Hey yall! I'll be visiting my friend for the first time on Saturday and I was hoping someone would give me some tips and maybe even walk me through what I should be expecting from start to finish. This will be my first time ever visiting someone at a prison so I have no idea what to expect! Any help is appreciated!:)

Hi, Bonnie. There are a few things you need to know but it should go smoothly. Almost all units will search your car before you can park. They will just be looking for guns or drugs/alcohol or anything that looks particularly suspicious. If you are in a pickup then you need to make sure the bed is clear of small items that can be easily carried. When you go in make sure you carry only your car keys, driver’s license (or whatever ID you will use) and a clear bag with change in it if you want some for the vending machines. Carry nothing else with you - especially not a cell phone. Watch, rings and glasses are ok items. They will run a wand over you and do a quick pat down as a search. You will give them your ID and tell them the TDC number of the person visiting and as long as you are on the visitation list and your ID matches the information they have they will print out a visitation pass for you to carry on into the visitation room. Visitation is on Saturday and Sunday from 8am until 5pm. Standard length of a visit is 2 hours but all visits stop at 5pm whether you have been there for two hours or not. If you live more than 300 miles from the unit (according to the Texas Mileage Guide (http://ecpa.cpa.state.tx.us/mileage/Mileage.jsp)) then you qualify for a special visit. A special visit is one where you can visit both days of the weekend for up to four hours a day. This must be approved in advance by the warden and the warden is in control of the length and number of says of the special visit.

If you are a family member then you can have contact visits (if the inmate is eligible for them) otherwise your visit will be "through the glass" and you will talk through a set of phones. If your visit is a contact visit then you must sit on the opposite side of the table from the inmate and you can hold hands as long as your hands are kept on the table. You are allowed a hug and a kiss at the beginning and end of the visit. There are vending machines and you can buy snacks for both yourself and the person you are visiting. If the visit is through the glass then snacks you buy for the inmate will be handed through to them by the CO’s.

Another thing to be aware of is that TDC usually does two counts (of the inmates) during visitation hours. One is in the morning usually starting between 9 and 9:30, and the other is in the afternoon – maybe around 1 or 2 pm. I am les sure of the after noon count time since I always visited in the morning. If you arrive during count then you will have to wait until count clears before he will be allowed to move through the unit to come to the visitation and count can sometimes take several hours to clear.

Thanks RobinsMan...very helpful information!

Now a friend of mine will be accompaning me on the trip. She will not be going with me to the actual visit, but I have questions concerning her dropping me off. Is that allowed? Can she wait inside or in the car? Also is there any clothing that I should or shouldn't wear? Shoes?

The guy I'll be visiting is only a friend and cannot receive contact visits so I understand that this will be a window visit, but I don't know...I'm a little nervous about visiting and what to expect.

Thanks though for all your insight!

She should be able to drop you off and she may be allowed to wait in the car in the parking lot but that can be different from one unit to another so you might should call the unit before hand to know how to plan it. It is good that you asked about clothing since I forgot to mention anything about it. Generally, you should just dress conservatively. Blouses should have sleeves and not be translucent. They can be very picky about what is printed on t-shirts so plain is always best. Full length pants are always good to go but if you wear a skirt it should be well below the knee. You cannot wear shorts. I have heard different stories about capris and if you choose to wear them be sure to have a backup pair of pants in the car that you can change into should the capris be a problem. Shoes should be clsoed and not open toed.

Ladies, what have I forgotten??

Bonnie, I have visted three different units and each has had a nice enough visitation room. I think that the environment will not be uncomfortable or unsettling. Sometimes they can be a bit crowded at peak visitation time and I have visited at county jail where it got quite noisy but I have not had that problem with a TDC visit. I have never seen any problems with inmates at a visit and heard of only one or two in the two years I have been a member of this site. I think that you can expect the COs to be cordial and professional during visitation and you can ask them questions if you have any. Don't worry about going to a prison to visit. Save your anticipation for visiting with your friend.

Thank you soo much for all your help! It really was a lot of useful information. My visit went GREAT! I was extremely nervous but it was all worth it. I hadn't seen my friend in 11 years and it was an amazing feeling to finally be able to see him and hear him.

Thanks again and have a Merry Christmas!:)

Bonnie - me and my love have non contact visits at Connally, and at first I was real scared, nervous about seeing him walk in hand cuffed and not being able to touch him. We have has 3 visits in 1 1/2 years. I live in WA. But I have to tell you, once we saw each other it's like the glass wasnt even there. The CO's are pretty nice, I hear they are pat searching now, there werent doing that the last time i was down. I'll be doing for another visit the end of March. Good luck and let us know how it goes!

You know I didn't see him come in. I was sitting at the booth twideling (sp?) my fingers and I felt someone watching me and I could sense a shadow out of the corner of my eye...I looked up and there he was just looking at me. It was so weird! We just sat there looking at each other for like two minutes before we picked up the phone. I'm looking forward to seeing him again in mid March.

As far as the pat down, well it isn't all that invasive. The guard was really professional and it was over before I knew it.

haha Bonnie that is funny. Check this out. Our very first visit, i'm sitting in the chair, he is not in there yet, which he told me usually he is always in first before his visits. Anyway, there is a girl sitting next to me in the next booth, and she was waiting for her man to come out too. We chatted a little bit. Then all of a sudden this inmate walks up in front of the door, NOT my man, then the CO walks him over to the booth next to me, not hers either. Then the girl goes "Is he yours?" i say "No, is he yours?" she says "NO!" we both laugh. Finally about a minute later my honey comes in, and like you we just stared at each other for a minute. Then he tells me the CO took him to another booth first, and the girl DID NOT look like me! hahha, what a first visit right, but it was the best. We still laugh about that.

I will be going the end of March. It's always nice knowing someone else that visits Connally!

OMG! That is so hilarious! That's a really cute story about how yall first saw each other. Well I hope you have a great visit in March! Maybe I'll see you there sometime!

Sounds good maybe we'll see each other there. I miss him like crazy and wish i lived closer :0( it's hard not being able to see him, ya know? Well nice to meet you Bonnie and I'm sure I'll see ya around!

until what time do they let you in in the afternoon?? is it normally busy at connally??

if you go in the morning, will there be a line up already?