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Saturday, July 5, 2008
Expenses stack up
Traveling is not cheap.
We’ve filled up the car, a 2001 Toyota Highlander, three times so far, including once in Greenville before we set out for St. Louis. At more than $4 a gallon, that comes out to be nearly $70 a pop for a total of about $210. And the car is sitting on empty right now.
The hotel room is $197 a night, plus expenses. That comes to nearly $480. The meal I wrote about last night and the festival food came to about $170.
Tickets to the Cardinal’s game for four of us were an outrageous $360. The game essentially was sold out so I had to go to a team-sanctioned scalping Web site. I hope to post more about ticket prices later.
Still to come: tickets to the top of the arch — don’t know what the damage there will be yet; whatever we buy at the ball game; at least another night at a hotel, although we’ll find cheaper accommodations; another three fill-ups at least; and a few more meals.
We found a few ways to save: We brought a lot of food and drinks with us from home; we crowded into one hotel room; and even though driving has its downsides, it’s still cheaper than flying.
Still, the trip will set us back close to $2,000 by the time we get back home.
And that’s a lot of money for a family who still uses furniture handed down from their parents.
So we rationalize that the memories we are buying are priceless. But that’s hard to believe when you’re looking at the raw numbers.
Bobby Burns is associate editor of Internet news and information at The Daily Reflector. A native North Carolinian, he grew up in St. Louis, Mo.
The Burns cousins, Alex, Andrew, Madison and Abigail, take a break from playing in the fountain in behind the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis on July 4.
Yours truly.
An obligatory shot of the arch.
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Fireworks spectacular
The miles started to wear on us.
What had been a good day for the most part with my nephews, Alex and Andrew, turned into an nightmarish experience trying to get dinner for four children, my mother, her friend Mereda, my wife and me.
Many frustrations played into the scenario. My mother was edgy was on my nerves. Crystal was tired and the children were hungry and complaining.
I made the mistake of trying to get us into a popular Italian place on the Fourth and the night of a home baseball game.
The restaurant made the mistake of telling us it would be just 45 minutes before we could be served.
It turned out to be much longer, and what was supposed to be a nice sit-down meal turned into takeout.
I left with the kids before the food even got to the table so we could see the fireworks show.
After some juggling, we did end up enjoying our meal, just a lot later and in a different locale.
And we did get to see the show.
And Alex thanked me for a great day. I’m glad to know he enjoyed it.
Here’s a snippet of the fireworks.
I’m afraid the video doesn’t do it justice.
Bobby Burns is associate editor of Internet news and information at The Daily Reflector. A native North Carolinian, he grew up in St. Louis, Mo.
