Pass In Review - Tips, Hints, and Helps

Comment

Comment by Edward Davis on October 26, 2009 at 2:48pm

A mom on navymoms said about a two block walk, i'm thinking about leaving the car there overnite and catch a shuttle in the morining then just walk back to the train station.

Comment by Edward Davis on October 22, 2009 at 2:45pm

Thanks Ernie i figured something like that, he wanted to surprise us but it will still be a shock seeing him stand still that long lol!

Comment by Ernie on October 22, 2009 at 8:39am

He will be holding a flag

Comment by Edward Davis on October 21, 2009 at 3:17pm

I have a question my son said that he would be in front row 1 stick 6 presenting arms what does that mean?

Comment by Bob Dixon on October 21, 2009 at 2:10pm

Well said Ernie. I also stayed at the Ramada , because it close. I was in that looooong line of cars that you passed. "Close" didn't help in my case but the "grad and go" issue with my daughter forced me to have my vehicle more readily available.

Comment by Ernie on October 21, 2009 at 1:48pm

I have three words about getting to PIR . " TAXI TAXI TAXI" We stayed at the Ramada Inn Gurnee, which is about 4 1/2 miles from the base. Got up early to get the shuttle that was to leave at 7 AM. At 7:05 there were way more people waiting that wood fit on any shuttle. A taxi pulled up so I asked "How much to the base" he said $4 per person. I told my wife and daughter to get in. It was an eight minute ride to the gate. When we got close, there was a looong line of cars waiting to go thru security. We by passed the line and got dropped off across the street, buzzed thru security and got a pretty good seat inside the drill hall. About 45 minutes later we saw some of the people from the Ramada Inn comming in to go upstairs to the cheep seats. If my daughter goes Navy in 2 years, we will go Taxi then.
Well worth the $15 ride including tip.

Comment by Bob Dixon on October 19, 2009 at 12:04pm

My daughter's PIR date was also 16 Oct 09. It was an awesome ceremony and well worth the trip to see her again. The sad part is that she was a "grad & go" and although that sometimes means "go" in a few days, this time it was literal. She had told us a few weeks before that she was going to be a grad & go but we had hoped that we would at least have a day with her. We met her on the floor of the drill hall and she broke the bad news to us that she had to get back to her ship in order to gather her stuff and fly out that afternoon. She needed to get a backpack to finish her packing so we hurried to the NEX and experienced what Devons Dad has already correctly referred to as the "Black Friday" rush. We proceeded to walk with her a portion of the way back (as far as we were allowed) and then we parted company. We were able to go to Midway Airport (considering traffic, about a 2 hour drive) to be with her for a few precious hours before her flight to Pensacola.
I've always had a great amount of confidence in my daughter but her increased level of self-confidence and maturity was an encouragement to me. She handled the grad & go very well even though I'm sure that she wanted to spend a little more time with us. There were probably 30 or so other sailors that were flying out on the same plane so she had plenty of company on the plane. She called me much later that night (when they arrived in Florida) and also the next evening. Saturday envening, she told me that their group had finally got settled in and went to bed about 5:00 AM Saturday morning (after getting up at 4:45 AM on Friday). Needless to say, she was still tired from the travel and transition but she was glad to have that part completed. In any event, it was great to see her for even a few hours.

Just a few tips of my own about arriving at graduation. Since we knew that she was a grad & go, we thought it best to drive to Great Lakes so we could leave immediately if needed (not have to wait on shuttle, etc). Having our vehicle did work to our advantage but if the situation were different, I would suggest one of the shuttles. If you must drive, I would strongly suggest that consider parking at the train station if possible and walking across. I didn't do that and hence my suggestion. Also, I would suggest that you line up in traffic headed north on Green Bay Road and prepare to turn right onto Buckley Road to get into the RTC. The directions indicate that you turn onto Buckley at US 41 and I did that at 6:30 AM...not your best choice. The traffic merging from Green Bay Road has an advantage. Enough said about that.

We were delayed a little in arriving so we sat in the upper level... not bad seats at all. I was able to sit above and directly in front of my daughters division so I got some really good pictures of her throughout the ceremony. Don't be concerned if the bottom level gets filled up quickly, they're all good seats.

The previous comments will offer many great suggestions and I feel that anyone preparing to attend PIR should read them carefully and make notes. The GPS in a rental car (or bring yours from home) is a great suggestion. It would have been extremely difficult without one.

Just so everyone that reads this will understand, we had a great time and we're thankful for the opportunity to spend any time at all with our daughter. The grad & go issue is just something that we had no control over so there are no regrets in traveling to the graduation. I hope everyone that has a PIR coming up will have as great a time as we had (hopefully more time with your Sailor).

Comment by Devons Dad From CT (Rich) on October 18, 2009 at 6:12pm

Just got back from PIR on 10/16/09. We stayed at the Spring Hill Suites in Waukegan. Very modern, hot full breakfast included, swimming pool, and bar. We went to the PIR meet and greet at the Ramada from 6 to 8 which was very comforting to meet others who were on this website and the Navy for Moms website.
We took the shuttle from the hotel at 0630 and arrived on base 15 minutes later. The walk to the PIR hall was about 10 minutes and we were on the bench for two hours waiting for the start. The videos kept us entertained though. The bleachers got packed quickly and we were glad we got there early to pick our seat. There are signs in front of each division so you will know where to sit. Coffee, water, and snacks were for sale.
The ceremony was incredible and seemed to go by very quickly. Before we knew it, they were calling liberty call! We met up with our sailor on the ceremony floor and had that long awaited hug. We could see the change right away in him!
After leaving the hall, we headed right to the Navy Exchange (Store). It felt like Black Friday Christmas shopping at 0500 in Walmart! Packed and everyone trying to squeeze through to get there Navy Dad, mom, sister, girlfriend shirts. Prices were $10 for shirts and $20 for hoodies. All kinds of other Navy items to pick up. They also have your sailors division photos for sale near the exit door ($8.00)
The shuttle took us back to the hotel where we got to sit with him and go over all his stories. We then went out to the Gurnee Hills Mall. This was the largest mall I've ever been in and made for a nice day trip. We went out to dinner, back to the hotel for a swim where he showed us the swimming techniques they taught him. We had him back on base at 8PM, one hour before curfue and there was a long line of black coat recruits doing the same. Found out they get patted down as soon as they get back. Do not give them any junk food, cell phones, or anything like that or they can lose their liberty the next day.
Picked him up at 0800 the next day in a different uniform. He was very concerned about being in proper uniform all day. Oddley enough, with all the options we gave him, he wanted to go back to the mall. We went there and watched a movie which bugged me because I felt we were losing talking time. Come to find out, he wanted the relaxing time. We had dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings and ate some pretty hot wings. After that he just wanted to swim again and hang out in the hotel room listening to music with his girlfriend. We also took the memory chips out of our phones and went next door to Walmart to insert them in the photo printer and give him all the prints he selected from our photos over the last couple days. I got him an address book to capture the addresses of his new shipmates before they all left to their next assignments.
He gave us a large white cardboard box with his official bootcamp photos inside to take home. What a treasure that was!
Make sure you get a GPS with your rental car. There is alot of construction which didn't really slow down traffic but it sure did change the landscape and make any maps obsolete.
The bar in the hotel was fun to hang out in after dropping off our sailor each night because we met many other parents and sailors staying there.
We were able to drive on base as far as the chappel to pick up and drop off our sailor on Saturday and Sunday which I was surprised to find out.
This was truly a great experience and if anyone has any questions about PIR, please send me note.

Comment by Bob Russell on October 17, 2009 at 8:45am

Roger, like the admin said space can get really tight for the bigger graduations. You might be able to use a monopod, but only if you get in the top row of seats next to the wall. You will be shouted down if you try to stand elsewhere through the entire event. The only spectators allowed on the floor are those with disabilities, and they are seated in front of the first row of the bleachers.

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on October 17, 2009 at 12:27am

I've never seen anything the precludes using the devices you mentioned except for the extreme space limitations in the Drill Hall. The only photo rules I am aware of is NO PHOTOS OUTSIDE WHATSOEVER, but anything goes in the hall.

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