Road Trip Update
As far as the road trip went, we took our host’s advice and drove the George Washington Bridge. It was a fine trip through NYC during rush hour, but not as bad as you might think. Because of the graciousness of our host, I spent Saturday as a No-Spend Day, knitting and reading on couches all over a beautiful country house.
We dined fabulously on rack of lamb, triple chocolate birthday cake, pate and yummy warmed goat cheese salad over spring greens. (Easier to make than you think.) The Barefoot Contessa cookbook has some really tasty dishes in it!
All in all, my friend paid for the gas and drove his car. I paid all the tolls with my SmartTag. I have no idea what the total tolls were since the NJ toll isn’t displayed for you, but it was about $41 altogether. (Shocking, but you can ride the NJ Turnpike for less than $20. That can’t be right, but it is! I checked their website.) Yes, we spent a lot of time in the car, but you get to know people a lot better by their iPod playlists.
Either way, a road trip is worth the money for two people on a weekend trip like this one. We saved about $75-125 per person by driving. I’m glad I put my foot down on spending money for plane tickets. I really hate airports and the new security rules. I think I’m going to have to take more car trips instead of flying.
Now the only thing is that I need to be adamant about what travel I will and will not pay for/do. Last year I caved in on the wedding in Seattle because my friend said she’d pool resources for me. I still ended up spending a mint that weekend, even though I did it as cheaply as I could. I love my friends, but I’m not really looking forward to sacrificing my personal vacation time again this year for another wedding.
Chris wrote:
Driving > flying
Posted on 23-Apr-07 at 9:21 pm | Permalink
3 things about money wrote:
Sounds like Big No Spend Fun - okay now I am craving that warm goat cheese salad and I am off to research the barefoot contessa. Thanks for the inspiration.
Posted on 24-Apr-07 at 6:43 am | Permalink
mapgirl wrote:
Oh it was easy. Basically it goes like this. Chill the goat cheese log. Cut into slices and roll in bread crumbs. Refrigerate again till you are serving the salad. Saute the breadcrumb coated cheese disk in some olive oil till brown and serve over a bed of mixed greens pre-tossed with your dressing.
She had a special dressing that was tangy and tasty, but no need to go overboard, just use a vinaigrette.
Enjoy!
Posted on 24-Apr-07 at 8:54 am | Permalink
Livingalmostlarge wrote:
How did know you could have spent less on the turnpike? I drove to DC once and I think we spent a fortune in tolls. But it was still cheaper than flying and with the times at the airport, well anything less than 8 hours it’s worth driving.
Posted on 27-Apr-07 at 10:28 am | Permalink
mapgirl wrote:
Living Almost Large - I’m not sure what you mean by your question. I went to the NJT website and calculated the toll.
Posted on 27-Apr-07 at 3:24 pm | Permalink