<p>Ah, I’m obviously not a fashionisto.</p>
<p>I’ve never experienced Alabama rain. So it rains hard enough that you need a lot of rain gear besides an umbrella?</p>
<p>I think this last year was a particularly rainy year. D mentioned it rained for 9 days straight at one point. Sometimes the umbrella was not enough due to wind-driven rain.</p>
<p>We’re going on a clothes shopping spree this weekend. Not looking forward to it since he hates to try on clothes. Will have to get a raincoat and some waterproof shoes. I’ll have to check if the sleeve for his laptop is waterproof in case water gets through his backpack.</p>
<p>So it rains hard enough that you need a lot of rain gear besides an umbrella?</p>
<p>much of the time, the rain is like rain in any other place. However, Alabama can have sudden big drop rain. It’s not often, but when we get the sudden big drop rain, it can catch you off guard. I can remember taking my parents into a grocery store and the weather seemed fine, but when we walked out of the store, it suddenly began pouring and we got drenched by the time we got to the car.</p>
<p>The rain here is different from where I came from in Calif. in southern Cal, it can rain for 4 straight days non stop. It doesn’t rain like that here (at least usually). The rain here is generally temporary…like lots of rain for a couple of hours.</p>
<p>We are used to that type of rain, the sudden flash flood warning type rain. We don’t get as much as the Tuscaloosa area but Dallas does get that sudden flash flood rain. I prefer a raincoat vs an umbrella so that my hands are free and my body can stay dry. Trying to go in or out of a building that does not have a large cover out front or in/out of the car one can get soaked to the bone just messing with the umbrella to get it open/closed. With the raincoat, it is on you and before going out the door all you need to do is pop the hood up over your head. </p>
<p>Think of those kiddie areas in the waterparks where the bucket gathers water till full then tilts to empty it out on the kids below. Add in some wind on occassion. Picture that just popping up suddenly and maybe going on anywhere from 10 minutes - a few hours. Umbrella just does not work in those instances.</p>
<p>My son who is also adverse to rain/warm weather outer clothing has a hip length LL Bean gortex jacket. It was my husbands and my son initially refused it. He ask us to bring it down by parents weekend, which 2 years ago was in September. He has worn it with his backpack underneath when he has gotten caught in downpours. We also bought a rainfly for his backpack after his computer fried from getting wet inside the backpack. The backpack is water resistant and was sprayed. It really does rain hard in T-Town.</p>
<p>So now he always carries the rainfly and will carry the jacket if there is the slightest hint of bad weather. It folds up pretty small. He also purchased a waterproof, protective sleeve for his computer for inside the backpack. Replacing the wet computer was quite an unexpected expense.</p>
<p>The replacement computer is on him the next time:) Footwear - still wearing sneakers. We haven’t advanced on that front yet. But there is talk of him taking back his ‘waterproof hiking boots’. I guess he’s tired of wet feet.</p>
<p>If any of you have been to Disney World, then likely you’ve experienced the rain that we’re talking about. A WDW, it will be nice or hot, and then suddenly rain for 30 minutes or an hour or so. However, I think in WDW, it’s almost a daily occurance at least during the summer. It doesn’t rain that often in Alabama.</p>
<p>Any suggestions for the best waterproof case for a laptop? Preferably a 13"?</p>
<p>Note about the rainboots: we bought D1 an adorable pair of houndstooth rainboots from Target the summer before her freshman year. Sometime at the beginning of November, she called me to let me know that every time she wore them they seeped water and now they were starting to full out leak. When she came home for Thanksgiving, we visited Nordstroms and got her a pair of Sperry’s. You can also get rainboot liners for the cold couple of weeks in January/February. </p>
<p>We’re not big “name brand” people, but the more expensive rainboots (Sperry, Hunter, etc.) are worth it for Tuscaloosa.</p>
<p>kda1119: What make/model of laptop? While you can get generic ones, there are cases made for specific models. For example, Thule (yes, the bike rack people) makes a nice case for Mac laptops.</p>
<p>rolltide90, I have a 13" Macbook Pro so I will check out the Thule brand. Thanks for the suggestions!</p>
<p>It upsets me that the University doesnt run the shuttle for the kids returning to campus in August. OOS upperclassmen who store their belongings at school dont need to be driven back by their parents. I will have to order a limo so she can get back to campus.</p>
<p>[Student</a> Affairs | Housing & Residential Communities](<a href=“http://housing.ua.edu/off_campus/transportation.cfm]Student”>http://housing.ua.edu/off_campus/transportation.cfm)</p>