My S and hubby are flying up for move in weekend. They are taking suitcases of clothes and buying whatever else they need at the town’s Walmart. There are no BBB or Targets nearby (closest is in Pittsburgh, an hour away). Once S is established and we see dorm sizes, etc., I can ship stuff.
Good reminder @suzy100 - I know one of S’s schools has an approved fridge/micro combo that you can rent and does not allow any other type.
I think our S will be able to play his bass in the room, but not with the amp. That’s usually what he does at home unless he’s getting ready for a performance.
I don’t even want to think about trying to get a hotel room in Ithaca for move in. I’d prefer driving an hour from the motel and not deal with getting a room in town, especially if Cornell’s move in dates are around the same time (edit: Cornell starts earlier).
@DiotimaDM - YOU ROCK! I have never been to Colorado Springs. You have been so helpful. We are headed up tomorrow and will make use of the list you provided! Thanks.
Agree with @suzy100 100% (Hey, that looks weird.) Amazon Prime has been very helpful to our DD’12 and DS’14.
@glido I hope you are not flying into the Springs. There was a fire in the airport last night and no flights going in today anyways.
@ColoSky - Whoa! I had not heard that! DD’18 is flying into DIA. Thanks.
I am glad to hear it.
Another bonus of going to college near home: transporting a cello. We chose our used cars based on fitting a cello.
When D starts her job, she has to move a guitar or two, a keyboard, a ukulele, a drum board, and hand held percussion instruments. Thankfully, she’s leaving some stuff here. It is affecting her moving logistics since she drives a Honda Civic. We are running through every possible scenario. Meanwhile, I’m having a miserable allergy season which is triggering headaches and issues with food. I’m hoping I can get myself into good shape to drive 700 miles to help her move.
It might help if a college decision were made. Even I’m starting to second guess if D will be happy at a bigger school. I just need it done.
@bjkmom I think you ARE providing slack by teaching the easier topics during the busy times. I’m not asking anyone for unearned grades. The material is the material and has to be covered. But I really like and appreciate how you try to tailor the coverage to the known times when a lot of kids will be absent for legitimate purposes. My D said that the Senior classes were about half empty last Friday and this Monday, and next week will be the same. That’s a lot of kids missing school. Besides covering easier topics (if possible), it would have been nice if the big writing assignments were due in the first half of the semester rather than at the end when everything seems to be bunching up.
In any event, I think the real problem is that besides missing school for college related things, around us the state finals for sports and ECs are held during the school day, so kids are being pulled out for that too. The number of days being missed are adding up quickly, and I’m a little annoyed that these entities don’t have more respect for the school day. You mentioned kids reading over notes and asking you questions as a means of catching up. My issue with that is then the kids are effectively trying to teach themselves, which not only takes longer (at a point when they’re already behind), but isn’t anywhere near as effective. We are lucky to have excellent teachers, and there’s no way reading over another kid’s notes compares to going to class. Just too much is missed.
@pishicaca
Congrats to your D! Mine is also headed to Tulane. Go Green Wave!
Harkening back to some earlier posts about how “small” a program can be and it’s relevance…my eldest is at Marquette (student population 12k, so by no means small) recently was clearly up a discrepancy about a required course; the most recent course bulletin said it wasn’t necessary, but the online degree checklist indicated it was necessary. Found out she is the first, and currently only student, in her specific major (Secondary Education: Broad Field Science with a Biology Concentration) since they instituted a curriculum change in 2015! I was shocked.
It has me wondering, we have not really looked into how many students are in DD2018’s major, BS Psychology. I am assuming a bizillion and I assumed a bizillion at most of the schools on her list, but maybe I shouldn’t assume?! We didn’t think to investigate it thoroughly. Rookie mistake!
@mstomper Congratulations on the Ithaca decision. If you book now you might still be able to get a hotel for move in. I had one for move in and parents weekend I just released a couple of weeks ago and was going to offer them to the IC parents FB page I had joined but there was still availability in the hotels so I just released it. Will say though for move in weekend it was more expensive and I had to pay in advance. I believe Cornell coordinates and they do not move in the same exact days.
If anyone needs a parents’ weekend or move-in rental for Cornell or Ithaca College, my sister has a lakeside cabin rental on Seneca Lake (very short drive to Ithaca).
PM me if you’d like more information on it, and I can send you a link.
She’s also a two-time Ithaca grad, so it’s a two-fer. 
@MACmiracle I’m mentally replacing my minivan with something that holds a drum kit, bass guitar, and ukulele. Not ready yet, but the options are limited for a daily driver that isn’t another van.
@melvin123 I was surprised to learn that my son’s region band has a full day practice during the week. It’s not considered excused.
@mom2cats look into a Toyota Rav 4, with the back seats down you can fit an amazing amount stuff. Bring all your instruments with you to the dealership and try it out. DD can fit a harp, bench and dolly in a her Rav 4.
@mommdc We went to UAH last fall, early November - Flew into Birmingham and the drive up was beautiful as was Huntsville. My DD was surprised, I don’t know what she imagined but the fall trees, the plethora of trees, the river etc all made for a beautiful area.
This visit, I am hoping to fly into Nashville and drive down - as we have never explored that part of the country I am looking forward to the road trip to take DD to college as well as the parent weekend.
Do y’alls schools allow unlimited absences for college visits? We were limited to two days Jr year, 2 days Sr year. We did a lot on Feb Break, Spring Break, Christmas/Summer break - everything else had to be over a long weekend in order to not have unexcused absences to deal with. There were also a bunch of rules, we had to return with written documentation of the visit etc. It was a major hassle and I cannot imagine trying to work out the logistics for several return visits.
We did our college visits last summer. S was able to audition on a Saturday. He will attend orientation after he graduates.
The most days he has missed has been for attending chorus festivals (7 days), but those are field trips, so excused.
I think our school allows 4 days for college related absences, including job shadowing.