12 posts tagged “money”
First, the money:
First Leg Total: $216
In-Rensselaer Stay: $350
Second Leg Totals: Fuel $85, $59, Food $26, Total: $170
Total Trip Total: $736
Yikes. There were some extras that I had to buy, like medicine and a CF card reader.
The weather was awful on Day 3. It wasn't the morning's snow that was the problem but the low visibility fog that consumed I-65 from Rensselaer to Lafayette. We arrived in Bardstown in the late evening but had a good, relaxing break with friends. I was able to make it to Cave City and, by choosing the Best Western, spent $30 less on a bigger, cleaner room, than previous accommodations on a previous trip.
I had promised the boys a Cracker Barrel breakfast so we had a great breakfast and then got moving. I was determined to get home so, at 2am on Tuesday, December 2nd, we pulled into the driveway. It was 64°F.
We arrived in Rensselaer at 4pm. I've got a room not too unlike the one that I had before, so I'll just repost that picture (Just imagine it smaller):
Things look pretty much the same in the area. I went to the CVS in town and got some medicine so hopefully I'll be able to go around a bit while I'm here. It was quite a task getting here with this cold beating on me. Michael's got a nastier bug that includes a fever... but there's just no way that he can't show up for this visitation. It's a shame. I can't wait to get these kids back home.
Daily Costs: Fuel $26, Hotel $51, Food $9. Total: $86
Total Trip Leg Cost: $216
Rensselaer Days 1 - 5 Hotel Cost: $255
After taking Bailey to school, making sure there was milk at home, and delivering Mike's Social Studies project, we officially set off at 9am.
Travel was overall uneventful. I missed the Atlanta Bypass so we went through Atlanta, which was cool until a five-car accident happened right in front of me. In addition to praying for those poor people and their families who were involved in that accident, we also praised God for us being able to continue our trip. It was really remarkable that we weren't involved.
Michael is sick with Eddie and me. So we're all sick on this trip. Even sick, these kids are taking photos of everything. I haven't taken a single one. I've been focused on driving.
It took 4 hours to go from North Port to the Florida/Georgia border. It took 6 hours to get through Georgia. We're 30 miles south of Nashville, which is 2 hours into Tennessee. This means there's 6 hours of travel left to this thing.
Daily Costs: Fuel $53, Hotel $59, Food $18, Total: $130
My family of six generates two trash cans full of trash every week. We pay the extra $50/year for that extra trash can, because the City of North Port requires that their trash cans be used. Any other types of cans will be ignored and all of your trash must fit inside the can. If anything happens to fall out, the public waste employees will not pick it up.
The City of North Port only allows for two bulk pick-ups per year. Bulk is anything that doesn't fit inside a North Port issued trash can, whether that's a vacuum cleaner box or five king-sized mattresses.
The City of North Port hadn't changed the property taxes since the 1950's until a couple years ago, when they decided to lower them.
Since sometime around the start of 2008, North Port has had Code Enforcement employees patrolling the streets for anything they can cite, even if it's clearly not a citation-worthy situation. We have received several for things like: recycling material in recycling bins next to trash cans outside, a wooden desk that was left in front of the garage door for a period of two hours, grass that's cut, bulk items awaiting pick-up (that had the appointment for pick-up), and some claim about trash that we have no clue where they got it. With his experience and connections, my husband can handle those well enough, but I've been concerned for all the other residents who don't have the means to get around their never-answered contact phone number or realise they're being bullied for the money.
Apparently, North Port still can't figure out why they aren't making enough money to cover the revenue lost by letting people live here essentially for free!
As another attempt to resolve their mysterious budget crisis, North Port started charging for that second trash can to be picked-up. So, my family that generates two trash cans per week, that already pays $50/year for a second trash can, that has no other alternative than to use the trash cans mandated by the City of North Port with no affordable alternative from a local retailer, has to pay additional money per week just to have our trash carted away. We cannot afford to throw money away at trash pick-up, but I'm sure there's more families in this city who can afford it even less than we can.
Did I mention that the public waste employees don't even get out of the air-conditioned truck? It's a mechanical arm pick-up only.
The only worse political shenanigans I've seen has been from the Village of Hoffman Estates in Illinois, who charge residents for stickers that they have to put on individual trash bags, charges for separate pet registrations, and charges an additional property tax on residents for moving out of Hoffman Estates. I probably shouldn't disclose that and give the City Commissioners here in North Port any inspiration.
We ran two hours behind schedule since my ex-husband decided to play games to an extent where the police had to help return the boys. It's both fortunate and unfortunate that this happens so often that the boys aren't intimidated by the police. It's just a regular thing for them. I thank God that the police in my ex-husband's town have always been very helpful and concerned.
We left at 5:30pm Eastern time. We stopped in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at 11pm at the Days Inn. I had a heck of a time trying to find a hotel with a double room. A Holiday Inn north of Nashville tried to sell me the same suite we ended up in at the Days Inn for over $100 (before tax). The room we had was still expensive and over-budget but I got it for $80 so hey.
We left the southern Nashville suburbs around 10am and got home at 11:30pm with an eighth of a tank left. It rained from southern Georgia all the way down to North Port. Traffic ran smoothly, for the most part, and we didn't have any of the delays that we had traveling north.
Fuel was more expensive. In northern Florida, it cost me $3.55/gal. That's the most I've ever paid in my life.
Food costs for the return trip total $25; Hotel cost: $92; Fuel: $160; Total Return Trip: $277
Total Travel Expenses: $497
Total Trip cost with expenses during the week, including top-up cards: $902
If I didn't have to top-up my phone twice to deal with the problems my ex-husband caused, I would have been below $850.
Tom's taken Michael and Eddie to the Florida International Air Show again this year. They'll be gone all day as long as the weather cooperates.
We left Cave City, KY at 8am and arrived in Rensselaer at 1pm. The time zone fluctuated between Central and Eastern so my times are all Eastern.
We had time to run back to Sayler Makeever Cemetery to get the micro geocache hidden there, run some audio and take photos. It was cold and the wind made it worse, but the road was solid and the ground was firm enough. The cemetery is amazing.
We got to McDonald's at the same time as my mother and she bought us lunch. She's also giving me $100 when she brings the boys back so I can make it home. I said I was short. I won't worry about getting home now but I look forward to losing some weight this week!
The hotel I'm staying at is a small, family-run operation that's clean and reasonably priced. I'm across from the big cemetery and a mile down the road from Rensselaer's historic district. I didn't feel like doing anything today after I'd done the Sayler Makeever Cemetery. I want to rest and I'll get to waymarking and photography tomorrow after Mass. I have until Friday.
My mother is taking Michael and Eddie to see Horton Hears a Who and she's spoiling them as usual. I told them not to take advantage of my parents since my kids tend to ask for the moon and, being proper grandparents, my parents will give it to them. Their father should pick them up tomorrow at noon and drop them back to my parents' house on Friday at noon. Here's hoping it's all uneventful.
My father-in-law is a piece of work. That's all I'll really say about that since his huffing and puffing doesn't change anything, but it's just irritating. I'm thankful that Tom is handling all that now.
The totals for this leg of the trip:
Yesterday's total of hotel, food and fuel: $187
Today's expenses: food - $8, fuel - $25; Total travel expenses for today: $33
Total northbound trip: $220
My six-day hotel stay cost $285 and food will average $25. I've already eaten today at 0 cost, thanks to my mother.
I HATE SNOWBIRDS!
*cough*
We left at 8:45am Eastern. We crawled from Tampa until I-24. We went an average of 40mph between Macon and Atlanta and never went over 85mph! I couldn't trust the snowbirds not to jump ahead of me in the fast lane just to slam on the brakes for no reason. I was four hours behind schedule so I drove until 11pm to get us to Cave City, Kentucky. Because I'm in a tourist town, the hotel cost over $70. The other places were full and I didn't feel like driving until the next exit. I filled up the tank three times: Lake City, FL; somewhere inbetween Macon & Atlanta, GA; Franklin, KY (or close to it). This tank should get me to Indianapolis, if not all the way.
I cannot afford the gas to stop anywhere extra there or back, as much as I want to.
Cost totals for Day 1:
food - $13; fuel - $102 (still on full); hotel - $72
Other stuff happened today that's non-trip related that's worth telling but I'm just too tired to get into it. Let me sum up to say: My stupid ex is stupid and the people who like my photos rock my world.
We left Whitehouse, TN around 9:30am and ended up at Rennsalaer, Indiana 90 minutes early. Prepared for such a situation, I brought out my GPS with the coordinates programmed for the geocaches in the area. My first pursuit was closest to where I was, Old Settlers (GCK423), an old cemetery that is the resting place for 19th century pioneers. I figured I could get the cache and then photograph and waymark. So, I followed my GPS down the empty backroads of snow-covered farmland until I came to a small crossing that beared nothing more than an old metal sign:
Excited to have found it, I turned onto the unplowed road. Immediately, I realised this wasn't very smart. If I continued, I'd get stuck. I stopped and threw the Kia into reverse to use my tracks back out. Too late!
So, I tried everything I knew to get myself out, but there was mud underneath. I was good and stuck. I called Progressive because I pay a hefty premium every month to have Roadside Assistance for such circumstances. Fifteen minutes later, the agent calls me to tell me that nobody in their network was willing to come out and get me. Nice, huh? So, I called 9-1-1. Almost everyone who passed by this road stopped to see what they could do to help, which was kind. The Sheriff's Deputy asked me about my firefighter plate (and I told him my husband is a retired firefighter) so he radioed this information (along with the age of my child) in all his valiant attempts to find options for me. In the end, he'd arranged for the local tow company to come out and pull me out without expectation of payment. They're pursuing my insurance for it and rightfully so. I have a couple more pictures of this failed geocaching adventure on Flickr.
I was an hour late to the McDonald's to get Michael and Eddie from my mother. She asked me if I told the Deputy the truth of why I was there. Of course I told him the truth. I don't think there's anything I could have made up that would have made my situation seem less stupid.
We left Rennsalaer, Indiana at 5pm (Eastern time) and stopped in Franklin, TN (or is it Murfreesboro?) at 11:30pm at the Best Western that promised wi-fi and failed to provide it.
We got back on the road at 9am and were on a good schedule for the rest of Tennessee, Georgia and Florida. We arrived home safely at 8:45pm on Saturday, January 5.
Trip totals:
Hotels: $133; Food: $50; Fuel: $240.50; Complete Trip Total: $423.50
I actually spent less in fuel despite costs being more, which could only account for the lack of sightseeing this time. (I would have rather spent the extra if I'd had the time!). The hotel was less because two nights were spent, instead of three.
We left two hours behind schedule at 8:30am. This means we crossed the Florida border into Georgia at 12:30pm and finally crossed into Tennessee at 5:30pm. Tommy napped in the morning, in the afternoon and for an hour in the evening. When he woke up at 7:30pm, we stopped here at the Days Inn in Whitehouse, TN. I love the free wi-fi. Fuel has been more expensive, ranging from the low $3/gal area to the high $2/gal area. The hotel was a savings but not enough to compensate for the fuel increase. Food has also been a little more but not considerably so.
After so much napping, Tommy is wired and refuses to settle down in the room. It's much more exciting to open the same night-table drawer repeatedly, play in the curtains, try to open the door (!!!), and turn the a/c on and off. It's freezing outside and I know he'll have us freezing by morning.
Recently, I tried to list the various police departments who have stopped me for traffic violations. Not only did I completely forget a few but I also misplaced one department as being in northern Florida when it was in southern Georgia. Add this to realising that Martin Springs Baptist Church, a little church with a little cemetery that I photographed last week, was in unincorporated Marion County, Tennessee and not in Georgia. I conclude that I don't know where I am half the time!
No stops last trip and so far no stops this trip. The Georgia state patrol was heavily watching the Macon area again, but weren't biting at anyone going 80-90mph, which was my average speed through these three states.
Michael and Eddie should be returned to my mother at my parents' house tomorrow at noon Central time. Even though I'm two hours off schedule today, I have been meeting all my timeline goals and should be able to set things right on tomorrow to meet as the appropriate time.
After a restful stay at the Days Inn in Franklin, TN, I headed south. Traffic ran pretty easy, especially through the mountains, and with the wind at my back I managed an average of 90-100mph. I tried to find the Jack Daniels Distillery but failed horribly. It was fun to poke around Manchester, TN, the town of the distillery's exit.
I'd had my eye on this little white painted, red roof church with a small cemetery alongside I-75 since 2004. I finally took the time to exit and take pictures. A mile south of its exit in Martin Springs, the Martin Springs Baptist Church just seems so quintessential Tennessee.
Word has it that my ex-husband picked up Michael and Eddie from my parents' house a half-hour early. My mother failed to confirm that he had someone else driving, since his license is suspended, and which car they were in, if there was a weight-appropriate booster seat for Eddie, etc. I have been unable to reach them on the phone that I provided them, which is pretty typical. It's routine that they withhold contact until I have the police do a wellness check.
I arrived home at 10pm on Christmas Eve.
Trip totals: $258 in fuel; $205 in hotel; $60 in food; $523 complete trip total.
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