Day 168: Travel Expenses — Gas, Meals, & Munchies

Posted on | February 16, 2008 |

The Daughter and I made the drive to my mom’s today.  In case you missed the first part of this saga, my mom is moving.  She sold her little house where she lives alone with her dogs and is moving across the country to live with my youngest sister, her husband, and their three children.  About 2-1/2 weeks ago, I flew in for a week-long visit that overlapped with my sister.  We got quite a bit of work done but there’s still plenty left to do.  Now The Daughter and I are here for a week to help with more sorting, sign a contract with the moving company, get started with the boxing and packing, and holding large garage/moving/estate sale.

The Daughter and I did not make the trip empty-handed.  The Tank (my trusty SUV) was filled to capacity with boxes and furniture and stuff that will be added to the garage sale fare.  I’ve been wanting to hold my own garage sale for the past 4 or 5 years and still have never gotten around to it.  I figured this was the perfect time to try to sell some of this stuff.  And whatever doesn’t sell will be donated to the DAV or the ARC.

Kroger — $8.65

Before hitting the road we stopped for some travel basics — and not so basic — necessities.

• Johnson & Johnson medical tape — $3.29 (so The Daughter can buddy-tape her sports-injured fingers)
• Nabisco Teddy Grahams — $2.00 (saved $0.99) [snacks for The Daughter]
• 2 large bottles of Aqua Fina water — $1.49/ea.

Cash — $3.25
On the way out of the grocery store we were nabbed by the Girl Scout troop selling cookies.  Naturally, The Daughter wanted a box of Samoas.  For years The Husband’s granddaughter was our Girl Scout cookie supplier but she didn’t re-enlist this year.  We’ll have to locate a new source since The Daughter and The Husband do like their Samoas.  I was very partial to the chocolate mint cookies back before the food allergies hit.

Costco Gas — $20.12
The Tank’s tank was just below the half-full mark so I figured we may as well leave town with a full tank of cheaper gas than get out of town and immediately have to fill up with more expensive highway service station gas.  I pumped 7.111 gallons at $2.829/gallon.  My odometer read 120,001.

Subway — $5.05
The Daughter was ready for lunch so we stopped for a 6″ sub sandwich and a bag of chips somewhere along the way.  I don’t know what kind of sandwich she ordered but it sure smelled good.  These darned food allergies of mine are so not fun when I have to sit in a small enclosed space (like a car) and smell other people’s food.

Cash — $0.89
We stopped at a filling station for a restroom break and to switch drivers.  The Daughter bought a Snicker’s bar to snack on.

Shell Gas — $38.89
I can remember way back in the day when I’d make this drive in my ‘84 Toyota Corolla that got somewhere close to 40 miles to the gallon on the highway.  Boy, those were the days.  I could make the whole one-way trip on a single tank of gas — if I felt like pushing my luck just a little bit.  The Tank doesn’t even pretend to have such aspirations.  And I was right about those Costco gas prices.  I pumped 12.007 gallons at $3.239 per gallon.  My odometer read 120,249.

Arby’s — $5.36
Dinner for The Daughter — one of their Market Fresh sandwiches.  It, too, smelled delicious.  By this time I was starved.  I’d grabbed the packages of roast beef and smoked turkey I bought the other day and put them in my cool car refrigerator.  My dinner consisted of a few slices of roast beef.  Not terribly filling or satisfying.

Related Posts for Further Reading

• Day 179: Gas, Gifts, & More
• Day 126: Gas, Flannel PJs, Mouse Traps, and Ground Beef
• Day 55
• Day 25
• $$: Coyote Sighting Edition
• $$: Just Another Sunday in the ‘Burbs

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