NAVY BOOT CAMP

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Comment by Tim Richardson on September 17, 2009 at 9:39am

Greg,
We are staying at Navy Lodge the next weekend. Let me know how it is.

Comment by Greg Yee on September 17, 2009 at 9:28am

Three more weeks and our son graduates on 10/9/09, staying at the Navy Lodge for $65.00 per night, anyone else stayed there ? looking forward to seeing our new sailor and hearing about boot camp and seeing how its changed him.

Comment by Larry Huffman on September 16, 2009 at 12:11am

John...We just stayed at the springhill suites this last weekend. It was nice. The rooms had a sort of unique look and design to them. Very friendly and helpful staff. They have a nice continental breakfast bar and they allow your grads to eat as your guests for free. It is fairly close to the base and a lot of restaurants close by. Oh, and it has a nice (but small) indoor pool and a small (but nice) bar and lounge area.

Last year we stayed at the Residence Inn, which is only slightly closer to the base. It was a much nicer room. But, this year we needed to save money. The Springhill fit the bill perfectly. All in all it was a very nice room and hotel. We enjoyed our stay...of course, anything would have been good having our grad there. hehe.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on September 15, 2009 at 10:28pm

HooYah Larry! There are not very many of us that have had the priv of going to two PIR's...welcome to the limited "club".....and great story about the Lt!

Comment by John Neeley on September 15, 2009 at 10:03pm

We just booked our rooms for the 10/30/09 PIR. $79 and change per night at the SpringHill Suites Chicago Waukegan/Gurnee. This place is highly reviewed (one being TripAdvisor.com) and relatively brand new and after checking a few other places with their prices of $140+ per night we then talked to SpringHill and were blown away. They advised they have some short time awesome special on rooms. It appears to be about 4-6 miles from base, just off the expressway coming from Milwaukee airport and hopefully presents no other issues. Cannot see any so far. I can see my boy tossing us out of OUR room to take a 1 hour shower and then overdose on ESPN for a few hours.

Comment by Larry Huffman on September 15, 2009 at 10:52am

Congrats to all grads and parents of grads who had PIR on 9/11/09. It was a wonderful ceremony. The Vice Admiral's (Commander Pacific Operations) comments to the grads were wonderful and brought tears to many eyes where I was sitting. What a proud day. So, two years in a row for us...and that may do it. My next in line has cerebral palsy so cannot join the military services, and my youngest son has it in his head to be a Marine (go figure)! :-)

Funny little story...Lauren had to go back to her compartment to get her pictures, as did many of the grads. So, we stood on the corner right where the NEX complex meets the chapel parking lot to wait for her. We stood in the shade under the tree on the hill there. Right in front of us on the sidewalk was a female Army Lt. (she was medical corps). Well...dress Army uniforms...specifically the shoulder boards that show rank, are quite different from Navy uniforms. It was funny to watch as grads walked by...on occasion one would salute her. Most, however, were confused about what to do or what her uniform was. The indecision was rather comical. I began getting grads attention as they appraoched her (as I was standing behind her and on a hill) and I would point at her and make the salute gesture...so after a while most were saluting her.

To her great credit...she seemed to realize that her uniform was a little foreign to them. When one would salute her, she would return the salute and very warmly congradulate them. But, when they seemed unsure, she was purposely turning away a little just to let them them off the hook.

Just a thought about graduation day: As I sat there looking at all of the companies standing at attention as they were being reviewed...I realized that we would be hard pressed to find a better gathering of young people anywhere. Whether they were good respectful kids going in, or kids who needed an attitude adjustment when they came in...here at graduation they were all brand new sailors. Respectful, courteous and proud. It was, as we used to say, a fine Navy day!

So...congrats to all...and good luck as you go to your next destinations. Lauren leaves tomorrow for the defense language institute in Monterey, CA where she will learn Mandarin.

Comment by Andrew Ross on September 14, 2009 at 11:40pm

We're staying at the Residence Inn, also. The Lake Forest/Mettawa location ... hopefully it's okay. It's only 5 miles from RTC and was the cheapest I found in the area ... with the AAA discount. I've never been to a bad Marriott establishment before. 10 days and counting ... :0)

Comment by Edward Davis on September 14, 2009 at 10:53pm

Thanks for the infor Kirk i think the wife got residence inn so i guess so it's okay. I'm driving and should get there about 2 or 3 so i can find the base and check the area before it gets crazy.

Comment by Kirk Brooks on September 14, 2009 at 6:58pm

Edward we also stayed at the Courtyard Marriott but make sure you book early and ask for the discount. They only alot a certain number for grad use so it's first come, first served. Also, ask if there are other discount programs available. They were out of military rooms for us but they had a different program running that actually made it cheaper than the graduation rate. Also, the area of town is more of a commercial part of town with business parks and such so it's certainly not the most attractive area but it's not run down at all either. There are trains into the city quite close by for sightseeing after graduation if you wish as well.

Comment by NavyDCparent on September 14, 2009 at 5:04pm

I am so happy for all of you and your children...funny stories.

It is so great to hear the tales.

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