WashU Bound

We had the chance to drop Diya off at Washington University in St. Louis this past weekend.  It was a long planned and mostly fun adventure.

Day 1 - Thursday 1400 - Drop Jeep off at airport and continue on in loaded Kia Telluride to Fort Riley (Kansas).  We made a couple of stops for gas, dinner at Fuzzy's Taco shop and restroom break.  This first 490 mile leg was not too bad as we were all fresh.  We checked into the base hotel at about 1100 with plans to depart again at 0600.  I did get a warning for excessive speed.  This felt like a speed trap where the work zone speed was changing back to the primary speed and law enforcement was enforcing premature return to 75 mph.  Fortunately, I am a pretty slow driving and was not going 85 mph through a work zone regardless of whether or not workers are present.

Day 2 - Friday 0600 - We got off on time and again made a couple of stops for gas, breakfast at McDonald's and restroom break.  This second 380 mile leg was a little tougher as we were pressed for time to arrive by her move in window.  We got her belongings unloaded from the car and into the moving totes to deliver to her room.  Along with the movers we hauled up her belongings and she could start setting up her room.  This took about 2 hours.  Then she picked up her keys and student ID.  Then we did some milling about campus and shopping at Walmart for random dorm items and snacks.  Finally, we met up with Derrick and Robin for dinner at Seoul Taco.

Day 3 - Saturday - Later start to the day, breakfast at hotel.  We picked up some underbed storage, IKEA drawer organizers and microwavable containers.  Next we went over to The Shack for brunch with some family in the area.  After brunch, I went to a meeting.  The day ended with dinner at Cunetto's House of Pasta and a welcome reception on campus.

Day 4 - Sunday - Another late start (breakfast at hotel), with a stop at the bookstore (I got a hat and a t-shirt), introductory remarks by the engineering school staff, wandering the student resource fair, lunch at the dining hall (chicken tenders) and finally heading to the airport.  Our flight was scheduled for departure at 1740, but was delayed.  Bagel sandwich dinner at the airport.  We were eventually rebooked leaving about 7 hours later at 1241 on another Southwest Airlines flight.  Arriving at 0130, the light rail was no longer operating, but we were able to catch an Uber to our car at 40th and Airport.  Arriving home at 0230 made for a long day and an even longer Monday.

Diya seems pretty happy with her new environment, suite mates and orientation activities.  She will be challenged academically and she was a wonderful selection of campus activities to get involved in.