One major snag in my packing process was figuring out how to get musical instruments from Colorado to Alaska safely. Usually I just bring them along in the car, but usually I’m only driving for a few days and not making any long stops along the way. This time I need premium packing space in my car, plan to make many stops, and have to bring everything on the ferry.
Whats the big deal?
In addition to attracting attention and taking up a lot of space, string instruments are sensitive to temperature, humidity, and even a firm jostle since they are generally made of wood components that expand and contract, and may or may not be held together with only string tension, friction, and a prayer. This makes a long transcontinental journey fraught with opportunity for disaster. Park in the sun for an hour and you could get a crack.
Checking them on a plane
Since mine generally don’t fit as carry on luggage, they would have to travel as checked luggage. Issues with this method include: TSA will probably open your case and mess around with things doing their security checks, baggage handlers don’t exactly have a gentle touch, the cargo hold may have some extreme temperatures, and things shift around so it could fall or get hit by something bigger and get damaged. This was my original cello plan until I saw horror photos online of cello carnage (thanks internet), and had doubts that my case was truly flight-worthy.
Car travel
I really wanted to rule this one out because they take up about half of he cargo space in my car, and I’d have to unload and load them every night we stopped. Plus, stopping for an hour or two to hike would be pretty impossible. I also have no idea what the situation on the ferry is like temperature and space-wise. Ultimately this option would be the cheapest, but would put a damper on the road trip fun.
Shipping
This is the option I went with. One key factor is the fact that my agency is reimbursing me for the shipping costs. Otherwise I’d have serious pause about this option as well. To ship my cello cost over $1,000, and to ship my guitar coat about $400. There are obviously risks because someone else is handling it, and it goes all over the place en route to the final destination. Ultimately I went with this option because the shipper insures the item, and because my instruments would have the best protection and handling on the way up.
This worked out well, as both arrived in good shape! I simply had them shipped to the hotel I’m staying at this week, and they’re now hanging out at a coworker’s home until I have a more permanent living situation.
To prepare them, I got humidification packets to put in their cases to make sure they didn’t have dry-out problems, and packed them with extra towels and T-shirts to support fragile parts and prevent movement within the cases. I loosened all of the string to prevent a snap, but kept enough tension to keep everything holding together in tension. For the guitar I nabbed a great free guitar shipping box from the Guitar Center (they tend to have some lying around). For the cello I packed it in my Travelite case, and had to have a custom box built by UPS.
Home is where your cello is
More than just the relief of having them arrive safely, heaving them here makes it feel more like home. It’s still a month or more before I can actually spend time with them, but it’s nice to know some familiar friends have joined me in Juneau.
ROAD TRIP 