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Comment by diannep on March 30, 2011 at 11:41am

Tricsious:  Most of the hotels are within 4-5 miles of the base.  It's a small area.  Waukegan is the name of the area.  You are ok staying in any of them.

Is your SR staying in GL for A School? Those are the TRUE GradNGos according to RTC (moving over to the A School base right after PIR).  But we on here call those flying out on Sat (and now I'm told they could fly out on Sun too) GradnGo-Sat Departures.  Your SR should know this info about 3-4 weeks before PIR.  We tell everyone if possible to stay until at least Sunday since things can change for your sailor. Since you are driving, you would not have a problem cancelling a hotel one night if your new sailor leaves on Sat. If your sailor stays in GL for A School, you most likely will have the weekend (daytime) with him.  They are in the middle of changing some of this, so it is a bit confusing now.  When Hisbelovedlinda's group was there, they still had overnight liberty for those staying in GL who moved over right after PIR.  But that has now changed...doesn't happen anymore.

You are usually assured of Friday after PIR with him, until about 8 or 9 pm. Unless he has watch that day.  After that, it depends on his A School plans.

Comment by Tricsious (07/174) on March 30, 2011 at 7:34am

TY Hisbelovedliinda for that info.  I have not made any reservations as of yet. We are also driving and I have not rented a car yet either.  I want to rent something comfortable yet somewhat ecomonical with gas prices.  We have a truck and a Expedition, so I am leaving them home!  Lol

Does it matter how close or far you are from base?

About when did you find out if your loved one was grad n go?  Those are a few of my questions to determine how long to stay.  What is the normal free time for them?

Thanks for joining in and giving us some much needed and welcomed advice!

Comment by diannep on March 30, 2011 at 7:32am

I have heard many great things about Springhill Suites also, especially the courtesy of the staff up there.  One thing to check on is that I have heard there is no bathtub, only shower, so if that is a concern for anyone, doublecheck that.  Springhill Suites, Courtyard, and Residence Inn are all Marriotts, close by, and good hotels!  I can personally recommend the Residence Inn as well...we very much enjoyed our stay there.  All of these hotels have the PIR shuttle.

Comment by Hisbelovedlinda on March 30, 2011 at 1:40am

Hello, I am new on this group!  my son, Zac's PIR was 3-11.  He has a friend, B J That may be PIR 5-20   .... so, just curious right now about that, but would like to offer any info. that I can that might help someone on this group?  We had a wonderful trip up there to Waukegan, IL. We stayed at the Springhill Suites ther in Waukegan, their local phone is:  847-688-9800.  I would highly recommend calling early for rsv. You can cancel even that day by 6pm and you want be required to pay!  They have HUGE beautiful rooms!  We rented two suties for 5 nights and my family loved this hotel!  They just could not say enough good about it....me either!  The rooms have very high ceilings, beautiful colors, great sitting area, sleeper sofa, Micro Wave, Fridge, huge desk, and the beds and linens were awesome! They were so commfy!  The shower & vanity were in a seperate room from the potty room!  This was great with a group!  They have a thermostat on the wall to set for the temp. and they have vents in the bathrooms!  It was very comfortable!  I just could not say enough about how nice it was at The Springhill Suites, Waukegan, IL.  If you call early you can get Low Graduation Rates! They were $89.99 per night when we were there!  They have an excellent breakfast...I loved making my own waffles!  They had hot sausage/& eggs daily.    WE drove to PIR, we had a rented van.  It was only about a 10minute drive over to the base.  We were there in line at the Gate on Buckley Road at about 6:15am.  We drove right in the gate, we had to show our Driver Licenses, we had our parking pass from our son in our front window....we parked on the ground floor of the parking garage...it was only a short walk inside. They checked our Driver's License there ....we sat in the seats down stairs, we were toward the back row: please get there very early!  It was just awesome!  Please don't miss PIR you will be so glad that you came!  WE ate at lots of Main Line Restaurants over by Gurnee Mills Mall area.  Do research on line:  I clicked a link on Springhill Suites's website for Waukegan and found out all kinds of info.  You go to www.marriott.com , I think that's it, but it's easy to find Marriott online, then click on the link to Springhill Suites   Marriott has a Residence Inn  in the area also, they are great places to stay also!

Comment by ccmmom on March 30, 2011 at 12:24am

My son left March 22 and is Ship 02 Div 927.  Received the box on March 25 and the letter yesterday, March 28. 

Comment by ochaos on March 29, 2011 at 8:26pm

A word of advice for you is to not make any travel arrangements until at least half way through BC as many things can change the PIR date for your recruit such as injuries, discharge, illness and many other things.  Do not stress about this, I made my reservations 1 week out from PIR and got great rates on everything.  When thinking about flying look into flying into Milwaukee as it can save you lots of money and is the same distance to the base as from Chicago.  You are just beginning your journey and will learn so much on this site, if you know what job -  Nuke, SAR, etc. join those groups also and you will learn and make more new friends.

One of the reasons I make this recommendation is that during the first few weeks some recruits are sent home for various reasons.  If you look at prices on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning  that is when you will usually see the best prices. Plug in the info into a fare watcher and it will let you know when they go up and when they go down, also check airline websites as they sometimes have specials, frontier is having one right now.  I booked 1 week out, flew into Milwaukee and saved lots of money on the flight.

One thing you should get used to is that you need to be flexible, never put anything in pen only in pencil as it may change, it is the military way.  There are many wonderful people in your group to help guide you along this wonderful journey. Do not be afraid of asking any questions because I am sure one or more of us have wondered the same thing at one time or another.

Comment by ochaos on March 29, 2011 at 8:14pm

Start a file of info that you will be getting on this site regarding photos, PIR, travel and keep it handy to add to as you get information that you will use later. Put your form letter in this folder also.  That way all of the stuff you need to remember will be handy.

Comment by diannep on March 29, 2011 at 7:23pm

9 members already!  It's GROWING!  Won't be long before many more join this group!

HOOYAH!

Comment by Tricsious (07/174) on March 29, 2011 at 7:11pm

It's so nice to be on here!  Just reading this helps so much.  I feel understood as the crazy mom who is over emotional.  Thanks for just being here everyone, it helps so much!

Comment by ColoradoConnie on March 29, 2011 at 5:44pm

JessicaB, I have a good feeling too! Everyone seems great!

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