Pass In Review - Tips, Hints, and Helps

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Comment by Mr. Sailorette on October 19, 2011 at 7:17pm

Sailorette graduates Nov 10. how long are weather delays around that time?

Comment by Ric Pallson on October 19, 2011 at 4:20am

About time for the yearly weather warning to all.

From about now until April please allow extra time for weather when planning your visit to Great Lakes.

The shores of Lake Michigan are subject to lake effect snowstorms which only add to the freezing temperatures of the continental climate here. 

 

Please consider that O'hare (ORD) MDW and MWK may be subject to snow, freezing fog, and other flight delaying factors for the next 6 months.  Allow extra time when planning visits to Great Lakes for PIR.

 

(Administrators -- please consider posting this information at top of page)

 

 

Comment by Ric Pallson on October 19, 2011 at 3:53am

Thanks, LLA

It's been a couple years since my daughters PIR (my son may be there soon), but the most helpful posts for me here have always been ones like yours where you just describe your experience, what you did, what happened.

Thanks for posting.

Comment by Logph Aguirre on October 18, 2011 at 9:34am

OK folks,

Here is my PIR (Oct 14) experience. Hopefully, this will help someone out there.

First of all, this site was extremely helpful. I was able to get everyone's experiences and pick and choose what I wanted to do. Thanks for maintaining this site. We chose to fly in to Milwaukee instead of the Chicago airports and we were glad that we did. Although the drive was a little longer, the traffic in the Chicago area is really bad. We stayed in Waukegan at the Ramada Inn. It was run down and has seen better days but the staff was very accommodating and friendly. They have a shuttle that leaves the hotel at 6:45-7 am. After reading about the base gates opening at 6:30, I was not comfortable with the shuttle times so we elected to drive to the base. We arrived at 6:30 to find a long line of cars on Buckley Rd. The line did move fast. The line turns on Ohio St and it leads into the base. The line split into two lines. We chose the left line and it took us to a covered parking structure. The walk to the ceremony hall was very short. We had to first walk into the Visitors Center where we could view some static displays of boot camp and Navy life as we stood in line. At the security check point, there was random checking of persons in line. Other than that we were able to get our name checked on a list and hand stamped. After that we walked next door to the ceremony hall.

I was surprised at how fast we made it to the hall. We found our seats in the bleachers. If you get there early, you sit downstairs. After that section fills up, you get moved upstairs. The ceremony was very nice.To see all of those recruits standing in front of you poised and disciplined is a sight to see. Very important - communicate with your recruit as to where you will meet him or her because when the Liberty call is made, it gets very chaotic. It took us at least 10-15 minutes to find our son. It would have worked out better if we had told him to walk toward the bleachers and meet us there. There is a time limit that the hall stays open. I want to say about 30 minutes but lost track of time. All I remember is that they kept announcing that the hall was closing in ?? minutes. My son had to immediately go back to the compartment to move his stuff to another area so we walked to the NEX and he met us there. I was surprised that they let us go into the NEX and shop there. Our son informed us that he was not leaving for the airport until 12:30 am Sunday, so we got to spend time with him Friday and Saturday. Both of those days he had to be back by 8 pm. That is the time that he had to be in his compartment. We dropped him off by 6:30 pm each night. He still had a long walk and we wanted to make sure that he did not get into trouble. We drove to Midway airport to try to spend more time with our son on Sunday morning. We got there at 1am, before the bus from the base arrived. We parked in the economy lot and took the shuttle back just in time to see the new sailors walk into the terminal. Since the ticket counter was closed, we were able to stay with our son even longer. To our pleasant surprise, when our son finally checked in for his flight, the ticket agent told him that he could get passes for his family to get past security and to proceed with him to the gate. I am not sure if every airline does this, but Air Tran at Midway does. My son's flight departed at 12 noon and although it was sad to see him go again, we were comforted by the extra time we spent with him. I did not include what we did with him while we had him in our possession because we did not do much. We went out to eat, and saw some sights but our priority was to just spend time with him. We let him talk and talk and talk..He never gave details and we never asked for them. He was full of funny stories and just general chit chat.We just wanted to make sure that he got used to being around his family again. Once again, great experience.

Comment by NavyDads Co-Admin, Calvin on October 13, 2011 at 7:19pm

Pete, we stayed at the Homewood Suites in Lincolnshire and really liked it. The drive is not bad and you are only on 3 streets and traffic is not bad.

Comment by Pete Freeman on October 13, 2011 at 6:59pm

I didn't like the reviews of any of the hotels immediately around Great Lakes. Most said things like, "I only stayed here because it was close" and "over-priced". 

So, I made a reservation a the Homewood Suites in Lincolnshire, right off Rt. 94. It's about 12 miles from RTC but, they have free breakfast and dinner. Also, my two adult children are going with us and Homewood has two-bedroom suites and I got one for the price of two hotel rooms at the cheaper hotels.

I stay at Homewood Suites when I travel on business and if it's not too late to get in, you won't regret the extra drive to RTC.

 

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on October 13, 2011 at 3:26pm

Understandable Randy!!  You'll have a great time at his PIR...the second one is as emotional as the first!!!!

Comment by Randy Leeper on October 13, 2011 at 3:19pm

We are only staying there the day he flys out of O'Hare so that we will be close. Also it helps us avoid Downtown Chicago when we leave on Sat. for PA (and that's a long drive!)

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on October 13, 2011 at 11:40am

That's quite a drive(Hyatt Place Lombard) to RTC Randy...that has to be 45 minutes under favorable traffic conditions?

Comment by Randy Leeper on October 13, 2011 at 11:32am

Hi Guys,

    Just wanted to pass on a helpful hint about hotel reservations. This is my second go round in 2 yrs. When I called the hotels direct (got the #'s from the AAA tour book) I found out that it is best to mention that you are attending the Naval Boot Camp Graduation and you get a much better rate than even a AAA discount. In our case we saved $20/nite at the Holiday Inn Express.

   My second reccomendation is the Hyatt Place Lombard. It is within a 10 min. drive to O'hare and is located in a very upscale area. Their rates were even better than the HI Express (but call direct not the reservation site). We stayed there 2 yrs ago, the place is great, offers everything and there are numerous resturants within walking distance. We plan on hanging with our son at O'hare the day he ships out (Friday 11/10) and this is convenient.

   Can't wait to see our new sailor.

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