Kilts? Off duty? Any time you want! On duty? HA! Don't hold your breath.

"Back in the day" when USCG was part of the Department of Transportation (peacetime and Department of the Navy in wartime), things were different than they are now. A lot more "safety of navigation," "aid to sailors," etc. Now as part of the Department of Homeland Security the law enforcement part of the mission has really become the principle focus (IMHO).

There are still stations on the inland waterways (can you say "Missouri River?"), although the duty there is principally "aid to navigation" and law enforcement, since the US Army Corps of Engineers has responsibility for maintaining the trafficability of inland waterways. (Things that make you go "?????")

Bottom line? Another organization that has a HUGE array of important missions to accomplish, but only enough resources to do one of them. (So there's some stress associated with the "other" important but underfunded missions - like modernizing the entire USCG fleet to late-20th Century standards.)

USCG may be part of DHS, but they're still subject to deployment overseas with or in support of the USN, too. (USCG folks are doing boarding operations in the Persian Gulf, etc.)

So, as with anything, it depends on what you're looking for. Want to be on a Great Lakes icebreaker? USCG is about the best way to go. Want to be zipping around the Gulf of Mexico trying to "protect" oil platforms and doing drug interdiction? Again, USCG can give you that. Expect a lot of long, hard hours, regardless of your chosen (or assigned) specialty. But expect a lot of cameraderie, friendships, and sea stories to thrill your kids for years to come.