<p>My D is taking a flight and making an overnight college visit solo. I know many CC parents are veterans of this and I know that if she chooses this particular campus that she will be making this flight many times by herself over the 4 years she will be enrolled. Yes she is 18 and she needs her wings and yada yada yada.</p>
<p>Still since this is uncharted territory for us I am asking you for advice on how to logistically make the trip a smooth and safe one. She will be arriving in the evening, spending the night in a family friendly hotel accessed by a shuttle, taking a cab the next morning to campus and picked up the following am at 6:45. </p>
<p>The part that makes me nervous is the transitions. The campus in question will take care of all on campus needs but since this is her first solo travel experience any advice you have on how to travel safely will be appreciated.</p>
<p>Don’t tell the other CC parents that I said this, but I would probably be on the phone with her from the minute she left the plane until the door is locked behind her in the hotel room. Hope she has a good trip - it really will be good for both of you - but I totally get the nervous nellie part.</p>
<p>I think she will be fine, but one thing I have learned is that often kids don’t know exactly HOW to do something. They have accompanied us a zillion times but haven’t managed things themselves so don’t know HOW to find a shuttle or check into a hotel, etc. So they THINK they know what they are doing and then they step up to the plate and don’t know how to swing the bat!</p>
<p>So I would either write or discuss with her step-by-step HOW to make the trip. How to find the shuttle at the airport, how to tip, how to check in at the hotel, what she should say and do in each situation. I would also review an emergency plan “What if?>>” The shuttle isn’t there, the plane is delayed, the hotel doesn’t have the reservation.</p>
<p>Review each step so she feels comfortable. Write down the vital information. Make sure she has cash and a credit card with her AND be available by phone.</p>
<p>Prepare, prepare, prepare and then both of you will feel better.</p>
<p>cartera45 and I are thinking alike. My D has been on her cell phone in situations like this…she just calls and chats until she reaches her destination. Has done this in cabs and just walking home. I know your D will be fine but I would be having worries if I were her mom–“even though” in a few months she will travel alone. Agree that she needs a top floor. Where will she eat dinner? Does the hotel have an adjoining restaurant or will she pack something so she does not need to go out after she arrives? You of course have gone over the “don’t answer the door” stuff. This actually happened recently to me–a knock and it looked like hotel staff but I did not answer. I called the lobby and they walkie talkied him and he had the wrong room. So–just common sense stuff but stuff that takes confidence and that it “doesn’t matter if you feel a bit silly”. She will be fine and what an adventure–but yeah this will be a valium deserved time. For you not her. SHE is gonna have a wonderful time and will return home safely.</p>
<p>I think we all go through the first times jitters and as PA Mom states, it does get easier. Make sure her phone is charged and she has cash on her. Quick texts from her along the way will also help (settled on plane, landed, have luggage, found shuttle). Hoping she has a great trip.</p>
<p>Cell phones are great, mathson missed the airport bus and then ultimately the plane last trip home. He was remarkably clueless at each step, but we just told him what to do next. Call a taxi, find out when you can get a new flight, let us know when you actually will be arriving… </p>
<p>The first time I showed him how to take the commuter rail we managed to jump on an express train that zoomed right past our stop on the way home. We had a laugh about it and I told him to pay attention since now he knew what to do if he missed his stop.</p>
<p>Thanks all I really appreciate the support!</p>
<p>Oregon101 I may have forgotton to remind her to call the front desk ANYTIME someone comes to the door, even room service, to verify. Thanks for that!</p>
<p>Thank God for cell phones right? Sadly, my .02, we don’t have verizon but a quickcheck of google earth will help us both visualize where she will be.</p>
<p>Have already found out cab fare…but uhh what is the customary rate for tipping? Silly but we are country folk and rarely take cabs anywhere.</p>
<p>It would be more expensive but you could arrange for a car service from airport to hotel. She would go to baggage claim and someone would be there holding a sign with her last name and take her straight to the hotel. They will track her flight so no worries if she is late and no standing in a taxi or shuttle line. You can even prepay so she doesn’t need to worry about money. Just a thought. You could also ask the hotel to have a staff member walk with her to her room and check it.</p>
<p>When we travel I now ask my teens to lead the way to baggage claim, taxis etc because we really do it all for them and they don’t get to see how it’s done.</p>
<p>This is what I do! Except I often text with my mom. “On the shuttle.” “At the airport.” “Boarding the plane.”</p>
<p>It works well because I know I have someone to talk to and she doesn’t have to worry quite as frantically about where I am.</p>
<p>When I take the time to drive home from school (about 400 miles), we (whoever I’m driving with and myself…I have yet to make the drive alone) call every time we stop (for gas, food, whatever).</p>
<p>These are great learning experiences. If you have already talked to her about what to look out for in the big city (creepy people, anyone who acts too friendly) tell her to stay alert, especially in an airport, public transportation, in crowds. If she needs some immediate assistance (maybe she’s a little turned around/lost), she should ask a motherly-looking middle aged woman (that’s me, lol) and just be street-smart/city-smart. </p>
<p>For everything else there is her cellphone to you, a credit card, and cash.</p>
<p>Check to see if there is a restaurant at the motel. Depending on when she flies in, it may be better to eat at the airport prior to going to her motel. That way once she arrives at her motel room she won’t have to leave.</p>
<p>I just sent D off yesterday for her first solo overnight. I was just like you, nervous and trying to think about all the possible issues. </p>
<p>She made it to campus, but had forgotten to charge her cell phone so couldn’t call to let us know she had made it, argh! After worrying for a while, I decided that her host would have contacted us if she hadn’t shown up and went to bed. I called her 1st thing this morning and all was well. </p>
<p>I am more nervous about the second leg of her trip tomorrow. From east coast to west coast for a second admitted student event with 2 plane changes and 12 hours. I am meeting her on the west coast and she has plenty of time between flights so hopefully all will go well. I hope she can look back on this as a fun adventure.</p>
<p>I think she was a little nervous about the trip, but as you said she will be doing this next year on her own. Hopefully she will gain some confidence by doing this and it will be a piece of cake next time around.</p>
<p>Bring a big bag of buttered popcorn easy on salt. Also a empty water bottle, to be filled after the x-rays. If she gets lost, all she has to do is follow her trail of popcorn back to her jumpoff point. If she isn’t lost, she gets to irritate the seatmate or make a lot of new friends.</p>