I Day - parking - drop off ??

CHS11111

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Apr 14, 2012
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Hi all! I don't think I have a very clear understanding of the I Day situation. The PTR packet says this: 'During I-Day vehicular access to USNA will be
restricted. Vehicular access for pick-up and drop-off
during I-Day will be granted to individuals presenting
their Midshipman’s Permit to Report form along with a
government issued picture ID. Parking on the Yard by parents
during I-Day will not be authorized'. So does this mean that if you just want to drive onto the USNA to literally let your plebe to be out of the car, you can do that? There is no parking at the drop off area, correct? But if you want to stay & wait in line w/your kid, you will need to get there quite early, park at the stadium, take the shuttle, and hope that this all happens in a timely manner so as to get your kid there on time? If this is the case, do most parents wait with their kids or do the drop off? Any input would be much appreciated! THX!
 
Most parents go to the stadium with their plebe to be and take the shuttle over, then wait with them until they are ushered into Alumni Hall. The shuttles run continually. For both our Idays, our mids had early reports, so we then went back to the hotel and slept, had a nice lunch, then headed back to the yard, with a snack, drink, and blanket (neat sheet) to watch the oath and meet our plebe on Stribling. The first year we parked in Downtown Annapolis and walked in, the second year, we were able to park on the yard because my MIL was with us with a handicap card and DH had an active duty decal on vehicle. But many just stayed at the yard all day and took the shuttle back to the stadium after the Oath.
 
I agree with Falconchic88 that the shuttles make frequent runs to the yard in the morning. We rode the shuttle with our DS to USNA. We stood in line with our DS until his report time was "called". We said a quick goodbye and watched him disappear into Alumni Hall. There were free tours of the yard being offered during the morning if you don't want to leave the yard. Also the shuttles will take you back at the end of the day, however, they do not run as quickly. Be prepared for a much longer wait. Our wait was over an hour.
 
Thanks so much for your speedy replies! I have been to USNA but can't remember, is it quite a long ways to the Stadium? Is it not 'walkable'?
 
It is walkable, but the shuttles run so often, and they are the big comfy air conditioned buses, and they drop off and pick up at several different locations, its really simple to take them back and forth to yard.
 
There are two choices for most parents. First is to drive onto the Yard, drop off the plebe, and then go to the stadium and park. Second is to start at the stadium and ride the bus over with your plebe.

The stadium is about a mile from Alumni Hall, maybe a bit more. Not too bad if it's not sweltering, you have good walking shoes and you're not packing a ton of stuff. But the shuttles do run with some frequency, so most people do that.
 
Another variation is drop plebe off and most of family, then driver takes car to stadium, shuttles back. Families do the tours, shop the Mid Store dry, visit the free Expo Tent, free Shade Tent and Free Water Tent on Hospital Point across the footbridge from Alumni Hall.


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"... is it quite a long ways to the Stadium? Is it not 'walkable'?[/QUOTE]

Easily walkable -- The mids march over for football games !
 
Another variation is drop plebe off and most of family, then driver takes car to stadium, shuttles back. Families do the tours, shop the Mid Store dry, visit the free Expo Tent, free Shade Tent and Free Water Tent on Hospital Point across the footbridge from Alumni Hall.


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Some families did this when we went, and sadly, their plebes-to-be were ushered into Alumni ahead of scheduled time because they were standing around outside, so they were gone by the time the driver made it back on the shuttle.
 
First military lesson, never be late, but never be too early or too close. Especially to the vacuum that is produced by Alumni Hall doors on I-Day morning.


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First military lesson, never be late, but never be too early or too close. Especially to the vacuum that is produced by Alumni Hall doors on I-Day morning.

Right you are!

Our experience was this (summer of 2009) - it is funny now but my wife didn't think it was too funny at that time: We drove onto the Yard through gate 8. Since I had some kind of alumni parking pass, I was just going to park the car somewhere on the Yard. There were plenty of parking spots. When you enter through gate 8, you drive by Alumni Hall. The boys had an early report time. We were there about a half hour early. There was no crowd. I decided to drop the boys off outside Alumni Hall and quickly park the car. I could already see many open parking spots in the lot directly across from Alumni Hall. My wife stayed with me in the car. This was only going to take a minute or two. We parked the car, walked across the street to join the boys. But we couldn't see them? Where'd they go?

Gone - gobbled up by Alumni Hall!

We later discovered that a detailer or officer came up to them and asked if they were new Plebes waiting to be processed. They answered yes. They were instructed to enter Alumni Hall at immediately despite the fact that their report time was not for another half hour. So they did.

It seemed the policy was that no new Plebes were allowed to wander around outside Alumni Hall unless they were with a family member. All unaccompanied new Plebes were ushered into the hall regardless of their report time.

My wife soon forgave me, however.

How was I supposed to know? :smile:

WARNING: Do not turn your back on your Plebe.
 
Noah Hillman Garage@DTA

Hi all! I don't think I have a very clear understanding of the I Day situation. The PTR packet says this: 'During I-Day vehicular access to USNA will be
restricted. Vehicular access for pick-up and drop-off
during I-Day will be granted to individuals presenting
their Midshipman’s Permit to Report form along with a
government issued picture ID. Parking on the Yard by parents
during I-Day will not be authorized'. So does this mean that if you just want to drive onto the USNA to literally let your plebe to be out of the car, you can do that? There is no parking at the drop off area, correct? But if you want to stay & wait in line w/your kid, you will need to get there quite early, park at the stadium, take the shuttle, and hope that this all happens in a timely manner so as to get your kid there on time? If this is the case, do most parents wait with their kids or do the drop off? Any input would be much appreciated! THX!

When we dropped off our plebe 2 years ago, we parked at the Noah Hillman Garage in Downtown Annapolis (DTA). It is literally a 5 minute walk to gate 1 and a well kept secret. We parked there all day for around $20. We know of those who waited for an hour to catch the shuttle back to their cars at the stadium. We walked back to DTA, had a nice dinner while waiting out the traffic. While having our meal, we were keenly aware that just a few hundred yards away, Plebe Summer was under way for our son. That whole day was a surreal experience. Also, be sure to be at T-Court just before noon the day after I-Day. You may get a glimpse of your plebe during the noon meal formation. Cheers.

http://downtownannapolis.org/_pages/transport/tr_parking.htm
 
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Years later, most grads have little to no memory of I-Day. My sense is that parents remember it vividly forever.

The point is that it's stressful in different ways . . . for mids it's a whirlwind of non-stop activity that begins a 4-yr journey. For (most) parents, it is the first day of their child's independence.

Parents -- as hard as it may be, try to keep your stress reigned in, not visible, until your plebe leaves you after the swearing-in ceremony. They have enough on their minds; you don't want their last memory of you that day to be one of crying, moaning, anxiety, etc.
 
Parking on the Yard Pass for military

For my I-Day (last year) my parents were fortunate enough to be allowed to park on the yard because they were military personnel. They showed their military IDs at the gate we entered through (Gate 1) and we were given a temporary pass that allowed them to park on the yard. I don't know if they will do that this year or if we just got lucky but it doesn't hurt to try. I had an early report time so we were able to find parking fairly easily.
 
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