We will be staying at the Graystone this weekend for graduation. Staying Thursday through Sunday. I am not sure how the whole weekend is going to pan out with traveling back and forth to campus, ceremony Saturday afternoon, relatives etc. I was wondering if there is any place near the hotel we might grab something quick between all this shuttling back and forth. We are all set for a nice dinner Friday night at Surin and we have been invited to a party Saturday evening. I’m just concerned that the area around school will be crazy with people moving out, graduation etc.
Oh yah, we have to move my son out in in the middle of all this craziness. Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have so enjoyed being a part of this group the last four years. Everyone has been so kind and helpful. RTR.
Graduation/move out isn’t that crazy compared to move in. It’s arguably more emotional for the student, but not so much the parent, especially if the student will be moving closer to their parents or back with their parents. A lot of students will have already moved out by that Thursday.
If he lives on campus, he can likely still file for a late move out after graduation. That makes things a lot easier. After having my graduation celebration (including cheesecake with the script A on it), I went back to my room and finished packing. My mom came the next day (Saturday), helped me finish packing, and then we dropped a few boxes off at FedEx office to be shipped home. The building was overflowing with boxes from students who decided to do the same thing. Even then, my family took full advantage of my free checked baggage allowance and checked nine bags.
The Greystone Inn is in a remote area across the interstate from the Mercedes factory. There’s a pizza place in Vance which delivers, but that’s about it.
My post-graduation dinner consisted of food I bought at Tut’s and the Publix Deli. One could also order pizza from one of the major chains and have someone go and pick it up.
Thanks SEAtide. I was hoping you would check in. My son does live on campus and told me he has until 6pm on Saturday to move out. I guess I was thinking it would be really nutty. And will extended family to drag around…it gets goofy. I want to be a good hostess and also help my son.
I didn’t think there was much around the hotel, just thought I would throw the question out there. Thanks again, I hope you are well. Hokiefan.
By Saturday most of the kids will have moved out and cleared out of town. Should’t be busy at all. And Vance is int he middle of nowhere, so eat before you go and take food with you!
Thanks for the info. I know everything will be fine.
SEA_Tide is correct: move-out/graduation is FAR less crazy than move-in, which surprised me. I was down in T’town last Wed-Fri, and while restaurants were busy, it was fairly easy to get seated (for party of 5-6).
Other impressions: Main SUPE Store had loads of new stuff (they have expanded their retail area by a lot). Post office was empty (no waiting!). Textbook rental return line was non-existent, and the textbook buy-back line was about 15-students-deep, but 5 clerks made it go super fast. The Tutt SUPE Store location is another alternative to take your rental returns to. The Tutt location is also where you will find leftover Nike athletic team gear for sale for super cheap. It’s a real mixed bag of stuff in there, but I found new pro compression dri-fits for $10 (retail is $50+) and crimson leather baseball belts for $5: priceless! There’s some weird used stuff too, which is ‘interesting’ to pick through.
Well, we survived the whole weekend. A good time was had by all. Had a wonderful dinner at Surin Friday night and lots of stops other places for a quick bite and drinks. Thanks again for all the replies and suggestions. Hokiefan.
Love Surin! I’m glad it worked out for you. I went there w/ a crew of roommates and friends on the Thursday night, and the service was a bit swamped (despite several tables open - I guess they just didn’t have enough help). It is nice to see them busy, because then they will stay open! They apparently have a great lunch buffet, too, which is very reasonable for all that you get.
Hokiefan, congratulations on your son’s graduation. Thank you too for helping with my now senior’s son decision to go to UA. We sent you a PM about MDB and your son’s freshman experience and you were very helpful. If you can help one more time, can you share your graduation weekend experience or give us any hints on how to make it more special? (Did you got the presidential reception the day before and if so, was it worth it? Was there any other gatherings besides graduation, etc.) Thanks for anything you would like to share!
kjcphmom, thank you for the kind words. I do remember our conversations about band and other things. Graduation was fine but my weekend was hectic. We drove from VA. and planned to pick up my daughter from the Atlnata airport. Her flight was three hours late. Our plan was to meet relatives at the Greystone Inn and continue to T-town for dinner with my son. That didn’t happen. This was Thursday night. Friday the five of us traveled to school only to find out my son had only packed about a third of his things and the car was not even loaded. Spent a lot of time doing that and just showing relatives the campus. Friday night was our dinner at Surin. Best move of the weekend. It was nice, the food was very good and while the restaurant was full, not nutty or too loud. One of the reasons we chose that place was we had 2 vegetarians in tow.
Saturday was graduation in the afternoon. We decided to eat at A Broken Egg for a big breakfast. Arrived at 10 to be told we had at least a 2 hr. wait. Wound up going to IHOP on McFarland which was so packed and loud and nutty but at least we had something to eat (including my son and a friend) before the graduation.
The trafic around t-town was the worst I’ve seen in the four years going back and forth. The restaurants were packed.
Anyway, we did not get To attend the honors reception or the presidents mansion reception which I regret. We were so busy tending the needs of the relatives and helping my son move out. He just didn’t get to do much before we arrived as he had exams until Thursday. He lived on campus so not much room to prepack when you are sharing a room with another slop:). I never got to visit the Supe store one last time for trinkets. The whole weekend seemed to fly by and we always seemed to be in a hurry up and wait situation.
My son was sad to go so lots of interaction with friends etc. So I kind of let him lead and therefore I didn’t get what I wanted to do but I’ve come to terms with that. He is graduated, has a grad school acceptance and is waiting to hear about a summer internship.
If I had to do it all over again, I wish it was just me and my husband attending. It just complicates things when there are more moving parts. My daughter was delighted to see her baby brother as were our two relatives. But three extra people keeps things interesting. While the Greystone Inn was nice, I really wish we stayed in Tuscaloosa. Now that I think about it, a condo rental would be the way to go. If for nothing else, ease of meals and relaxing.
Hope this is helpful. Good luck to your son. Hokiefan.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. My husband picked up my two boys from the dorm on Friday and said that traffic was as bad as he ever saw it on that day too. Looks like from talking to my oldest that he will graduate in December this year, rather than May which might be easier, but we are bringing my parents which will definitely make things more “interesting” too. Congratulations again to your son!!!
I think it would be great to graduate in December. I don’t know why they have graduation at the same time as exams are wrapping up and folks are moving out. I thought most people would be gone by Saturday but I was wrong. The strip and Tuscaloosa itself was hopping. The only advice I can give you is go with the flow and let your parents know in advance what is going to happen. Our relatives are easy going, it’s just having to herd extra people that makes it a little nutty.