Plebe Parents Weekend

While walking distance is nice and DTA is wonderful, we found being in a rental house in a quiet neighborhood was the perfect “detox” for our plebe. It allowed her to have her own room, to not worry about running into detailers, and to have peace and quiet to rest.

(It did not stop her from faithfully squaring her corners at the dinner table, both in the home and in restaurants.)

Being farther away made for an easy getaway to DC. It didn’t prevent nice strolls through DTA. And there was little stress about getting back in time. Just headed back to the Yard a couple hours early, grabbef some ice cream and strollef within the walls. Reporting back on deck was pretty stress-free from there.
 
PPW can be a great time or it can be far from the wonderful reunion/vacation that you envisioned. Our DS was sick and slept the entire weekend. The rest is exactly what he needed and we were thrilled just to be in the same room as him.

There is a lot of advice on this forum to ask your Plebe what they want out of the weekend. Just remember to be flexible and roll with anything that can happen.

The pride of seeing your Plebe in Summer Whites, being on the Yard, meeting sponsor family, and being together will make this weekend a lifetime memory even if you rarely leave your hotel or rental.

Congrats!
 
Congratulations!!
Might be a good idea to be in Annapolis Thursday to checkout the education and extra curricular displays set up in Dahlgren Hall on Thursday. Plus Thursday is a great chance to spot your Plebe marching around the Yard. We got to Annapolis Friday morning and my husband wished we’d had more time to visit the booths. The booths will be closed on Friday after the Superintendents Parent Brief around 11am. Then you’ll have from Noon til about 10pm (II think) with your Plebe.
 
Get your MidStore shopping, Museum visiting, on-Yard stuff done on Thursday before you meet your plebe on Friday. He or she will want to Get. Off. The. Yard. Not tour your Aunt Betty in the Chapel.

You’ll read this in the dozens and dozens of threads on PPW. Let your plebe tell you what he or she needs or wants to do to recharge and relax. Some want an endless hot shower, cool sheets for a long nap, a laptop and phone to catch up on social media, take-out ChickFilA brought back to the room or house. Some want to go find their favorite food and a movie theater. Some want to go get a spa pedicure.
 
We booked a house for Fri, Sat, and Sun nights right near Gate 3. Even though PPW starts on that Thur, remember we parents do not get to pick up our Plebes until Fri afternoon. Since my brother lives only 45 mins away from USNA, we will stay at his house Wed and Thur nights. My point is, if $ is tight, you can stay further away on Wed and Thur nights. You don't need to be right there. You won't be with your mid until Fri night, so no need to worry about your child being within walking/running distance of a gate Wed and Thur. We are staying until Mon morning to be sure we get all of Sun with our son.
Perfect, thanks! That’s what I was curious about as Annapolis itself is $$ during special events of course.
 
Can someone explain what a general outline of what goes on during PPW? Ive booked VRBO for I Day but I have no clue how many days or how often during those days I’ll get to see DD. Like does she go back to the yard each night? I think I read somewhere is Thu-Sunday? Thank you all for putting up with newbie parent questions

While waiting for answers, use the search function here on SAF to find the dozens of threads over the years describing the general schedule. Use “PPW” and “Plebe Parents weekend” in your search string. There was a post very recently that described a recent PPW schedule. There are also years and years of great tips.

Yes, assume they do go back to the Yard every night, as that has been the practice for some years.

Bookmark this link and look for the official schedule to be posted.

https://www.usna.edu/PlebeParentsWeekend/index.php

Source: Google search string “USNA Plebe Parents Weekend”

If there is a nearby USNA Parents Club, that’s another resource for info-sharing from those who are a few cars ahead of you on the rollercoaster.


Handy Links for Appointees & Parents
https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/Handy-Links-for-Appointees-&-Parents.65672/[/QUO
Can someone explain what a general outline of what goes on during PPW? Ive booked VRBO for I Day but I have no clue how many days or how often during those days I’ll get to see DD. Like does she go back to the yard each night? I think I read somewhere is Thu-Sunday? Thank you all for putting up with newbie parent questions

While waiting for answers, use the search function here on SAF to find the dozens of threads over the years describing the general schedule. Use “PPW” and “Plebe Parents weekend” in your search string. There was a post very recently that described a recent PPW schedule. There are also years and years of great tips.

Yes, assume they do go back to the Yard every night, as that has been the practice for some years.

Bookmark this link and look for the official schedule to be posted.

https://www.usna.edu/PlebeParentsWeekend/index.php

Source: Google search string “USNA Plebe Parents Weekend”

If there is a nearby USNA Parents Club, that’s another resource for info-sharing from those who are a few cars ahead of you on the rollercoaster.


Handy Links for Appointees & Parents
https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/Handy-Links-for-Appointees-&-Parents.65672/
Class of 2022 PPW was Thursday August 9 to Sunday August 12- you don't actually get to see & be with your plebe until noon Friday till 10 pm, Saturday from after parade till 11:59 and Sunday 8am till 6pm.

Found this from another thread! Thanks Capt MJ. Looks like Fri-Sun would be the best nights to be close to the yard.
 
We booked a house for Fri, Sat, and Sun nights right near Gate 3. Even though PPW starts on that Thur, remember we parents do not get to pick up our Plebes until Fri afternoon. Since my brother lives only 45 mins away from USNA, we will stay at his house Wed and Thur nights. My point is, if $ is tight, you can stay further away on Wed and Thur nights. You don't need to be right there. You won't be with your mid until Fri night, so no need to worry about your child being within walking/running distance of a gate Wed and Thur. We are staying until Mon morning to be sure we get all of Sun with our son.
Perfect, thanks! That’s what I was curious about as Annapolis itself is $$ during special events of course.
You do want to be there on Thursday, but you don't need to be right across the street. I didn't want to cause any confusion.
 
I would highly recommend arriving Thursday morning if you can. We were able to see our DS at noon formation on Thursday. I have the best picture of him with his nose in his Reef Points booklet and his eyes looking past it seeing his Mom with a big grin his face. We also "ran into him" on the Yard Thursday afternoon.

Also, if you get there Thursday you will be able to attend the PEP session early Friday morning. You can sit in the stands and watch your Plebe in action. The Detailers put on a show and everyone is fired up knowing Liberty is coming soon.
 
For a few years they didn’t allow PEP observation. It sounds like they have brought it back the last few years.
 
0530 On Thursday (August 9th last year) start of the PRT:

upload_2019-2-11_18-37-57.png

And Friday PEP at 0449 running in:

upload_2019-2-11_18-41-16.png

So if you want to see either, you had better get up early.
 
USNA is getting a new Superintendent, so I suppose things could easily be different!
 
We arrived Monday as a family. I don’t remember any PEP until Friday. There was a parade we viewed early morning (early bc of the heat/humidity. They sure had lots of red flag days!!) I think on Thursday?

Other than the scheduled events, it’s a matter of “catching a glimpse” of them doing something. And since they are all in different companies? The chances of you actually seeing YOUR person is slim. We chose to not stand around and sweat on the off chance of catching a glimpse, and instead took an awesome trip to the Atlantic Ocean on a Delaware beach. We did family stuff around the scheduled activities. Including an official tour of USNA ( highly recommend even if you have already been on the yard. Those volunteers are a wealth of information and we learned a lot!!).

You can check last years schedule. I would suspect it to be similar. Find it on USNA admissions. Or I’m sure it is here somewhere as well.
 
We made a week out of it (Monday to Monday). We had a blast.
Our DS had Rowing during Plebe Summer. Since we knew the time of day he would be rowing, on Wednesday afternoon, Mrs. THP implored me to hang out with her on the sea wall, knowing that they would run over the bridge toward Mother B. ;)

He said "Hi Mom" and "I can't stop and you can't hug me!" to her, so she just cheered him on as he ran by.
 
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