PIR for Dummies

[Skipatroll]

My daughter graduated RTC on October 16. This is my version of PIR and hopefully it will act to help guide those of you that are coming to their first PIR. Sorry for spelling errors

Transportation:

Airfare

....book early. Airfare from Calif to Chicago cost me $216 round trip by booking 6 weeks in advance. If she had delayed graduation I would have been assessed a $125 change penalty but that was well worth it. The same airfare two days before her graduation was $706 r/t. Use Expedia or some similiar source to help you find airfare bargains.

Having grown up in NYC, I originally intened to take public transportation to Great Lakes from O Hare. I though Metra would be a fun way to travel. I booked a red eye at 1:30am leaving Ca and got in Chcago at 1030am. I figured I would have the whole day to travel. What I found out is the Metra system, while cheap, is a long haul and with transfers would have gotten me into Great Lakes about 400pm that day. Also cab would have run $75-100 each trip from the RTC to O Hare. Since she was Grad and Go, I did not find out until the day of graduation what airport she was flying out of. A shuttle from RTC to Ohare would run about $50 one way. You can split this but the bottom line is a car rental from Enterprise ran me $28 a day for three days. A bargain considering the mobility. Get a car by all means.

When traveling on the toll roads most of the lanes are for I-Pass, a local electronic toll system. If you get in an I-pass lane by accident, you will get a violation in a couple of weeks by mail. Stay in your far right hand lanes when approaching toll plazas. Carry lots of quarters and nickels with you (some toll are $.80)

Drive by the RTC gates and see the area so you know the roads a little. If you are Grad and Go, like my daughter was., they will leave around 100pm on PIR day to go the the airport they have been told about the day before. You will get to spend about 1 to 1.5 hours before they have to go back and get ready. Once you know the airport you can get there and get a visitors gate pass from the airline the sailors check in at. (This was true for Midway..not sure about O Hare) I got to spend 5 hours with her at the airport so it was worth the trip to Great Lakes. Anyhow back to parking. Two statements. Unless you are Grad and GO...do not drive to the RTC. You will wait on line for a long time to get in and get out. If you leave your car at the Hotel and take a shuttle from the hotel ($3 for PIR), you will be on base in 15 minutes. Getting back is just as fast and easy, your shuttle driver will tell you when and where to meet. Take your sailor back to the hotel and then get your car.

If you are Grad and Go, take your car to the RTC the night before PIR, call hotel shuttle company and ask them to pick you up at the Metra Station by the RTC in a half hour. Drive to the RTC, the gate will be on your right for the RTC. Go about 150 feet further, the road will go downhill slightly, make a right hand turn at the light (Ohio ) and this will take you into the Metra station parking lot. For $2.00 you can park overnight in the designated overnight spaces. Put the money (use quarters) in the box at the beginning of the lot. Wait for your cab and go back to the hotel. If you want go back down the road and make a right under the tunnel and then turn right up the path to the Metra ticket office. There are usaully cabs waiting here but if you don't want to chance it, just precall a cab like I suggested. A cab ride from RTC Metra to the Residence Inn was about $10 and well worth it. Next day your car is close by and you can walk out the RTC gate and your car is about 300 feet away and you missed all the base traffic. Kill about an hour on base at the NEX and the traffic really dies down. Graduation ends at 1030 and I left base about 1200..

Hotels

Lots of good hotels but the Residence Inn by Marriot in Waukegan was the best for me. The least expensive close hotel is the Navy Lodge at $65 a night.The Resdience Inn has a real home atmosphere with a sofa , desk and kitchen and is perfect to sit with your sailor and spend some quality relaxed time. You can get cheap food across at Super Walmart on Waukegan Road to stock up you fridge for your family. $89 a night on top of great accomodations.They have the best Graduation Info Packet for PIR I have seen of any hotel in the area.

PIR

If you get the on the 630 shuttle, you will spend a lot of time sitting so be prepared. On the other hand you will have your chaoice of seats. Balcony seating is tough for pictures because you can stand up and the railing may block your camera view. The floor seating is good but your division will stand about one division to the right of where you are seated. There are no bad seats but light in the hall is bad for cameras so plan on buying pictures and enjoy the show.The NEX will have a Division photo taken that morning of PIR for $8 for an 8 x 10 It is a life changing experince you will never forget.

No pictures outside the the PIR hall. You could lose your camera to security. Take all your sailor pics back at the hotel or inside the PIR hall.

THINGS TO DO

Go to the Navy Pier and ShorelineSighting Cruises Architectural Tour of Chicago. Cool boat tour
http://www.shorelinesightseeing.com/

Also go to Millennium Park in Chicago. Unreal architecture and sights
www.millenniumpark.org

Go to the Gurnee Mall. Lots of outlet stores

Sorry...did not eat out so cannot help you thert although the Residence Inn has a massive list of nearby places to eat in the PIR handout.


Just one persons experience but I hope it helps.

[Arwen]

What is the *cheapest* place to stay for PIR for a family of four (two adults, two teenagers), with access by public transit? We will not be renting a car, we'll stick with trains and buses, and we'll be on an extremely tight budget.

[SueS (ABF Mom)]

We stayed at the Navy Lodge $65/night (no tax) Start and try to get a rental.... it will be VERY hard to not have a car. We had a dodge charger for $135...shuttles and such will cost a lot. Are you flying in? If you are it is very hard to travel via public transportation. Good luck!

[Arwen]

We'll be taking Amtrak from Oregon. There is supposedly a train stop within walking distance of the base that meets with Amtrak in Chicago, and hopefully as close to the hotel/motel. We plan on taking the train to Chicago during the weekend.

We just finished a decade of living without a car, we're used to dealing with mass transit. Driving in a city terrifies me now. The only reason we have a car now is that we now live in the back of beyond, in a 5-stoplight town. I don't think I could deal with an unfamiliar car AND driving in a big city even if we could afford a car rental.

How do families get a reservation at the Navy Lodge? We're not dependents (parents and siblings) so we won't have ID to show.

[Heather]

yes the train is right next to the base, very close!

[Navy101]

reservations for the Navy Lodge: call (1-800-628-9466) they will ask relationship to the PIR sailor, and his/her name. I hope this helps.

[writelefty]

I have no experience with this thread subject but just happen to be reading and spotted this because I am a writer and did an article about state-to-state train travel about a year ago.
Amtrak is great except for unbelievable amounts of delays. Never take it if you are on any kind of schedule. The average Amtrak trip over 250 miles is 6 hours late (thats AVERAGE)!!!! One of my trips was from Dallas to Chicago and it was 30 hours late, the train ran out of food/drinks, even drinking wate and tiolets were overflowing.
Amtrak shares the rails with commercial trains and must stop, sometimes even change off to alternate tracks to make way for commercial trains. We also had several weather delays on that trip. And it was delayed at almost every scheduled stop.the worst part was we finally arrived in Chicago at 2:45 AM and everything in/near the station was closed so we still couldn't eat or get a cab-nothing everyones cell phone was dead by that time. And there was nobody there from Amtrak at that time to guide us It was a nightmare!
Anyway the point is if Amtrak is your only option be sure to factor in LOTS of time for delays. I don't think it would be worth the chance of missing your event but best of luck and congratulations on your child's achievments.

[Arwen]

We ALWAYS take Amtrak unless it's a time-sensitive emergency. We've been as much as 12 hours late in the past (California Zephyr), and it doesn't bother us. I don't think we've *ever* arrived "on time" but tight scheduling is not how we travel. The train trip is part of our vacation. I'm taking 10-days vacation to do this, scheduling trains we've never been on before, for variety. The Zephyr is faster than the route we're taking, but we want new scenery.

Our train is scheduled to come in at 2 p.m. the day before PIR, so that gives us an 18-hour window in case the train is late. If something extreme happens and we miss the PIR itself, we'll just get the video and enjoy our weekend in Chicago with our son. I've never been to Chicago before. To enjoy a new place as a family is the most important thing for us. My son didn't do his high school graduation ceremony. If he could avoid PIR, he probably would.

When we don't take the train, we drive. On trips under 1,000 miles it's not a problem, but for longer trips (Chicago is about 2,500 miles for us) we prefer the train so we can actually enjoy the scenery, get up and stretch any time we want to, and not deal with hotels.

[valeriejean]

Just a word of warning, there are 2 train stations, run by different companies in Chicago. You may have to transfer to the other terminal and catch another train to get to RTC (within walking distance of each other).

[fly 2]

Give yourself plenty of time with a train ride. Alot of the times they are late getting to places. You wont want to miss this!!!

[juanita singh]

how is the Navy Lodge? will be coming with grandparents and his girlfriend.
saw online 2 rm suite.
just wondering

[Aaron's Mom]

juanita singh
Can you give me the web address for the Navy Lodge? I can't seem to find it?

[Skipatroll]

https://www.nexnet.nexweb.org/pls/nexlodge/lodge_page?p_lodge_number=5