R Day Transportation thread

CGAMOM2012 · 04-07-2008, 09:25 AM

To all 2012 'parents'...and to any other CGA parents who may have experience

CGAMOM2012 · 04-07-2008, 09:29 AM

1) How are you planning to get to CGA for R Day - plane, train or automobile??
2) What hotel are you staying at?
3) Any tips from other parents or cadets for traveling?

Our plan right now is to drive from NC to MD (We're in NC but my family is in Baltimore) and take train from BWI rail station to New London. We're considering flying Southwest from Providence back to NC - but unsure of local transportation between New London and Providence.

Unsure of hotels. Any recommendations?

br2011 · 04-07-2008, 12:33 PM

you can take a train from the new london train station to providence. i think there's a shuttle from there to the airport, ive never taken it though

zachogden · 04-07-2008, 01:55 PM

I'm not a parent but here's what my parents and I are doing:

1) RV, so car I guess would be the best category. We're driving up that Friday or Saturday and doing some camping near the water so I can relax a bit before R-Day.
2) See above.
3) N/A

haroldg48 · 04-07-2008, 05:59 PM

and we're driving from eastern NC to New London. We flew Southwest earlier on a visit from Norfolk to Hartford via BWI. At Hartford we rented a car and it was about a 90 minute drive. We're staying at the same hotel -- Holiday Inn -- which was OK and close.

haroldg48 · 04-07-2008, 06:01 PM

USCGA Parents Association - Chesapeake & Potomac Chapter - 2012 Tips

sweetness62 · 04-08-2008, 06:53 PM

We, too, are looking for hotel suggestions in the area, the Holiday Inn is very close, that will be great if the R-time is 0600. Anyone have any other suggestions?

haroldg48 · 04-09-2008, 07:56 AM

Springhill Suites by Marriott 1-860-439-0151
Indoor pool, kitchenettes
Continental breakfast
(Already booked for Parents Weekend)

Red Roof Inn 1-860-444-001
Closest hotel to the academy. Allows pets

Holiday Inn 1-860-442-0631
Close to the academy. Indoor pool

Radisson Hotel 1-860-443-7700
Located in downtown New London

Motel 6 - Niantic 1-860-739-6991
10-15 minute drive from the academy
Inexpensive and allows pets

Flagship Inn 1-860-445-7458
Located across Thames River in Groton
Rooms have microwave and fridge
Complimentary breakfast

Groton Inn & Suites 1-860-445-9784

CGAMOM2012 · 04-09-2008, 12:33 PM

Thanks to all.
We've made reservations @ Holiday Inn. Radisson is sold out for Saturday night (and we're planning to arrive Saturday). I've also heard there's a Hampton Inn in Groton that's nice.

hpflrent · 04-09-2008, 03:08 PM

If you can't find anything in New London/Groton (most of the hotels are pretty old there and do get pretty booked up for R-Day), you might consider Mystic. It is up I-95 (N) from the academy about 8 to 10 minutes but our experience has been that the restaurants are better there and it is a nicer area than New London. I had a friend who stayed at the newer Hyatt in Mystic and they said it was really nice and just off 95. I'm not sure of the room rates there. I believe breakfast was included. I would probably avoid downtown Mystic that time of year because it gets pretty congested with tourists, but I think the Hyatt is really just a couple blocks off 95 and not in the downtown Mystic area (i.e., you don't have to go all the way into town).

sweetness62 · 04-10-2008, 05:54 AM

We, too, booked the Holiday Inn for the night before R-Day. Also checked around for Parent's Weekend (Sept. 19-21). Prices are up, and some places are already unavailable. Hard to know at this point whether we'd prefer to be close by or further away (Mystic, etc.) for that weekend.

Luigi59 · 04-11-2008, 08:51 AM

We stayed at the Radisson when we went up during AIM last year, no problems at all, even being downtown it's very convenient to get back to the academy. We're staying at Holiday Inn for R-day, probably go back to the Radisson or outside of town for Parents Weekend.

I've done the drive up and back 3 times, two different ways. I-95 across the GWB and the CBE through NYC only very early on a Saturday morning (and it still was a little crowded) and the alternate Hudson crossing over the Tappan Zee, then the Merritt Parkway (a much nicer drive that only adds 1/2 hour or so) all the way until it dumps you back on I-95 south of New Haven.

CGAMOM2012 · 04-11-2008, 12:09 PM

Thanks Luigi. What part of Maryland are you from? My Mom and brothers are in Catonsville. We anticipate our D spending some shorter CGA breaks (TGiving) in MD so she doesn't have to travel to NC. The train svs from New London to Baltimore is pretty reliable. Once you get south of DC, Amtrak svs is so SLOW since they don't 'own' the tracks.

Cutter44 · 04-13-2008, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CGAMOM2012

Once you get south of DC, Amtrak svs is so SLOW since they don't 'own' the tracks.

It can get slow north of DC too since they make so many darn stops along the way. I guess the Acela is really quick but also really expensive.

Bossf51 · 04-16-2008, 03:20 PM

In case anyone is interested, the Connecticut branch of the Parents Association has a program in which they will pick up a new swab at the airport and house him or her for a day or two prior to R-day. This is for kids coming in on their own. We have hosted a couple swabs in previous years. It's a great way to get to know some of them and helps the kids and parents as well.