16 posts tagged “visitation”
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.
I got my butt moving today and did something. I went out and found a geocache. I hunted two. The micro outsmarted me. I found the ammo box and got Paddy the Bear TB moving. I walked a little around north of downtown, taking pictures of the library, power plant and Hal Gray Park, which has a gazebo built in memorial to the original school house that stood on those grounds. I would've known this sooner had I thought to move the trash barrel to discover the dedication tablet before today!
Tomorrow I'll be able to get my boys back and get moving back down to Florida, starting in the afternoon. It's a long road but I'm looking forward to it! Time to go home!
Siiiiick. Yesterday was just full of sick and sleep.
I did venture out in the evening and I can tell you, without any doubt, that there is nothing Scenic At Night in Rensselaer. I am happy that I get to wear my red suede parka and my white suede boots.
On Day 4, I've had my caramel latte and I'm fixing to gather myself up to go photograph something. My fever will not have me attending the Lafayette event but I can still move around town and get some shots.
I am really looking forward to starting back home on Sunday!
I did not geocache today. I started, but my first stop was a "pile of sticks" micro and I lost interest in 30°F weather after two minutes at ground zero. So, let's save it for a day when my heart's in it. From that point, I crossed the Iroquois River into Weston Cemetery to seek out the two remaining zinc headstones for waymarking. I found them easily. Both are marked with Detroit Bronze Co. Detroit Mich. text in the rear righthand corner of the monument. The morning light was gorgeous in the cemetery!
Then I took a nap! This cold is still kicking my butt. I've stayed inside for the rest of the day, venturing out to get dinner. I'd like to be healthy for the drive home so if I don't get as much done during these days, it'll be fine as long as I'm good as new on Sunday.
I'm writing Rensselaer Day 1 post this morning instead of last night because I went to bed early last night. I didn't do much yesterday. I'm still resting off this cold. I'm doing it with the help of all the OTC feel goods featured above, including some orajel to help with the tooth pain caused by the sinus pressure.
I had to go out in search of a CF card reader and when I did, I photographed the new historical marker downtown and took the shots I needed for the crap haunted story about the cemetery across from my hotel. The claim is that the statue moves. It obviously doesn't and there's a spotlight on it all night so you can see it doesn't move ever. What's more disturbing is that Shadowlands has this thing described as a statue of a saint when it's a statue of Jesus. Shadowlands never updates the website to remove places that aren't haunted and the stories are just bogus. I can't begin to tell you how many places have inaccurate or outdated information about their history and use. The statue was vandalised. The right hand was broken off and stolen. This just proves that the living are more dangerous than the dead.
Most people are celebrating Thanksgiving today so, if you are, Happy Thanksgiving. My family celebrated last Sunday so today is just an odd day where barely anything is open. I think I'll go geocaching.
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
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.
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