Our PIR experience (02-05-2016)

[mommasquid]

First I need to start by thanking everyone who posted their PIR experiences on here.  All of your tips really helped make our trip that much more smooth & efficient, but most importantly fun w/ our new sailor

 

(Little background I am deathly afraid of flying and haven’t flown in 18+ years.  This was a huge milestone for my son, so mommasquid pushed her fears aside was able to make the 2 hour flight!)       My advice in regards to flying is head the warnings and get there early!  My sister in law who travels quite frequently scoffed at us the morning of our flights home from PIR saying “oh please don’t get me to the airport w/ 2 hours before my flight”   We dropped her off at the gate @ 9:30 am for her 10:50 am flight…she BARELY made it!  (More on that later!)

 

We decided to fly into O’Hare as it is closer to Great Lakes and with us traveling in the colder winter months we weren’t really sure what to expect in regards to the weather (snow, ice, etc…) we booked w/ Spirit as they were the most affordable.  Now I read A LOT of stuff on line about how horrible Spirit is to fly but honestly I was so impressed w/ them.  You really need to read the fine print of what is and isn’t included though to make sure you really are getting the best deal.  Their flight attendants were super at helping to ease my fears of flying.  I wouldn’t hesitate to fly them again. 

I’ve got to say O’Hare is a well-oiled machine!!!  (We flew out of BWI and they could definitely learn a thing or two from them!)  Once we landed and grabbed our checked bags we walked outside (kind of clueless of where or what to do about getting our rental car) but right there outside the luggage area were shuttles from all of the rental car companies.  They run what seems like every 2-3 minutes.  Super-fast & very easy!  I want to say within 20 minutes of landing we were in our rental car headed into downtown Chicago! 

Tips for the rental car if you have a Costco membership check w/ them for a rate on rental cars.  We were able to get a minivan for 4 days from Alamo for $107.00 that was the total price w/ tax and everything!    Also please get the dang toll pass they offer at the rental place!!!  Stupid me thought “oh we won’t go through that many tolls” I’m pretty sure we spent at least $20 on tolls and twice I had to go through a toll w/ out paying because we didn’t have change and most don’t have attendants.  So please get the toll pass!!! 

 

Our flight got in early (7am) and there was roughly a 5 hour gap between the times my sister in laws plane arrived to O’Hare.  Rather than sit in the airport for 5 hours we decided to head into Chicago.  Of course it was rush hour so the 15 miles to the city from the airport took about an hour.  We walked around a bit then headed over to the French Market for something to eat. http://www.frenchmarketchicago.com/index.php I would definitely recommend this place if you were in Chicago looking for affordable options to eat.  There is roughly 10-15 restaurants/vendors inside the market.  They have a deli, meat counter, produce stands, cheese monger, etc… I wish we could share pictures on this site because I took a bunch!  All of the food we got was absolutely delicious & the prices can’t be beat (especially in Chicago where everything is $$$) we ended up sharing a few things from about 4 of the vendors.  We also got some specialty chocolates from Loli & Pops for our kids back home which they loved.

Tip for the French Market…if you spend at least $20 throughout the market you get 1 free hour of parking (which you will appreciate because its expensive as heck to park in Chicago) The parking attendant will give you a card to have punched by the vendors in the market.

 

Afterwards we headed back to O’Hare to grab my sister in law then we headed the base.  That’s right we headed to Great Lakes.  We wanted to scout out the area and do a dry run of the short cut map we had been given from the FB group we also belonged too.  Man was it confusing!  After initially running it a few times we were so discombobulated we pulled into the main gate and asked “where the heck are we supposed to go tomorrow” LOL They must get that a lot!

Tips for getting to PIR… the main gate is NOT the gate you enter through.  It is the further gate on Ohio Street.  If you are on the FB page for PIR just IGNORE their “short cut map” it is more trouble than its worth.  The real short cut in getting to PIR if you’re driving is this…Be in the FAR left lane.  Drive ALL the way past the gate entrances going under the bridge.  Once you pass under the bridge you come to a stop light.  Make a U-Turn at that light.  Then make a left onto Ohio street and VOILA!  You’ve just bi-passed MILES of other cars.   They do not exaggerate either it is MILES of cars.  We left our hotel late around 6:10 a.m. or so (this should also be a tip don’t forget the parking pass because I had to turn around half way to the base because I forgot it DOH) we were in our seats in the ceremony hall by 6:55 a.m.  We literally flew past all that traffic.

 

We opted to stay at the Embassy Suites in Deerfield.  We are HUGE fans of Embassy Suites it is our go to hotel.  I knew we were taking a risk booking this particular ES because its further out from base (roughly 12-15 miles) but I had to go w/ my instincts.  While checking in the girl at the front desk asked if we were in town for business or pleasure I mentioned that our son had his PIR, well within 30 minutes of us getting in our room there was a knock at the door.  It was hotel rep w/ bottle of wine and a platter of assorted cheeses & crackers.  What a nice touch!  It didn’t end there though!  They also have a complimentary happy hour from 5:30-7:30 that serves light snacks and beverages.  Their onsite restaurant Caldwell’s is rated one of the top restaurants in that area.  Rightly so because the food we had that evening was delicious.  But the thing that sent them over the top was when our bill came for our entrees we were told they were on the house by management.  SERIOUSLY!!!  Wow!  The manager also came over and let us know that he would like to extend all of their amenities (happy hour, free cooked to order breakfast, pool & Jacuzzi, etc…) to my son.  This particular hotel & management team went above and beyond for us our entire trip.  They truly were amazing!

 

Now morning of PIR like I mentioned before I forgot the parking pass so we were running late I was frazzled and freaking out…but it was all for nothing because we were one of the first in the building.  I saw a post that had been made on the FB site that the traffic was so bad that day it actually extended out to the freeway over 3 miles long.  Yikes!   Now I won’t give away PIR but I will say it was great and you will cry!  At least I did J

So here are my PIR tips:

Do a practice run and acquaint yourself with the area the day before if you can.  We felt like pros that morning the day before not so much!

Be sure to bring your ID, Parking Pass, $ for drinks or food or challenge coins (yes they sold those there)

Please be courteous of the recruit who is in charge of your section.  You wouldn’t believe how many people were basically ignoring his request to not climb up the steps.

If you’re going to face time someone during the ceremony please tell them to turn their sound off or down or whatever.  There were several people seated around us who were face timing and the person on the other end was making so much noise it was hard to hear the ceremony.  Eventually one of the recruits came up and asked them to stop.

 

Our son is doing his A school there in Great Lakes so after the ceremony he had to go get registered in his new barracks.  This takes a VERY long time!  We left him around 11:15 a.m. and he wasn’t ready to be picked up until 5 p.m.  So prepare yourself for that.  Our sailor had asked that we get him some Chinese food.  So while he was getting registered we headed into Chinatown to grab orange chicken & lo mein.  It was just from some hole in the wall spot but that is exactly what he wanted.  We ended up grabbing a late lunch early dinner at a restaurant I’ve had on my bucket list (yes I have a restaurant bucket list LOL) ever since I had seen it on Diner Drive ins & Dives. http://www.kumascorner.com/menu   it is a burger joint where all of the specialty burgers are named after metal bands.  Oh my wow was it good!  This place lives up to the hype! (they’ve had a lot of other food TV shows do reviews of them) Probably the best burger I’ve ever had. If your sailor request a burger as his first post meal I’d hit them up no doubt!

After my son was all checked in we came back to the hotel where he took a shower and then he reacquainted himself w/ his phone LOL His reaction once he held it in his hands was priceless.  He said it felt so weird.  So don’t be surprised if your sailor wants to just vegetate and relax. 

 

Saturday was our only full day to go downtown so my hubby headed to the barracks first thing in the morning (6 a.m.) to sign out our sailor.  He had a nice breakfast at the hotel (omelet, bacon, toast, muffins, juices, coffee, etc.) apparently it was a lot better than the powdered eggs he had been eating (ick lol) We decided to go to The Bean/Cloud Gate http://www.chicagotraveler.com/cloud-gate-chicago       Not only was it pretty neat but you can get amazing photos there.  It reflects the entire skyline.    We then walked from there to The John Hancock Building http://www.johnhancockcenterchicago.com/ They have either the observatory that you can go up and see Chicago from one of the tallest buildings.  Pretty sure its $20 per person. Or if you dine at their restaurant https://www.signatureroom.com/ you can see those same views BUT w/ out the crowd AND w/ a cocktail or beverage of your choice.  Again I wish we could post pictures because the Signature Room was absolutely amazing and the highlight of the day!   I would highly recommend you check that out when you’re in town.  It really was great! 

 

Our trip seemed to end so quickly. We blinked and it was time to drop him back off at the barracks and time for us to pack for our trip home.  We woke up Sunday and headed to O’Hare.  Now in preparation for this trip I had come across this 22 Rookie Mistakes for Chicago.  I’ve got to say the one on O’Hare was spot on accurate.  DO NOT UNDER ESTIMATE O’HARE LOL The security to get through O’Hare was insane.  Over an hour long for us.  You don’t know how many people were crying in the line “I’m gonna miss my flight” or calling the airlines telling them they were stuck in security.  So be there early don’t think you’re going to breeze in and out.  Not gonna happen! https://www.thrillist.com/lifestyle/chicago/rookie-mistakes-you-don...

 

I’d be glad to answer any questions anyone has.  Again thanks for all the previous PIR reviews you guys helped make our trip pretty much pain free!

[ProudofmySRSHIP03DIV162APRIL22]

Thanks for this post. My son started boot camp yesterday and I am new to the site. I work full time and don't have a lot of extra time to check out the site. The info you provided will help tons. Congrats to your son and your family!