PERTINENT PIR TIPS!

[CatMom509]

Hi Friends!!

These are current tips from the March 8, 2013 PIR!  It went by so quick, but is now a treasured memory!  Here are some of my thoughts about this awesome experience

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1.  If you're renting a car, be sure to also rent the IPASS which allows you to be on the 294/94/90 toll roads without having to pay for every toll stop and having exact change.  If you realized you missed any tolls while you are there, you can pay them within 7 days of incurring them before you get a big bill. The IPASS was only $6.95 each day from Enterprise Rent-a-Car.  I reserved using an upgrade coupon #ALRUP10 which gave me a Standard vehicle for the Compact rate for $21.99. Call  866-502-1257 if the online system won't take the coupon.  It's good until 12-31-2013.  Their customer service was outstanding and their vehicle was very clean.  All their vehciles go through their car wash before being rented again.  Their shuttle pulled right up to the Ground Transportation median at Chicago O'Hare when we walked up.

2. The Speedway gas station at the southwest corner of Buckley Road (137) and Skokie Hwy 41 freeway had the best price for gasoline at $3.75/gallon.  I topped off there before returning the vehicle back to Enterprise.  The prices I saw at other stations were $3.83/$3.88 along the 294.  Enterprise told me their "discounted" price to pre-pay the gasoline in the rental car was $4.20/gallon.  Along the 90/94/55 route going to the Midway Int'l Airport, the prices were $4.38/gallon.

3.  It takes a good hour minimum to get to the Midway Int'l Airport and you will pass the big Chicago city skyline.  The route will be 41 South, 94 East, 90 East, 55 South, Exit 286 Cicero Avenue/Illinois 50, turn left.  (All the streets seemed to have a name and a number assigned to it.)  Parking is $5/hour at the Terminal lot, but since we got to spend 10 hours with our new Sailor daughter, we opted to park at the Red Lot on the right almost to the airport for $14.00/day.  They had a free shuttle and heated Shuttle stops to wait in. Please make sure that you bring id (student Ids with photo) for your children too so that they can also get a Gate Pass to see your Sailor off at the gate.  Contrary to what the RDCs tell your Sailors, the airports welcome families there to see your Sailor off.  They all have to arrive at the airport at the same time (1:00 am - 2:00 am), but their flights can leave at 5:30 am, 11:15 am, 4:00 pm, etc).  This is where you give your Sailor their cell phone, cell phone charger, laptop, ac adapter for the laptop,several pairs of their own comfortable underwear, any other selected clothes, and maybe some of their favorite treats (no liquids) that can fit into their backpack.  You will ship more later to them at A school.  They will check their giant 50 lb seabag and their garment bag, but keep their backpack with them.  You will follow your Sailor's group to the ticket counter when they get their boarding passes, then each Sailor will come back to your family to get your Gate Passes.  Both Midway and O'Hare have volunteer guys who help the groups get organized and get their passes.  The bearded guy at Midway unfortunately wastes some time asking the Sailors unrelated things like their ages, where they are from etc.. So unless someone (maybe a dad?) speaks up and asks how is that relevant?  Everyone will just have to wait through his gabbing to get their time with their Sailor.  Once you get through the TSA checkpoint, the Sailors will go to the USO to drop off their backpacks and paperwork for safekeeping.  They have to note when they need to be at the gate to board (about 1 1/2 hour before the plane's departure time).  You get to wander the terminals looking for places to eat and things to buy with your Sailor!!  My daughter wanted Ben & Jerry's at 6:30 am in the morning~~  Take photos!!  They are still in their dress uniforms and I missed out on some photos of my daughter with other Sailors she was friendly with.

4. Sarge's Meet & Greet was at the Sundance Saloon to the leftside across the road from the Springhill Suites.  It does not have a lit sign and the parking lot was set low covered by the snow drifts.  With Daylight Savings time, it will probably be light when you arrive.  Doors open at 5:30pm, the food is set up about 6:00pm  Cash bar with free water.  He gives alot of info about driving into the PIR and all his shortcuts.  You sign up for his PIR shuttles at the end of the evening about 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm. After PIR his shuttles (minivans) were parked to the right of the NEX/Ricky Heaven in that parking lot.  Make sure it says Sarge's.  Other taxi's will overcharge the Navy families.  He does have a partner named Dave/David who was driving one with Metro on it, but since I called him, he was able to tell me "you were the one who called me" when all the other taxis were trying to get my attention.  I needed to get my Sailor back to RTC by 6:30pm, so I coordinated with another Navy family who got in the shuttle when we did to meet in the lobby at 5:30 pm so our Sailors could ride in together.  I forgot about calling Sarge earlier, but Sarge himself was there in 15 minutes.  He charged $6 for each Sailor since there was only 2.  If there was more, it would've gone down to $3 each.  For a single Sailor, it would have been $15.00.   I opted to have Sarge bring my Sailor daughter back to the RTC because I wanted to get some sleep before heading out to the airport at midnight.  Don't forget to tip Sarge and his guys and don't be late to the lobby when they come to get you.  Other people have gotten in the vans without prior arrangements. Get down to the lobby to look for his shuttle out front earlier than your appointed time.  If you miss your appointment time, then Sarge has to scramble to have someone come get you.  His shuttle sits outside the hotel entrance, so go outside to look for Sarge's shuttle.  He is frequently early waiting for you.

5..  The signs on their tollway/expressway system go from left to right overhead that tells you the upcoming exits and transitions.  I at first thought these signs were guiding me which lane to be in the make the transition like in California, but no, I had to change lanes quickly to get to the correct lane for transitions.

6.  Holiday Inn Express in Waukegan was $114.99 for a 2 queen room (comfy beds!) It's a new hotel and looks it.  The hot breakfast had french toast, bagels, sausage, scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, warm cinnamon rolls, cereal, coffee, milk, juice and some other items I don't remember.  Use the toaster to warm the french toast.  The bread items were cold.  The breakfast buffet starts at 6:00 am on PIR Friday and 7:00 am on Saturday.  This was an excellent hotel!!  They allow a late check-out of 2:00 pm if you join their Holiday Inn Priority Club, which you can join while you are there.  Oh, there is a McDonalds right next to them.

7.  PIR -  We got to the RTC at 6:45 am, showed our ids & were checked against the list, walked through their museum area, then into the graduation drill hall.  We got the last 2 spots against the wall on the lower bleachers area, just to the right of the division sign.  The divisions actually line up to the left of the sign, so we were a little further right than we needed to be.  Even though my Sailor daughter was in the front flag line of her division, it was still hard to make her out because they are all short in the ftont.  She told us she was stick 2, but she wasn't carrying a flag at all.  Each division had 2 front flags with the divison number and division flag that they designed and that is what is on the Division shirts that you can order. My daughter bought ones for her sister and myself as gifts.  You can order more for the rest of your family later.  They keep the designs for an extended period of time.  Then there is the front line of "sticks".  There was a person holding a flag, person with no flag, 2 people with flags, person with no flag, and a person with a flag.  Bring your binoculars to see their faces!!  After PIR, my daughter stayed put and we went down to find her.  Otherwise, your Sailor will be walking around looking for you and you will be looking for him/her!  they will want to take photos without their raincoat on, so take advantage of that.  Standing at attention, parade rest, with some of their nearby friends, do all of that, I missed some picture taking opportunity.  Position your Sailor against the cream colored back wall for the best contrast with their uniform (she was in her dress blues).  I took photos of her with all the people around her and the photos were not as good.  If they are wearing their dress whites, look for a darker background.  If they want to take photos outside, make sure they take off their raincoat.  DO NOT take any photos of the buildings, signs, structures at all.  If you are caught, they will erase your whole memory card.  You can take pictures inside the museum and graduation drill hall.  You can also take some nice photos in your hotel's lobby, now that I'm thinking of it (calm and not rushed, with their hair perfect).

8.  Sailor Daughters - If your daughter would like to get her eyebrows done when they are out with you, we found a great place with my other daughter's cell phone and GPS. It's Octagon Salon & Spa, 1333 Delany Road, Gurnee, IL 60031 847-360-9880 www.octagonsalon.com  Their esthetician, Leia Mueller, did an excellent job with my daughter's eyebrows and she charged only $18, not including a tip.  It's about 15 mins north on the 41 Skokie Hwy.  They are a very classy, upscale establishment.  My Sailor was so happy to get this done after not being able to do so at Boot Camp!!

9.  Lastly, ask your Sailor what they want to do!  Leave enough time for them to rest and take a shower.  They may not want to be dragged all over Chicago sightseeing, especially if they have to be on the bus to the airport at midnight on Friday.  The ones with Sailors staying in Great Lakes for A school are probably the only ones who would have some time to go to a bunch of places.

10.  If your Sailor didn't order his/her photos, you can go to the Photos area behind the double glass doors to the left of the NEX.  The room is to the immediate left to look at the proofs and see what is included in the 2 packages available.  They take 2 shots, smiling and not smiling.  You look at the proofs and decide to order.  It is just a United States flag against a mottled blue background and your Sailor in front.  We thought we could get a better photo somewhere else.  You will have to order the Yearbook separately.  You can order the graduation DVD in there too.  They will not allow you to keep a proof.

11.  Be aware.  The TSA allows liquids maximum 3.4 oz each for shampoos, lotions, toothpaste, hair spray, etc. and all these small bottles need to be in one quart size zipped plastic bag that you put in the bin with your shoes and the other carry on purse/backpack.  After you go through, you could put it back into your 22" carry on.  Delta allowed larger carry ons that were about 24" to be brought to the gate, then they will take it with a hot pink tag and put it on a rack to be in cargo, but it is not considered checked baggage and you won't be charged for it.  They then bring these back for you to collect on the gangway.

This is all I can remember to share with you, so if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer. Sorry its all out of order too, but I wrote things as they came to me.

I can't believe how fast the time went.  PIR was a very special day (and night at the airport) to share with our Sailor!!

[TX Trina]

Thank you for posting this!! I am printing and adding to my file for my son's PIR.  Sounds like you had a wonderful visit!  Congrats to your Sailor daughter! Blessings!

[Baciandrio]

Thank you so much for posting, this will certainly help come the 7th of June.  We're travelling from Canada so you know we won't have a darn clue about the area! LOL

[CatMom509]

You are all welcome!!  Baciandrio, who is the gorgeous equine in your pic?

[JGMom]

Thank you for the information it will help out once we arrive!

[SRMom]

Just to let everyone know...we just came back from PIR on April 7th.  I think, and you can Google this, Midway has changed the way they do their rental cars.  You will be bussed to a lot to get your rental.  I think right after we left was when it changed.  Also, when renting your car make sure that your credit card and driver's license match.  I know this sounds weird but I have an account that I stash money in for trips.  It's in both mine and my husband's name but he doesn't have a card for this account.  Since he didn't have a card in his name I had to be the driver.  If you want to pay like $10.00 extra a day for another driver on the account you can pay for it and put your spouse as a driver.  I took a 3 year old with me and I had Capri Suns for him.  They allow them to go through but they did extra carry on checks.  They swabbed all my stuff I suppose for bomb making residue or whatever...not really sure and one of us had to get frisked.  My husband volunteered...LOL.  I had my son's passport (he's 17) and for some reason Delta had an issue with using the passport for the family pass to the gate to see my daughter off.  We couldn't find his license before we left.  Anyhow, we did get the pass but it took forever and by the time we got to the gate we had about 30 minutes with her...this after being at the airport for 3 hours with her.  When they first get to the airport someone from the USO is there to make sure they are in the right lines.  Have them get their stuff together and pack like they need to be packed.  Then they wait for the airlines to open.  She got there at 2:00 am.  The airline workers were at the counter at 4:00 am and by the time we got the family pass it was after 4:30 am and her plane left a little after 5:00 am.  We did go to Chicago with her but just to warn you, parking there is very expensive!  We did drive ourselves to PIR.  I happened to find someone else's advice about how to bypass the long line to get in.  We got there at 6:30 am.  When you go you will all pretty much be going in the same direction and then turn right to get into the gate.  Instead of turning right stay in the lane to the left of the traffic waiting to get on base and go through the light, do a U-turn and come back to the light and turn left on the green arrow.  Easy peasy...no waiting in traffic!  LOL  Once graduation is over and your SR has ordered their pictures go STRAIGHT to the picture place right by the Exchange - and it's a good long walk ladies so you may want to think about the high heels...my feet were hurting so bad by the time we were going back to the car I was ready to take off my boots and it was cold.  Anyhow, if your SR ordered their pictures one person go to the window right in front of you when you walk in and another person needs to line up to go into the payment room - second door on right when you walk into the building.  BELIEVE me this will save you time!  I wish I had known because we spent over an hour waiting.  If your SR did not order their pictures but you would like to purchase them - go in the building and the first door on the left will be where you go do place an order and then you go stand in line to pay for them.  So, it might be a good idea to have someone wait in the payment line for you while you place the order - they can always allow people to get in front of them until you get there.  My mother...my SR's grandmother could not make the graduation so I Skyped her during the whole ceremony.  She got to be there!  Skype is free to download and use.  All you and the person you want to Skype has to do is register.  You can search the username they registered and request a connection.  We tried it a couple of times before graduation just to make sure everything was OK.  When I got my mother on-line she could see me through the front camera and I put my finger to my lips to make sure she knew to be quiet and then reversed the camera. If you only have a rear facing camera you can still do this...they will see what you are seeing, they just can't see you unless you turn your camera around to face you.  Also, I wouldn't start Skyping until probably 15 minutes after it begins.  I made the mistake and skyped from the very beginning.  My phone died right at the end when they threw their hats but I wasn't able to let my SR Skype with her grandmother afterwards. So, you can miss the, what I call, mundane stuff and start before the SR's walk in.  That was an awesome moment.  I started crying and my mom started crying but I kept choking up even before it began!  LOL  Any how, just a few more pointers for everyone that has PIR coming up.  OH!  Also, you may not want to go to Flannigan's for the "Meet and Greet" because it wasn't really a meet and greet and there was no free food - at least not while we were there.  I heard that Sarge's was really good though.  One more thing...my daughter was allowed to tag and take the bag I had packed for her as checked baggage.  She didn't have to cram everything into her backpack.  I took her phone, which she has been using since she got to A-School, her tablet, clothes, flat iron, etc...It was a medium sized duffle bag crammed full of stuff.

[CatMom509]

Good stuff SRMom!!  Maybe you can post another discussion with "More PIR Tips" here with the Add Discussion button. Just copy and paste what you have here into it.  I like your Skype tip!! 

[Caitsmamma]

This is great info!! I also will print this out and save for PIR.

I said goodbye to my daughter at the Boston MEPS this morning, only to get a phone call a few hours later saying her flight was canceled due to bad weather in Chicago. There were several Boston Marathon runners also booked on that canceled flight, and my daughter said they looked traumatized. One lady was crying; she just wants to get home and put this nightmare behind her.

[CatMom509]

Thanks everyone!