On the Road - Day One

Good Morning Everyone... Here's a little travel update (Skip to the bottom if you're in a rush)

Day 1 (Kind of...)

So the drive started last night... about 4 hours later than I wanted but... this is what happens when I try and do everything myself and then only ask for help at the last minute. To my helpers in the move... thank you. I got started late. Mr. Glidden stopped by the moving van for a last minute chuckle and good bye. We missed the opportunity for a Katamari hug. If only we'd waited for the bars to close... Driving a 14' UHaul with your worldly possessions, all of them, and your Jeep Cherokee in tow is a... SCARY thing to do, especially when starting at night, in rain, through snow and fire-hail and a fleet demons... the tickling demons. After getting on to Interstate 90, I made it to 20 and 4 on the 21 yard line. Their defense was strong so we went for a field goal. And of course our kicker veered to the left and we thought we'd lost the game, until the wind brought it back through the uprights just outside of Springfield, MA. I took this as a sign to pull over. A little after midnight I stopped for the night and got some sleep. I'm not sleeping now though... I'm awake at the computer, the morning after. One of the joys of this trip is experiencing first hand our nation's gas prices. It cost me $100 to fill the tank up yesterday. Hmmm... I don't think you really got the impact. Let's try this. It cost me this many dollars:
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ +
$ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $ + $

That's a lot, especially considering I am now jobless and homeless. I'm about to get on the road but wanted to say that the hotel charged me $100 to stay here last night. Apparently all the rooms were filled. Of course... the parking lot was empty. Oh, and when you're attaching your Jeep Cherokee to a vehicle transport... there is something inherently masculine about crawling underneath your vehicle to make sure the chains are attached properly to your axle (and you have to say 'axle,' instead of 'car,' in order to get a fuller manly effect when retelling the story to your friends).
I'm currently expecting to spend about $700 - $800 in gas on the trip. I'm crying right now... In my wallet I'm crying. I'll be starting a 900 phone line later tonight if you wanna talk geek or animation. In order to offset the gas costs I'm charging a low low rate of $40/min. It's the friends and family rate.

:: The Bottom
We're staying the course. We've got a thousand points of light. This move to a new state supports No New Taxes. The economic downturn will not deter our freedom and liberty. We support our troops and their effort. We support the rights of business and the respect the plight of the working man. 400 Babies!!!!

The End

With Love and Respect,

Andrew