<p>Um, while the weather is mild in California, it does get cold and/or wet during the winter. Gladson will need some warm outerwear. Especially if he is taking any field trips to the mountains.</p>
<p>Karen: Thanks for the warning. We know it can get cool, but the weather in Palo Alto is tropical compared to what we deal with here in Chicago. We have hiked in the Sierras (will do so again this summer!), so we also know about higher elevation cold. I guess a down jacket in a stuff sack won't take up too much room in the bag!</p>
<p>Ditto, Karen.
Our S is also in CA and it does get cold there, so don't forget jackets and blankets. Though we've never been to S's college, he's emailed us pics of campus, friends, dorm, etc. We don't feel out of touch. Hope to get there for graduation.</p>
<p>Atomom: My S never takes pictures. His phone doesn't even take pictures. I am hoping to be able to persuade him to take some and share them with me while he is there, but I am not going to hold my breath waiting. He's due for a new phone next spring--I don't think they even make phones that can't take pix anymore, so maybe having a camera phone will inspire him. Oh, and he will have blankets!</p>
<p>Hope you make it to that graduation.</p>
<p>One suggestion regarding sheets and towels--we flew with S to college and had all 4 family members pack large suitcases as well as other posters have already described--but we had previously purchased all sheets towels and other bedding at home. I washed EVERYTHING first and shipped it ahead to school in accordance with S's college's detailed shipping instructions (date it could arrive, maximum box size, address for shipped items, etc). It was a comparatively light box so it wasn't an exorbitant cost, and it avoided the necessity of having to wash things in the midst of moving in. I also had the satisfaction of knowing that at least S would START out the year with clean things.</p>
<p>S is going to New England for college from CA and will want his ski equipment and lacrosse gear. Maybe I will ship the lacrosse stuff and he can take the skis on the plane, haven't really sorted that out yet.</p>
<p>My son will likely move to Southern California on an airplane because he doesn't require much stuff, but his acoustic guitar is the one puzzle here. He's never travelled with it. Do airlines allow it as a carryon? If not, would it be safer to ship it UPS or check it on the plane? He has a box it fits in, but not a hardcase made for guitars. </p>
<p>If anyone wants to start shopping now for sheets and such, The Company Store website has a fair assortment of twin XL sheets in their clearance section right now. Great prices on some of them.</p>
<p>My only guitar experience was with son's electric. I took it to him during freshman year, expecting to be able to carry it on the plane. Unfortunately I picked a bad day - they were enforcing EVERYTHING and I was forced to gate check it though it would have easily fit in the overhead. But I was prepared for that possibility as well, having visited the local guitar store before hand and gotten packing tips from those who know these things. This guitar has a nice hard case, thank goodness, and I had prepped it as directed by the experts. When son came home he breezed through with it as a carry on. Part of the trick is to keep the guitar with you like any carry on and DON'T EVEN ASK if it's an issue.</p>
<p>I'd really suggest going to a guitar store and asking their advice, especially if it's a good guitar. I don't think my son would ever consider checking his acoustic. But it's "just" a well loved hobby for him and not something he has to have at school.</p>
<p>Hi, if you want to fly and ship the big stuff, check out the ground options for shipping. After a lot of experimenting, I found out the "dish barrel" box from uhaul (the dimensions are on the uhaul web site) gave us the best size/cost tradeoff with FedEx Ground. </p>
<p>Then he could just cut down the box(es), slide it under his bed, and have it for the return trip next summer. Not sure if it is cheaper than paying for extra luggage on airlines, but it will treated much more gently by FedEx than an airline. </p>
<p>GR</p>
<p>My son traveled from CO to OH with two guitars. Both were in hard cases (one is molded plastic the other wood framed). He sent both cases with his luggage. He did put a nylon webbed travel strap on each case securing the strap through the handle. If for some reason one of the case latches got bumped open, the strap would secure the case from opening.</p>
<p>We are going cross country as well. We are going to rent a car and take 3 days to do it. (Could do it in 2 16 hour days). This way he can bring his stuff. We'll spend the rest of the week visiting friends in the area and checking out the college and town more closely. Then we'll drive to the airport, turn in the rental and fly home. We would not have had any qualms about just flying there and buying everything there or mailing stuff, but we really want to do this. </p>
<p>Other kids were about 8 hours away. We usually would drive one way with rental and fly back, or vice versa for them. There were times we would do the trip in one day and not stay a night at a hotel. It's been cheaper than flying both ways and renting a car.</p>
<p>dg5052, I am glad you share my preoccupation with cleanliness, especially with things that touch the body.
I bought all new underwear, towels, sheets etc for my S and washed them before putting them all in a box and sent it to the school in the east coast via UPS. I did not buy sheets near the college for fear there wouldn't be time to wash the sheets before making his bed the first night. I know those sheets wouldn't get washed again for a long time after we left.</p>
<p>For my D whose school was near my aunt, I had the linens shipped to my aunt and implored her to wash them first so they'd be ready when we arrived.</p>
<p>We did a round trip drive in our SUV with both kids--one 800 miles away and one 500 miles away. That was before these ridiculously high gas prices.
Now, I would definitely do the rental car out (bringing the most important stuff) and fly home as many have done. </p>
<p>We used BB&B with great success for D. For S, he just didn't need/want as much stuff, so didn't bother. D had LOTS more clothes and stuff in general. </p>
<p>I will say that D's roommate's parents were desperate on move-in day,having planned to buy stuff locally and but found it so picked over they were driving all over the city to find what they needed. Seeing that, we were glad we had most stuff already purchased and only had to worry about what we'd forgotten. And there will ALWAYS be something. </p>
<p>It can be difficult for freshmen to get to stores very easily or quickly to get things they need later depending on the school, and on-campus shopping seems to be very expensive. So that's another excellent reason to have a car handy (unless you're in a totally urban environment, ie NYC)</p>
<p>Several have mentioned the stress, heat/humidity, and general discomfort of move in day. It's hard to explain, but it's a low-level tension that permeates the air. Everyone is excited overall, but the work of moving, the uncertainty of things, and the meeting new roommates, suitemates for the first time can be overwhelming when amplified by the down-deep feelings of saying goodbye for parents and their students. THe stress for us was generally positive, but even positive stress is hard!</p>
<p>It sounds like you've decided not to bring along your mom--VERY wise decision.</p>
<p>Driving a rental car one way sounds great to us, but I just did the math and was very disappointed. For an 1100 mile 1-way trip, the cost is really high because I can't find one-way rentals that include free mileage. It's looking like around $500 would be the best I can do for the car/mileage/gas. Then there's the airfare to return home. If anyone knows of great deals on one-way rentals, please post!</p>
<p>Thanks for the guitar tips; they are very helpful.</p>
<p>I've just done some extensive comparison on rental vehicles (minivan, passenger van, full size SUV) for a 14hr trip (not quite 5 days). Round trips ranged from $486 to $775 on Avis/Hertz/Alamo/Budget. (Enterprise did not offer unlimited mileage). One-way rentals (where they were available) were anywhere from 50% more to double and often did not involve the larger vehicles. Anyone have anything better?</p>
<p>Now we have to decide which vehicle is big enough. In addition to all the usual stuff, we have several music instruments (one very large) to take, too.</p>
<p>Something to keep in mind is that most dorm rooms are very small. Your student may not actually have room for all that stuff!</p>
<p>When my son made the move last Fall from the Midwest to his Los Angles area college, he had 3 suitcases of stuff between us. He's added a few things since - his desktop computer, coffee maker, large monitor, and of course textbooks. He likes having a minimalist lifestyle.</p>
<p>Luckily, his college has summer storage. Before I would spend large amounts of money shipping the stuff back, I would donate most of it to charity. (except for the computer and textbooks.)</p>
<p>when my son went to nyc for college (we are in alabama) we had rented an apt in the village. 2 days before we left we shipped 6 large boxes by fed ex ground (total cost was less than 200.00 included clothes, bedding, musical instruments, kitchen supplies, etc) My son and i flew up, and met the fed ex guy next day and all we had to do was buy a tv , computer desk once up there. I was really surprised at how cheap fed ex ground was. there was even an option for evening or saturday delivery. But i just checked transit time and then coordinated our arrival with that. worked for off campus housing and possibly could work for dorm?</p>
<p>I'm surprised no one has mentioned shipping their stuff on a pallet via FedEx freight.</p>
<p>Hey Parents....I am a recent college grad and my sister is going to be a freshman in the fall. Don't forget, just because your child does not have everything they need right now, does not mean they cannot get it. I know that you like to be involved with the process of picking stuff out for college, but learning how to "hunt and gather" is part of the growing up process for college kids. </p>
<p>On that note, do not pack bulk items like laundry detergent, shampoo, paper towels. A dorm room is small and there is no where to put it. Even the most remote colleges run buses to target, walmart, the local grocery store so your student will learn how to get it.</p>
<p>Ah, but if they shop with me I pay for it. If they shop by themselves, they pay for it. Guess what my kids always choose?</p>