Road Trip

With Nicolas’ final week of Boot Camp in full swing, it was time for us to begin our roadtrip to the frozen Tundra of northern Illinois!  It was slightly nerve-wracking to start out on our 1300+ mile roadtrip without knowing if he had passed his final test, but we have complete faith in his ability and determination, so that’s exactly what we did!

The weather along the way was looking pretty good, but we didn’t want to cut it too close, so we set out from sunny south Florida early Tuesday morning.  The temperature dropped as we drove north, and we got some drizzle in Georgia, but we made it all the way to Chattanooga, TN on the first day.

Wednesday morning was foggy as we made our way over the mountains in Tennessee and through Kentucky.  By the time we reached Indiana, the sky was clear, but we were starting to see some snow on the sides of the road.  The roads themselves were still clear, though!

Our destination for day 2 was Merrillville, IN . . . home to Nicolas’ favorite snack!

The final test in boot camp is called Battle Stations, and upon successful completion, the recruits officially become sailors. 

We weren’t sure if Nicolas’ Division was going to have Battle Stations on Tuesday night or Wednesday night, but about an hour before we arrived in Merrillville this afternoon, my phone rang.

It was Nicolas, calling to tell us that he was now a SAILOR!!  He was really tired (Battle Stations is an all-night, physical test), but excited to be done . . . and he scored a perfect 5 out of 5!

So Boot Camp is coming to an end, and after his Pass-in-Review (Graduation) on Friday, he’ll move on to Charleston to begin his adventure in the United States Navy!

We’re incredibly proud of him, and excited to finally see him after this 2-month separation . . . I’ll have lots of pictures from the Graduation ceremony in my next post!