Living at the Navy Lodge

Staying at the Navy Lodge has been interesting. Luckyily we had two adjoining rooms with two small kitchen areas and two small refrigerators. The kids slept in one room and Mike and I took the other room. At first it was like having a big slumber party with the kids but then it got old fast. No oven meant simple meals and the small refrigerators meant frequent trips to the commissary for more milk and bread. The heat kept us inside most of the time except for the frequent trips outside to the splash fountain and the super parks in the evening after the sun went down. We were so grateful for the fountain park right outside the lodge. We spent many afternoons cooling off there. We spent many evenings exploring outside of the base just to get out and eat something other than macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, chicken nuggets and sandwiches. Since the lodge hasn't been updated in ages the beds are not that great and the AC doesn't work that well. After the first week we asked for fans and that helped a bunch. We were grateful for the nice TV's and Armed Forces Network stations where the kids could watch American cartoons. Unfortunately the TV was on more than I would have liked but it was necessary to survive inside while it was too hot to play outside.

Doing laundry was quite the process. After a couple of days of laundry build up I would sort the laundry into my three piles: whites, colors, darks. Then I would carry my small basket with detergent down to the laundry room and drop it off. I would make the long walk back down the hallway to get my other bag full of clothes. If I was lucky I would have all three machines open so that I could do my laundry at the same time. I ended up using the 3rd floor machines more often because they always seemed to be available. It wasn't until the beginning of the 3rd week here that I noticed the big laundry cart. That cart saved me multiple trips and the need for helpers to help me get the laundry to and from the room. I figured each time I did laundry it cost me at least $5 to both wash and dry the clothes. Since I did laundry at least twice a week I ended up spending almost $40 just to do my laundry while staying at the lodge.

It wasn't until the last week of the lodge where certain things started to bother me like the constant crumbs on the ground from the kids eating snacks after the cleaning ladies already vaccummed for the day, the yucky stuff behind the curtains, the kitchen floor never being cleaned with a rag but only vaccummed, and always feeling like there just wasn't enough space for all of us. It has been an experience that I don't care to repeat EVER. I will not miss staying at the Navy Lodge.

(photos of the girls inside the lodge are courtesy of Mike)