What airport are you flying into?

[momof3]

I know there have been discussions on this but my husband and I are still unsure which airport  would be the easiest one to fly into, not necessarily the closest.  And anyone that has been and just used taxi's was the cost high?  We are trying to decide if we should just rent a car or not.  Any help would be appreciate on helping us make our plans would be greatly appreciated:)  We are 10 days away from her going to bootcamp, and all of a sudden it is hitting me so hard that I have gone in to planning mode on when we get to see her again. Thanks moms!!

[momof3]

Thanks JudyD,  I appreciate all the advice.  Thanks and congratulations to you too!!  Our daughter will also be staying in Great Lakes for A school.  Did you get extra time to spend with her after graduation since she was not flying anywhere?  Also were you able to bring her stuff for A school or did you send it to her?  I am so glad to hear your daughter loves it:)  

[JudyD]

Taylordays, after graduation we got to spend roughly 30-45 minutes with our daughter.  She then had to leave to go remove all her stuff from the boot camp barracks to the A school barracks.  This took about 4-5 hours.  After that we got to pick her up at about 3:30 at the gate and spend the rest of the day with her. (This is the only time you won't be allowed on base to pick her up.  She will march out to the gate with other new Sailors and it is so incredible to watch.)  She had to be back by 9:45 p.m.  The next day we picked her back up at 6:30 a.m. and spent the whole day with her until we returned her back to her ship (barracks) at 9:45 p.m.   On Sunday she wanted to sleep in a little so we picked her up 7:30 a.m. and dropped her off at 9:45 p.m.  That is when we said our good byes.  Since Sailors are not allowed to leave base alone one of you will need to be responsible for her and check her out and back in.  Don't forget your gate pass for your vehicle because this will allow you to drive your daughter right up to her ship (barracks).  Also, don't forget your I.D. so you can get on base.  If you will be driving a rental car, make sure the rental agreement is in the car because they will ask for it. Getting on the base will help you see where she will be living during A school.  Since Sailors are only allowed to be 50 miles away from base, we rode the train to Chicago with her.  (You can catch the train right at the gate you went to for graduation). The train is the way because we didn't have to wait for a parking space because it is a zoo downtown.  We took the "Chicago Hop On Hop Off Double Decker Bus Tour".  It was great because it takes you every where popular around Chicago and you can get off and back on any time you want.  We tried to plan things to do in Chicago because there will be TONS of Sailors and their families everywhere.  If I can help you with anything else, please let me know. 

[navy_GF]

Hi JudyD, I'd love to hear more info or anything about the bus tour that you took. Where does it start? Where does it go? How much was it? etc... thanks! PIR is 9/14 for my SR. Can't wait!!!!

[navy_GF]

oops! never mind... I kept reading further down and saw your link. If you could share any other info about the bus tour though, i'd really appreciate it :)

[margaritaqueen ship 12 div 348]

hi im new and reading upon bootcamp my daugter left 8-29 nd havent got any info yet whos sarge and how do i find out about the dinner on thur night? thx so much

[Soccer Mom of 3]

My daughter also left on 8-29. What division is your daughter in? My daughter is in Ship 12, Div 347. Where is she headed after BC? My is undeclared and is staying in GL for 4 more weeks of traing.

[JudyD]

Taylordays, I forgot to answer one of you questions.  We did give our daughter her phone, computer and hand held computer game but not until she had already moved over to the A school barracks.

[momof3]

JudyD Thank you so much.  It is so hard to plan when you don't know what to expect.  I want to be able to spend as much time as possible with her so I didn't want to make our reservations to leave to early:)  The double decker bus tour sounds great since I really don't want to be driving in the Chicago traffic.  Thank you so much for all your help!   And I know she is sooo going to want her phone back:)   I hope all continues to go well for your daughter.  Thanks again for taking the time to answer it really means a lot:)  

[momof3]

Also I forgot to ask when you said the train is the way to go, what train?  Amtrak or I know they have some sort of train system.  Where did you get on at?  Sorry to ask so many questions, I think this is how I am handling her going by making the plans for when we get to see her again:)  Thanks!

[JudyD]

Taylordays, the train I was talking about is the Metro train.  There are several stations you can get the train but the easiest (since I don't know what hotel you are staying at) is right there at the gate to the graduation.  I think the cost was 8-10 dollars round trip per person.  For us, it took some of the stress off of our plans.  Everyone we talked to that drove into Chicago and had to fight traffic and try to find parking places really regretted not going by train.  Old Sarge is the one who suggested the train to us.  I don't know if you were planning on going to his Meet and Greet Thursday night, but it was so informative and the food was pretty good too.

[JudyD]

Taylordays, I forgot to tell you if you are interested in the double decker bus tour, go to www.viator.com and you can reserve the bus tour tickets and any other attractions such as boat tours, museums and any other pay type tours.  I also recommend Giordano's Pizza out of down town Chicago and some on the outskirts of Great Lakes.   We stayed in Lincolnshire at the Homewood Suites which is 12 miles away from the base but it was a really nice hotel with great rates and every room is a suite with a full kitchen.  Our daughter wanted a steak dinner so we took her to Wildfire Steakhouse.  It was really good.  If you have any other questions for me, keep them coming.  I love that I can help make your time with your daughter easier.

[rnterry 04/817 PIR 7/27 alumni]

Taylordays - The Metro train that you pick up right outside the base gate was $7.00 for the whole weekend. If you drive into Chicago parking can be a nightmare and then parking can run as much as $75.00 depending on how many stops you make. The train was sooooooo easy and relaxing, no traffic, well we could see all the stopped traffic from the train.