring coolers or big bags into the parade area; I recall that bags got searched, but I'm not sure if I'm remembering correctly...that could have been PW.
Do not expect to get lunch at Arnold Hall or anywhere you have to stand in line after the parade; not enough time. Easy enough to pick up something on your way in. Have fun and good luck! I hope you're able to go; it meant the world to our daughter and to me too!


You're allowed to have your own blanket and pillow right away? And what school supplies do you suggest to bring?
 
As far as the weekend question goes:

Parent's Weekend, aka Labor Day weekend, is a great time for your parents to come visit! There's some events going on here Friday, and then there's the football game on Saturday. Other than those two times you have to be somewhere, you're free to be with your parents until 1900 Monday.

We have a 3 day weekend off in October, Columbus Day weekend. If your squad lets you, you can send up paperwork to fly home for the weekend.
 
You're allowed to have your own blanket and pillow right away? And what school supplies do you suggest to bring?

Yes. We brought a comfy blanket on A-Day...lots of cadets get sleeping bags to maintain SAMI beds. Regarding school supplies, we brought her pretty much everything we could think of -- notebooks, pens, post-its, highlighters, mechanical pencils, scissors...apparently the C-store ran really low, and even notebooks ran out! I believe my daughter had her computer before A-Day and I got a list emailed from her in advance so we could shop the night before. We also bought her a plastic bin for snacks, and of course filled it with snacks.
 
I've heard A-Day is a great experience. The above information is all very helpful. I'm thinking we should probably drive to Colorado on this trip so we can bring supplies, etc. I can't believe the next step in the journey starts six weeks from tomorrow. Enjoy the next few weeks.
 
With coming from PA, any parental attendence at A-day is going to be a game-time decision and may not be know by the Cadet except for a 'hope to' on the Doolie Day call. Where can you have Lunch that doesn't take a long time to get, and can any bags of things I bring for him be brought with me at the beginning of the day instead of hustling for it later at the end. Thx

Melindayching nailed it (+1). If you do go for that brief moment, consider bringing extra food for your cadet's teammates. Not all will have family there. It works best if you let your cadet know ahead of time (include in a letter) that you're bringing extra food so his/her buddies will wait to join you. We threw a blanket down by a shady tree by the Cadet Field House parking lot (where I parked the car with the cooler). Good, but short, time.
 
What size plastic bin is a good size?

Your cadet will get that information when they're there. Perhaps a current cadet can share the dimensions allowed/recommended. It has to fit in a specific space in the room (or it used to at least).
 
We planned a lunch for the whole squad. Got names from my son and hooked up on the web guy blog. Catered in famous Dave's and booked a room in Arnold hall. Got to sit at a table and relax indoors. Worked great, fed lots of the squad. Everyone pitched in and helped clean up.


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All the CSP says about storage contains is "Cadets may store modest amounts of food/beverages in refrigerators or allocated storage areas (except military dresser drawers). Stored food must be in closed/sealed containers." You just don't want something huge, because then you'll have no where to stick it. Most of my friends have something in the 30 qt range. A little more or a little less, you'll be just fine.
 
2016 parent....we had about 2 hours and it was great to see him. He was overwhelmed and had so much to say. We had some "supplies" for him for school as the store does run low. A lunch at Mitches, a tour of his room , and we were hugging good bye before we knew it. If you want to spend more time, come to Parent Weekend. You can have your cadet after the football game thru Monday night. They'll be exhausted and look for them to get some sleep time at a hotel with you. Get them off the USAFA grounds and into your hotel!
 
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