One Hundred Dollars a Month

We left the Pacific Northwest this morning around 5:30 excited and full of energy. By the time The Girl and I arrived in Billings, Montana it was just after 7 pm and man oh man were we tired! The boys didn’t make it to the hotel until nearly 9 and they were exhausted from driving the giant U-Haul all day. The scenery though, it was amazing.

About a week ago when I checked the forecast snow was predicted in Montana and in New England for the dates of our road trip. Luckily, it looks like the weather pattern has changed {so far anyway} and on day one we were able to put a 820 mile dent in our 3,000 mile journey. Driving for 13 hours was hard, but luckily we had a bunch of podcasts to listen to.
Before leaving Western Washington we filled up the tank at Costco and paid $2.79 a gallon for regular unleaded. Along the way to Montana we shelled out $2.83 and $2.69 a gallon at regular, small town gas stations. I don’t know about you, but I find gas prices fascinating. I guess I don’t understand how gas could cost more in Tacoma, Washington than it could in a teeny tiny town in the middle of Eastern Washington. Is it because of big city taxes? Are there oil refineries in Eastern Washington? What am I missing here? I can’t imagine the demand for gasoline in a small town is a big as a large city like Tacoma.

I think it will be interesting to see what gas prices are as we travel across the country this week. Are they higher on the West coast or the East? Hmmm.

We also made a stop at Bernice’s Bakery in Missoula, Montana for lunch {I’ll tell you about it in another post} and they had the cutest cupcakes decorated for St. Patrick’s Day, I couldn’t resist. The Girl took Lucy for a walk around the block while I got our food to go, and then we gave Lucy a chewy stick and ate our lunch in the car like a bunch of weirdos.

Long road trips with a dog can be tricky, but this time around Lucy has her own car seat and we are making a point to take her for a quick run or walk every time we stop {about every 90 minutes or so} and I think that helps her from being so anxious. We’ve got a rhythm down now, and it seems to be working.

Montana, YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL and your BLUE skies are gorgeous!

And you have a Cracker Barrel…. Who could ask for anything more? 😉

2,200 miles to go!

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone,

~Mavis

Because we started our journey over the weekend, and because I wanted to give myself a little bit of a time buffer {in case I was too tired to write at night}, this post {and the ones to follow in this series} were started a few days ago. 

HELLO HELLO HELLO! 

This week will be a little different on the blog, instead of my regular assortment of posts, I’ll be sharing our 3,000+ mile journey across the United States of America. The HH and Monkey Boy will be driving the moving truck while The Girl, Lucy and I are in the wagon. If we are lucky, we’ll get there in 4 very looooooong days, if the weather is rotten, well, it will take much longer. If you’ve ever taken a road trip before, then you know one thing is for sure…. To expect the unexpected.

Life, is one great big adventure, and I’m SO READY FOR THIS!!!

Loading the U-Haul

Yesterday we loaded up the U-Haul and much to my husband’s surprise… EVERYTHING FIT! He was certain there wouldn’t be enough room for the 2 stock tanks {I use them for gardening} the wheelbarrow or the mower. The HH said we should just leave them behind, especially the mower. He {very dramatically} told me it would take 4 days to mow the lawn at the new place with the push mower but I was like HELLO…. why would we leave stuff behind? We are going to NEED those things at some point {I mean seriously, leave behind a wheelbarrow?}. We don’t have a riding mower yet … and since Mr. Research Pants likes to take his sweet time deciding on big purchases… Who knows, maybe that mower WILL come in handy.

Gaaaaa. Whateva…. Moving pains. Right?

The Chicken Rug

Although I drew out this pattern before we left the HOA house, I did my best to work on other projects while we were staying in the 600 square foot apartment. I wanted to be able to bring a SINGLE project to work on in the car as we drive east. I simply cannot for the life of me just stare out a window. I’d go bonkers if I didn’t have a project to work on while someone else is driving and, well, this is it.

I have 3 bags of wool strips {river rock {for the chicken and border}, faded black {for the background} and some assorted colors {for the hit and miss colors}. The goal is to arrive at the new place with 3 empty bags and a nearly finished rug. Only time will tell!

The car has been loaded with snacks…. {Because really, who wants to eat a Slim Jim or a 3 hour old corn dog from a mini mart in the middle of nowhere? Boys, that’s who!}

And then at the last minute we had to make room for this.

That Mrs. Hillbilly. She’s full of surprises. She gave The Girl and I road trip bucket full of {apparent} necessities for the long 3,000 mile journey. Now I’ve been on a lot of road trips before, but I’ll tell you one thing, I’ve never felt the need to pack diapers or MRE’s or a bucket for that matter. Which sorta begs the question…. Where in the world has Mrs. HB traveled to before that these items were necessary? 😉 LOVE YA Mrs HB!!! You’re a nut and I’m going to miss you.

Moving day. It’s finally here, and I couldn’t be more excited! Let’s get this show on the road baby. #EastCoastOrBust

~Mavis