Our DDIL and DGDs are in the US (they live in Germany) while our DS is deployed to Iraq and are going to visit us for Thanksgiving. Hooray!! I did a little preliminary checking and airfare from SAV to MKE is outrageous--$633pp. I tried moving the dates so they came on Tuesday and/or returned on Monday, but that didn't help. Any ideas?

Could they fly to O'Hare (I'd bet a lot better fares) and then either you pick them up there or they take a bus shuttle to Milwaukee?

Coach USA has hourly buses from ORD to Milwaukee throughout the day and evening. In Milwaukee it stops at Mitchell Airport, its terminal on the south side, and downtown.

www.coachusa.com

Try again - I just plugged SAV-MKE into kayak and got $274 for Tues-Mon, slightly higher if you wanted dates closer to holiday. Do not know how old the kids are, but missing school for a day or 2 would be well worth it, in my opinion, considering the family situation

I often find the fares that Kayak pulls up don't exist when you click through to book them.

Mega Bus runs between Chicago and Milwaukee, but departs from Union Station. Tickets can be as cheap as $1 when booked in advance.

Thanks for the responses.

On either Orbitz or Expedia (I can't remember which), I found decent fares--until I clicked on purchase--then they disappeared. Perhps the same is true for kayak.

I will look into having them fly into ORD--but we would definitely pick them up. I adore my DIL, and wouldn't ask her to transfer to the bus with a three year old and a nine month old. Plus, that bus doesn't always work as well as advertised--my husband has had to stand the entire way from ORD to MKE.

I agree that a three year olod missing an extra day of school is no big deal; that's why I checked the Tuesday-Monday fares when Wednesday to Sunday was so high. I'll try again.

Have you checked ita site? Just did a quick scan for Tues/Mon and it shows fares from $263 available http://matrix.itasoftware.com

Fast look on United website $344 Monday to Monday SAV-MKE. Probably could do a little better with more shopping.

Sunday or even Monday early in day is sometimes the best for Thanksgiving airfares - people who can avoid school or work on M or T of that week usually want to leave Friday late or Sat AM.

I was remiss in not first saying thanks to your son (and also to you, his wife and kids for loaning him) for serving his country. Whenever someone posts here looking for travel options for military person and/or family I am happy to devote an extra few minutes to trying to help. Will continue to look - will let you know if I find anything. My prayers that he is soon home ane safe.

gail, thank you for your prayers and good wishes. My son is an Air Force chaplain, which allows him to combine his love of God with his love of country.