We've been home well over a week now, but I've never posted our summary. Our Colorado daughter and her family arrived two days after we got home, as they had tickets for San Diego Comic-Con long before they moved this past winter. They simply made arrangements for work vacation and with us. So I've been a bit busy, following a couple of grandkids around our house, taking them to the park, etc.

They drove here and back to CO in a loop. They took I-25 south to I-40, then the Payson cut-off to I-17 to I-10, where they stopped to see family in the Phoenix area. Then came to our house via I-8. They traveled in 3 days -- Denver to Albuquerque, Albuquerque to Phoenix, and Phoenix to San Diego. Then to get home, they took I-15 to I-70, overnight at Cedar City. They *loved* that drive, and the two grandkids did very well on that 600 mile day.

Reflections on our own trip were not too numerous. This time around, we were very happy with the accommodations that we chose, mostly happy with our food choices, and super happy with our fuel mileage and the ability to find cheap(er) fuel.

For lodging, this was about the first trip where everything was pre-booked except the last two nights. We did that to have far more control over what was in the room, on the property (pool was required, fitness center was a nicety), in the area, and of course, the price. Our most expensive room averaged $129/night including the taxes, but it had a full kitchen. Our cheapest room was the one that I booked 2 days ahead, on the fly, in Farmington, MO, at $66, and that was a Choice property.

For food, we ate at a mix of local places, local chains, and national chains. We still struggled with that bit about too much food (and it's difficult to take a "to-go" box with you in an ice chest) and the unknown calories. Still, I was grateful to have only gained 2 lbs in 5 weeks, of which I am now at a quest to lose again. It was easier to choose a healthy meal at the chains, honestly, because their nutritional values are posted online.

When you carry a cooler, you have to do one of two things: figure out how you can get those "blue ice" things re-frozen, or just buy ice every traveling morning. Most hotels don't want you to fill a cooler with ice from their machine, due to the supply-demand issue. We ended up buying ice, which ran a total of $30 into the budget. In retrospect, almost every single motel room fridge had a place for blue ices to refreeze. Some freezers were larger than others, however.

For us, the biggest budget expense was Lodging, followed by Food, then Fuel. Gas Buddy was our most used app, as it allowed us to plan for better fuel stops. I'd budgeted at $3.25-$3.50/gal and we only got close to that once. (I should add: this is for DIESEL.) That was in Cedar City, UT, at $3.29, and at home, $3.38 (but that was at the military base, home is running $3.69 these days). Our least expensive fuels were at Camdenton, MO ($2.74/gal) and, thanks to being given some Kroger points, $2.69/gal in Centennial, CO at King Soopers (it would have been $2.99/gal).

On the way home, we also discussed where we're going on next year's *short* trip, and then last night, my husband brings in the atlas and says, "so where should we go on our next *long* trip?!" That would be in two years.


Donna