Comment

Comment by DeannaD-Bigpumpkin on June 8, 2010 at 9:46pm

Congrats to our new Sailors!!!

Comment by Sophia on June 8, 2010 at 8:07pm

Ok thanks for the info about strollers, I'll pass it on to her.

Comment by LMC -mom of 2 Sailors! on June 8, 2010 at 5:36pm

Does she have one of the baby carriers for on your chest? that with a nice hat should help with the noise. worse comes to worse they can take the baby out.

Division 930 is making sailor calls! got our about 20 minutes ago.

Comment by Sophia on June 8, 2010 at 3:49pm

Oh is it really noisy? I wonder if there is anything she can do to make it easier on the baby. I'll have to talk to her about it.

Comment by SOBE,PIR 6/4/10 IT Mom, Italy on June 8, 2010 at 3:36pm

Sophia - I saw lots of people with strollers. But I am more concerned with the noise level for a 6 wk old.

Comment by Sophia on June 8, 2010 at 3:23pm

To those who have been to PIR- any advice about strollers and car seats? My sister-in-law will be bringing my 6 week old niece. We wanted to take the shuttle from the hotel. I know on the Navy website they recommend not bringing them, but I've heard it's a lot of walking and I wouldn't want her to have to carry her the whole time, and we'll need the car seat in the shuttle anyway. I guess we'll just take it and deal with it.

Comment by SOBE,PIR 6/4/10 IT Mom, Italy on June 8, 2010 at 3:03pm

Charges you may see on their bank accts: If it's a large one (like $120 - $174) it's for their portrait package/DVD/Keel yearbook. If it's a $45 charge, it's for their Division sweatshirt that they design as a group. None of these are required purchases, but awesome to have. If you see small charges, they are having fun at Ricky Heaven eating junk food after Battlestations is over!

Parking in Chicago: I like info SusanM gave, but wanted to share what we did. We drove to where all the Museums are (called Museum Campus), it's where Soldier Field is and parked in the underground parking lot for $19, which covered us for the whole day. Then we took the water taxi (next to Shedd Aquarium) over to Navy Pier for $7 (each direction).

Comment by SOBE,PIR 6/4/10 IT Mom, Italy on June 8, 2010 at 2:44pm

I have LOTS to tell about PIR, but wanted to pass on some very important tips - some were given to me before I left, others I learned while there. I believe in "paying it forward".

1. DON'T book the last flight of the day the night before PIR!!!! We didn't arrive to our hotel until 2:50 am, and had to be up by 5:30 to get to PIR early. You will not catch up on sleep until you get home, so don't do this to yourself!
2. Ask for GPS in your rental car!!!! It was a lifesaver and much better than all the Mapquest and Google directions I printed. You never know where you may decide to go, so it helped with last minute decisions to go see a movie or go to a restaurant.
3. Print gate/parking pass whether you plan on driving or not!!! You will need it to bring your sailor back to the base that Friday afternoon (otherwise they have to walk a LONG way from the front gate)! Keep the pass in your car the entire weekend. Make a few extra copies in case they get lost or blow out the window!
4.Don't assume that if your sailor is a Grad & Go that they will fly out of O'Hare (ORD)!!!! My son almost forgot to tell me that he was flying out of Midway - I would of driven to the wrong airport to meet him! If they are a G&G, they will know on PIR day which airport, airline and flight departure time so they can give you that info. When they arrive at the airport, have them call you from a pay phone and VERIFY their info.
5. There were LOTS of sailors at the airport who were surprised that parents were allowed beyond the security gate. The RDC's and others at bc told them it wasn't allowed. But it IS allowed. It's best to have your sailor stay by the ticket counter until you arrive and then walk up to counter with you. As long as everyone has ID, they will give you a gate pass. Then you can stay all day until flight leaves - and hand them their cell phones, ipods, laptops, etc. My son has been texting and calling us for the last two days and I love it!
6. Bring binoculars - we sat in the second row and still couldn't find our son without using them!
7. Since our son was a G&G, we decided to drive. We had NO problems and it didn't hold us up. Vehicle searches are random and I guess we looked too boring to warrant a search! The Shuttle from the Ramada leaves at 7am and then returns at 11:30 to pick you up. PIR is over at 10:35, but your Sailor will want to walk fast to their barracks to retrieve their portraits or Navy swimwear and that walk takes several minutes - so it's good that the shuttle doesn't leave right after PIR. BUT... if your sailor has duty that day, you will have to come back to pick them up - so print and keep that gate/parking pass with you all weekend!
8. If you have a G&G and plan on meeting them at the airport, make sure you put their laptop in some sort of bag - and it needs to be a dark (black) bag. We shoved his phone, charger and ipod into that same laptop bag. Don't forget to pack all chargers and cords for them! If they did some shopping while on Liberty, you can buy/bring them a larger black backpack or gym style bag for their "stuff". IF THEY ARE NOT a G&G, they cannot take ANYTHING back to the base - except maybe a wrist watch. You will have to mail them their phones, laptops etc. when they get to their A-school.

If you want more info, please "friend" me and I will give more indepth details. It's easier to respond that way in case I don't check this group for a day or two!

Comment by Sophia on June 8, 2010 at 2:39pm

Ship 11 Div 209 must have gone to the NEX or something today. Checked the bank account and there was charge for the NEX Great Lakes, judging by the amount I'm guessing it was the pictures, he told me he would be paying for those soon :) I can't wait to get them!!

Comment by DeannaD-Bigpumpkin on June 8, 2010 at 2:16pm

I agree with Heidi, my son had his PIR 3/19/10 and it went just as she said. You ladies are coming up to a day you will never forget. My son even stopped me from hugging him because he was buttoning his coat and said wait mom I am Navy now and I need to finish buttoning my coat first. Well that was the start of my Man being Navy and Mom stepping back some. But I will let you know he still calls often for advise. My son is now a submariner. In is starting A-school in Groton CT. in July. Just passed BESS there with honors.

Calls shouldn't be to much longer. I am on the west coast and I got mine at 12:36 my time.

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• …
• 26
• 27
• 28
• 29
• 30
• …
• 102
• Next ›
• Page