Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge

I hope everyone had a nice Labor Day. I ran off again to the GW National Forest on a camping trip.

$100-125 groceries (ice, beer, meat, etc.)
$55 chainsaw and oil
$50 power inverter
$30 grill top for campfire
$25 gas (at least what I paid. Boyfriend topped off the tank two other times)
$7 for awesome pizza (3 slices and a soda)
$5 car wash

There were three things making this trip expensive, one thing is that we took an off-road vehicle that takes a lot of gas. The forest has a lot of trails that are pretty rough terrain. Having an off-road vehicle makes a big difference on a trip like this one. We would have had to rent something or else suffered with a camping spot close to the main highway and not ideal. But you have to add on a car wash since there’s still a lot of streams to ford out there and the mud gets splashy. (in a fun way)

Second thing is that we generally like to eat well while we’re out there and we were there for an extra day because of the holiday weekend. We tend to get ambitious in the meal planning to make sure we get enough calories for hikes and activity. Therefore we usually get too much food. This time we made a supplemental trip for more beer and soda. But the food was awesome on this trip. Way better than the last time. Irish Stew, barbecued chicken, sauteed zucchini, and baked potatoes.

Third thing is that we tried out a power inverter with an electric chainsaw, but it was pretty much a waste of effort. The inverter we picked up wasn’t able to carry the peak capacity of the chainsaw so it didn’t work out. I think I’m going to have to sell the chainsaw if I can’t return it. But at least I didn’t pay for it. I used the rest of a gift card and spent $5 of my own money. (Boyfriend spent $3 for the oil it takes.)

We don’t really keep track of who has spent what. We do sort of an accounting of who’s spent what over the past week, but nothing really serious as far as going Dutch. It’s too much bother for either one of us.

Too bad it wasn’t as cheap as Tricia’s last camping trip, but you can’t have everything in this world, like flaming marshmallows. (I should convince my boyfriend to make s’mores the next time.)

Someone pointed out a budget travel article to me sometime last year, but I didn’t care much for it, so I’m not going to link it here. But it got me to thinking about my last backpacking trip to Europe. This post is an old draft from October 2007. I’m just now getting around to finishing it up for you.

Now, first of all, somehow I scammed a friend into paying for my plane ticket from San Francisco to Paris about 10 years ago. It was a situation where her folks weren’t going to let her go without a companion so the money had to come from somewhere and by golly, this is how it was going to get done. It was her decision to do this, never my suggestion. She made the offer and I merely accepted.

I saved nearly all year for it since my friend called me sometime her final year of college and said she wanted to backpack in Europe for a month. Fine with me. I was living with roommates/family that were willing to let me pay a month’s rent late. I diligently paid down my credit cards, paid my student loans on time, and banked about $800 cash before I left.

To plan the trip we did several things.

1. We joined Hostelling International. That got us discounts across Europe at youth hostels. We used their pre-booking service to reserve rooms. This was absolutely essential in places like Paris, which are extremely popular during the summer months.

2. My friend had an ISIC card. It’s an international student ID card and helped her get cheaper admission to many museums. I was no longer a student, but I would let her pay for us and often the ticket taker would assume I had one too. When they didn’t, that was fine, I paid full price.

3. We did Eurail passes. To get the Youth price, you must be under 26. I think I was 24 at the time. I’m too old now so I might as well get the Adult 2nd class ticket these days. But yes, you can save quite a lot. We went from Paris to Madrid, to Barcelona, to Geneva, to Brussels, to Paris, to Munich to Geneva, back to Paris. Eurostar/Chunnel tickets were separate and I went to Brussels alone since I couldn’t afford the Chunnel. My friend left me alone to pick up another friend in London who couldn’t afford a full two weeks with us.

4. We ate really cheaply. We got breakfast at our hostel every morning without fail. We then bought fruit, snacks, bread, cheese and meat for lunch everyday. We only dined at restaurants at night. Since we weren’t big drinkers, we got vin du pays and shared it at the youth hostel, which is mighty entertaining. Take a pocketknife, bandanna, and canteen/water bottle. You will find them essential on your travels when it comes to dining.

5. We traveled light. I used a backpack that carried about 4,000 cu inches. It wasn’t very much, but that meant I kept my possessions to a minimum and my souvenir buying down. The only things I have from that trip are pictures and a pair of hiking boots because my regular sneakers just weren’t cutting the mustard. I spent a lot on them, and while they were worth it. I should have tried to buy better boots at home on sale. But I had no idea that running shoes were actually terrible for this sort of trip. Chalk this up to serious inexperience about hiking and traveling. Sneakers were ok in the past, but definitely not for this kind of trip.

6. Do your research to maximize your adventure! I got the Rick Steve’s Guide to Museums. I read it and was very specific about which museums I wanted to visit and gave them a priority. I studied art history and my friend has less of an interest in it, so she let me dictate a little of what to see. We had a really good time because Rick’s books are very informative, right down to a walking path through the museum that will take you efficiently past the major highlights. I kid you not. He will be specific about which staircase to take.

On a different trip to Italy, I used The Blue Guide to Rome. That was an extremely wonderful book. Don’t get too hung up on Let’s Go and Lonely Planet. If you are interested in a special location or topic, get the book and do the research since it will enhance your visit. Say if you are going on a wine trip in France, get a book that will teach you about the terroirs so you can figure out if you want to go to Burgundy or Bordeaux.

Rick Steves wrote a really great overview about guidebooks. Having used many of the guidebooks he’s listed. He is spot on with his descriptions of the books. Use this to help you decide between guidebooks. And I completely agree, get the latest copy you can. Absolutely borrow an old one from a friend, but when you are ready to go, get the latest copy for yourself, within 12 months of publication. Guidebooks are periodicals, and just like a magazine their information has time-value.

7. We didn’t have a crazy nightlife. Sure I went out on La Rambla in Barcelona and ended up dancing close to all night. I hit a bar or two with some Catalans I met in a Belgian youth hostel when I was by myself. But I didn’t pack a fancy outfit to wear clubbing and skipped all that entirely on this trip. Hanging out with the kids in the youth hostel was much more fun and conducive for conversation than a noisy club.

8. Work the network. Now that I’m older and have some extremely well-traveled friends, I can leverage those connections into couch surfing for a night or two in far flung locations. I haven’t taken advantage of it, but I have put people in touch with each other and had good reports about the outcome. Be prepared though to take a gift or some sort of thank you for the host.

I stayed with my pen pal’s parents when I stayed in Switzerland. I hadn’t written my pen pal a letter in 5 years. But out of curiosity, I called his parents’ house from Geneva out of the phone book and took a trip out to see them finally. It was really nice. I hope he gets to visit me in DC one day. I ended up sending a present later for his mother when I found out she likes to collect a special type of figurine.

9. Think about working on your trip. I haven’t done this, but I know someone who worked on his grandmother’s potato farm in Finland for part of the summer, prolonging his stay in Europe by a few weeks. I also had a friend who picked cantaloupes in Israel because he wanted to save money and travel longer on a trip around the world. Basically he was a migrant farmer, you know, the kind we try to keep out of the US. You do what you can if you want to keep traveling and since he was with a friend, he said it wasn’t too bad. Obviously, this route isn’t for everyone. But there are more formal work experiences you can arrange as well.

Ok, that’s about it. I hope it gives you some ideas for your next trip.

Now, the part you’ve been waiting for! THE FOOD!

The food was pretty good all weekend. Because three meals of our trip were going to be provided as part of wedding festivities, boyfriend and I agreed to pick up some beer, sodas, and snacks and have one really nice meal. We picked up the equivalent of a case of beer, a case of soda, an orange, chips, hummus, soy milk and cereal for the house. Some of the beer we ended up giving away rather than take back with us. We did bring back the orange and leftover cereal to DC. Overall, the price on food I thought was expensive because everything has to be trucked in. I was hoping stuff would be cheaper but I think it’s not because nearly everything there is driven by tourism. Short of the poultry industry and some farming, we weren’t sure what other industries were down on the mainland there.

Part of the fun of going on vacation is finding out what the locals eat, but I made a mistake. Some of the kids at the house recommended Dirty Dick’s, a local chain for seafood and while my dinner was alright, boyfriend didn’t like his softshell crabs and fries. I had snocrab with corn and boiled red potatoes which I thought was yummy, even though it took some effort to eat it. We also had some oysters on the half-shell, but oddly they weren’t fully shucked. They were still attached to the shell and I’m used to the shucker cutting the meat off the shell. Boo! Later I was talking to a shop owner and told him we were at Dirty Dick’s and he just shook his head. I guess I shouldn’t have listened to the kids at the house, but that’s ok. We made up for it later. (Dinner with one cocktail, oysters on the half shell and two entrees was $50.)

We lucked out on Saturday when we found Dare Devil Pizza on S. Virginia Dare Trail, in Kill Devil Hills. (Get it?) We had their jalepeno poppers (yucky with too much cheese) and a totally awesome white pizza, The Greek. We asked for it without the usual tomatoes. It was really tasty with a lot of garlic and spinach with a white sauce that was really rich. We ordered the large but should have had the small since we only ate 4 slices. We boxed the rest and took it back to the house, but didn’t end up eating it when we realized we didn’t want the garlic smell in the car with us when we drove back to DC. Stinky but fantastic! The crust was pretty good on it too. Nice and crispy.

Detour first to the lunch we had on the way home: I think I’ve fallen in love with vinegary Carolina BBQ. I love good tomato-based sauce with spicy kick, but that’s what I’m used to having up north. Carolina BBQ may be my favorite, especially Scott’s because it has some bite. Wells is ok, but I prefer it a little hotter. Add a dash of Texas Pete or Tabasco, and it’s pure goodness. We stopped at Southland Trade since I saw a ton of billboards for it and we ran into it just as we were feeling puckish. It’s just a little souvenir shop and take out place with a bunch of tables. Not large, but pretty popular with the locals. The staff was nice and friendly. One BBQ pulled pork platter with fries, and one extra pulled pork sandwich and two sodas was $15, about the same as McDonald’s maybe, but WAY WAY BETTER. I sat there squirting Scott’s on to my plate and dipping my sandwich in it to get the bread sopping wet with vinegar tastiness. (And it’s available via mail order online! Click the link for tasty food!)

Lastly, you’ll note on yesterday’s post that I spent $150 at Owens’ Restaurant. That was a mistake on our part. You see, I saw a 2005 Cakebread Cellars Sauvignon Blanc on the wine list and I thought boyfriend might like it since he prefers whites. But it turns out he very much did not like it at all and though I could have been happy with a glass or two of something red for $15-20 total, I ended up very drunk and silly on 2/3rds of a $54 bottle of wine. If it wasn’t for that, dinner would have been less than $100 and well worth it.

I decided not to be tempted by their lobster tail appetizer stuffed with crab meat. I was too full from snacking in the car and craving some salad. I stuck to the Shrimp and Grits diesh with sausage and the creamiest grits I’ve ever tasted in my life. I swear, they were fantastic! The online menu doesn’t give you a sense of how much entrees are, but you can guess that it’s much more posh than other places on the Outer Banks. There’s filet mignon and lobster and stuff like that so expect to pay the same prices as you would in DC, $20-35 an entree.

Owens was by far the best place we ate. It was also the most expensive, but I think it was worth it. Boyfriend and I agreed that we’d eat one really nice meal while we were down there and it absolutely fulfilled our hopes and expecatations.

We went two places run by the National Park Service down at the Outer Banks. However, the lands pass available for $80 is only good for admission to one place, Kitty Hawk. It won’t cover the climbing fee at Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

The Kitty Hawk Memorial was interesting to visit. It was $4 a person, so $8 for the two of us. It’s been over 100 years since the first flight by the Wright Brothers so it was kind of fun to go. It was very educational if you like geeky aeronautical things or mechanics. The historical stuff was kind of neat too. They had an oral history project, a reconstructed camp cabin and hangar, and a few replica planes complete with mannequin in period costume.

It’s definitely more of a family place to go where kids can fly kites and run around. There is a massive lecture hall there where I guess more serious stuff takes place after they wheel in a plane. Also, if you are a pilot, there is a small airstrip there, but no tower.

I didn’t want to climb the hill to the monument there, but it’s a great way to burn off some energy, and no, you don’t have to walk all the way from the main visitors center. You can drive over and park at the bottom of the bill, and save yourself a little energy to walk up in the heat. Honestly, don’t go on a really sunny or hot day because there is no shade at all.

The big attraction for the Outer Banks is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. It’s the world’s tallest brick lighthouse. However, it’s not in the original location and there are a few other lighthouses out there, like the Bodie Lighthouse. It’s $7 per person to climb the tower, so $14 for both of us. It’s a lot of stairs. They even have a defibrillator at the top just in case. I was definitely huffing and puffing, but it was a lot easier to climb than St. Peter’s in Rome. It’s less steep and much wider. However, you do get dizzy going down because you go down much faster. The view is very nice. The water is really beautiful from there. But don’t go with really small kids since they have to be 3′ 6″ high to climb the stairs alone. They don’t let you carry kids since the stairs are iron and a slip would be rather nasty.

It’s an hour down to Cape Hatteras from the park entrance in Nags Head, but fear not, there’s a few towns along the way within the park itself where you can stop for lunch and gas, so don’t feel like you have to buy gas before entering the park, though it is marginally more expensive per gallon in those towns. BTW, if you do stop for a convenience store snack, look for some frozen burritos from a local place. I didn’t catch the label, but I had the chicken one with the blue oval sticker. It was really tasty, but needed some spicy hot sauce.

Lastly, there is night fishing and bonfires on the beach. The fires have to be out by midnight and when the sun sets later in the evening later in the summer, that doesn’t give you lots of time to get a big roaring fire going. But it’s still nice to kick back with a few beers and a fire.

Personally I don’t think the Outer Banks will be my beach of choice since I kind of like people watching on the boardwalk in Jersey or places like Cape Henlopen or Half Moon Bay which are more like day trips from the city. But I definitely won’t say no if my friends organize a trip and invite me down. It really was pretty there with some of the cleanest beaches I’ve ever visited.

The Outer Banks are one of the few places left where you can drive a car out onto the sand. There are designated areas for it, but some are only seasonal, and you can only drive from beach to beach in Corolla, far north of where we stayed in Nags Head. Though we spent a lot on gas, this was the first time my boyfriend had a reason to take his Jeep on to the sand, so there was no way we weren’t going to take his gas guzzler instead of my sedate little Altima.

Jeep culture is kind of interesting. We definitely waved a lot at older guys in tricked out Jeeps, but the dippy girls in newer stock Wranglers less so. They’ll learn after they realize that a thousand people just waved at them, not because they are cute, but because the wavers are driving Jeeps. It’s kind of like motorcycles. I had a friend tell me once that Rule #1 was hang on while I’m riding on back and Rule #2 was wave at other motorcyclists. It’s the same thing.

At any rate, the wedding was very cute. It ended up being a GEICO commercial when a plane with a banner flew right overhead as the bride was about to start walking down the aisle. We all cracked up. My friends had a ridiculous number of bridal party members. (Almost double digits on both sides.) And it was good to spend time with my former boss and his wife, who I think are really neat.

His parents fed us on Thursday afternoon at the Rehearsal BBQ, then again on Saturday morning her parents fed us a post-wedding brunch. There were bonfires on the beach, a little night fishing (mostly rays) and some carousing, which we old folks fortunately skipped. No sunburns for us, fortunately, but the groom was his usual summer-sun-kissed self. I was seriously going to loan Mr. Peanut some green concealer to tone down the red, but it faded to a nice piggy pink by the time the ceremony came around.

I am going to have to write about the food in separate posts as well as some of the local activities. But for now, I’ll tell you the total cost of the trip and how it breaks down.

$266* – Gas for an off-road vehicle, i.e bad gas mileage
$4 - Tolls
$220 – Rental
$22 – Admission to National Parks
$44* – Groceries/beer
$30* – Dare Devil Pizza
$15* – BBQ lunch at Southland’s
$56* – Dirty Dick’s Restaurant
$146 – Owens’ Family Restaurant
$5 – Gag gift

Total Damage $808

Boyfriend picked up everything with a star (*) for a total of $411. Add on various small things like sodas, water, snacks on the trip home and it was pretty evenly split between us. Not too shabby for a 4-day weekend to the beach. It could have been much more expensive, but we had many delicious meals provided for us as wedding guests.

As far as a gift goes, my friends asked for nothing since they know most of their friends can’t afford much beyond the trip and rental itself, but I asked Mr. Peanut what he wanted and he said there is honestly nothing. I know what Mr. Peanut likes and I know what Mrs. Peanut will appreciate. But I’ll have to send something along later since cash is tight at the moment. But I have something in mind.

I will elaborate a little more on food and entertainment the rest of this week.

We are taking the off-road vehicle because we’re going to a beach that allows them. WHEE!

It’s not fuel-efficient to take this car, but in the name of fun, we spend extra.

My friends, Mr. and Mrs. Peanut, will be tying the knot on the beach. Very exciting stuff. Mr. Peanut and I met 5 years ago at work. He’s one of my totally awesome co-workers and I wish him all the best. When I first met him, he was kind of a freewheeling kid playing the field. Mrs. Peanut is really nice and I can tell they are going to be mega happy. My old boss will be there too! (He’s still Mr. Peanut’s boss. I left a few months ago.)

I have a super special wedding present for Mr. Peanut. It’s a gag gift, but it’s going to be great and it cost me less than 5 bucks! I’ll tell you what it is when I get back since there might not be internet access this weekend. (Rumor says yes, Gut Feeling says no.)

Have a great Memorial Day holiday!

I’m not a huge camper, but I have done it to go to music festivals and stuff like that. This past weekend I went out to the George Washington National Forest for a little camping trip. We had tagged this weekend for the last month as a target for a small trip, but the weather looked iffy all of last week. Boyfriend was thinking of canceling, but because I’ve been in some really sh*tty, sh*tty weather before, I ok’d a little rain. The NOAA forecast didn’t look too bad.

I didn’t have much time to stop and rummage through my own camping gear to pull stuff during the week. The construction in my apartment prevents me from really pulling everything out and going through it carefully. I made a point of grabbing my headlamp, coffeepot and thermos. I also grabbed a set of gloves, hat and scarf. For some reason, I just had a bad feeling it would get chilly at night. We pretty much stayed up till 2am packing the car, getting groceries and other preparations. This was our first camping trip together so it was a learning experience.

Saturday morning we woke up early but I misunderstood something boyfriend asked about washing a pair of jeans so we had to wait for them to dry. As soon as they were ready, we put the dog in the car and hit the road around 9:30, a half-hour behind schedule. The weather was kind of sunny and it smooth sailing. We made a stop in Woodstock, VA for gas. I got a Southern Chicken sandwich and a soda from McDonalds (not as good as Chik-Fil-A), but boyfriend got an awesome slice of NY style pizza for $1.50 in the middle of nowhere. (Actually it’s I-81 at VA-42 in Woodstock. It’s the pizza place next to the Shell on the east side of 81.) Till we got to the forest everything was great. A few places boyfriend already knew about were occupied but we found a good spot eventually near a river with a firepit and log carved out as a couch. (Complete with cup holders!) It took a while and we didn’t get camp set up till about 2:30p. A little later than I think he would have liked, but c’est la vie. We weren’t able to traverse to some better camping areas without another off-road vehicle following us, or a winch, so we had to make do.

The weather held out all night and the near full moon was amazing. The moonglow off the water was gorgeous. Boyfriend was great about foraging for firewood and we started a good fire going for a weenie roast. I put two potatoes in foil to put in the fire and soaked some corn in water to cook in the fire later. It was one of the first times I’ve ever had to manage cooking on a fire completely on my own. (Usually an expert camper friend is there to guide the process.) The potatoes need about 2-3 hours and the corn should have taken 30 minutes, but I couldn’t stick them deep enough into the fire (no long reach tongs), plus we were impatient. But it all ended up really tasty anyway.

Sunday morning was really cloudy, but the rain wasn’t too bad. We cooked eggs and sausage patties for breakfast and then struck camp as the rain went from a drizzle to full rain. We got out of there pretty quickly since we had most stuff packed up from the night before, just in case. Got back to DC by late afternoon. The sun came out and we were able to open up our wet gear and air it out!

Approximate budget:
~$80 for gas (2 tanks in an off-road vehicle with crappy gas mileage)
Groceries ~$40
Excellent yummy pizza $4.50 = 3 slices!!
McDonald’s lunch $4.50

~$150 total for the weekend. Not too bad. Since boyfriend did some of the grocery shopping and bought the first tank of gas, I can’t really pinpoint exactly what we spent, but it was a pretty cheap weekend of fun and adventure. I got to wear my fancy hiking boots while fording some small rivulets. Hooray for Gore-Tex! There weren’t too many bugs either since I kept covered up and we used little bug spray.

All in all, a good trip.

Ah. Jersey City. It’s come quite a long way since 9/11 and all those downtown Manhattan firms have moved across the river. My friend’s lovely event was held at the Liberty House at Liberty State Park. There was a gorgeous moonlit view of Manhattan and at the edge, the Statue of Liberty. Beautiful, just like the wedding.

My friend is Indian and she sent me a sari to wear for her wedding, so my wedding attire was all set. A lot of the non-Indian women at the wedding were wearing them. It was actually pretty awesome to see all the styles and colors. It’s actually a pretty flattering outfit for most body types, from the skinny cousins to the chubby matrons, everyone looked great.

I have yet to send a wedding present to my friend, but I will probably send one shortly. I didn’t have time to think about it. That lack of time also contributed to my expensive hotel room. The bride and groom picked the Courtyard Marriott on the waterfront, so not the poshest of hotels, but certainly not the cheapest either. Had I booked the room reservation when I was supposed to do it, I would have saved $20 a night. However, because I was really sick last week (and still suffering from a lingering cough), I called the hotel Friday night and said there was no way I was going to arrive and to change my booking to Saturday night only. They said no problem. With valet parking, I spent $205.00 on the hotel.

Tolls were probably about $40-50, but I’m not sure since I use EZ-Pass now. It’s a bit of a mystery to me. This includes my trip to Jersey City from DC, then a side trip to Philadelphia on the PA Turnpike to visit my parents on Easter Sunday. Gas was about $80, and I came home with a tank that’s about 3/4ths full. I still hate paying someone else to pump my gas since I obligated to tip the attendant, so I skipped buying it in Jersey for cheap, and pumped it in Delaware twice at my favorite rest stop, i.e. usually the cheapest off the interstate. I figured for a 10-gallon fill up, if I tip the attendant $2, then I’ve added 20 cents to the price per gallon, thus negating any savings for buying it cheap in Jersey.

Since I left on Saturday morning early, after a good night’s rest, I skipped breakfast and had a big lunch when I got to the hotel. I dashed to Cosi across the street since the hotel’s weekend brunch service closes at 1pm, right after I checked in. BOO! But for my money, I got a veggie sandwich, tomato soup and some extra bread for the soup. Total was about $12, but the bread was saved for a snack in the car on my way out. I also bought a snack of chips and a drink at the hotel, very late at night after the wedding for about $4. Annoying, but very necessary since my stomach was growling and there were no alternatives around.

I tipped the maid $5 for putting up with my mess.

Because I was the only one at my wedding table who actually wanted the centerpiece, I took it to my folks for Easter. They were really happy to have some flowers for the house as the centerpiece was quite large and red, a very lucky color. It fit perfectly on my mother’s little table in the front hallway.

I took my folks out to lunch for Easter/my dad’s birthday. Total damage there was $57. The service was terrible so I didn’t tip them extravagantly.

I’m trying to think of what else I spent that day on this trip, but honestly, there was nothing. I had a snack and some bottled water in the car on the way from NJ to Philly.

Total damage for the weekend was $403. Only the hotel room and EZ Pass charges went on my credit card, everything else was paid with my debit card or cash in my pocket. Now I just have to send a gift to the happy bride and groom.

I just heard that an old family friend and his wife just had a boy. To acknowledge the life event, I sent something from their registry. It was the least I could do. This friend is a doctor and was a great help to me during my dad’s hospital stay in 2006. Even though we’re not really close, I still think of him as a brother in many ways because he’s always there to help when it comes to my parents. Though my sibling and I live far away from him, we always try to acknowledge important life events. I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not know him so I’m really thrilled he’s getting a family started.

I took the time since I was on the Babies R Us website to buy for a baby shower in a few weeks. I figured I should kill two birds with one stone. If you are making a present for someone’s shower, do you buy an additional gift? I personally dislike doing that, but this friend of mine is not someone with whom I trade lots of presents during the year. We give little token gifts, like yarn from our stash or handmade cards. Nothing huge.

I spent about $100 total on all gifts including shipping and taxes. Don’t even ask me what I spent on the gift I’m making. DIY is not cheap but there’s love in every stitch and frankly, I’m so freakin’ smug at the perfectness of this gift (in concept, execution, not so much) that I’m just happy she’s going to love it. (I cannot divulge till after it’s done.)

Now, onto the business of a bachelorette party. Fun as it sounds, it’s out of town and I was balking at going because I don’t know anyone anymore in Boston who has room to host me. Then I read the invitation much more closely. The organizers are getting a crash pad at a hotel. This changes everything. Now I’m only looking at a crazy bar tab, part of a hotel bill, shuttle flight and incidentals.

Very few friends of mine have gotten married. They have, but usually I was living too far away from them to partake in things like a bachelorette party. I think this will be the first big bachelorette party I’ve ever done in my life. The bride is someone I greatly admire and I’ve always heard tons of stuff about her old college friends, but I’ve never met them before. It feels right to do this trip. I just hope that no one else gets married in 2008 or else I am screwed. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to visit my nephews in CA this year with all the wedding stuff that’s planned.

I must remember that life is all about choices. Hard choices, but choices with which I can live.

Ah… 2008 wedding season is starting to rear its ugly head. In the past 2 months, I have received invitations or save the date notices for three weddings. I have known about one for over a year. The other two are for very short engagements, lasting at most for 6 months.

I have an Indian wedding in March, for which the bride has sent me a sari to wear. All I have to do is cover the cost of driving to Jersey City and the hotel. I’ve already asked her if I can split a room with another of her single girlfriends. She is going to ask around for me. I will have to find some pretty purple/silver bangles to wear with the sari, but I am grateful for such a lovely present. (I think I have some somewhere from an Indian dancing class I took.) She’s one of the short engagement people, but she and the groom are South Asian and a long engagement isn’t typical for their culture. It came together pretty quickly since she’s using many of the same Indian wedding vendors her cousins and brother used. That cuts down A LOT on planning since she knows what she is getting and for what price. How much engagement time is wasted on lengthy research efforts?

The second wedding is in April for a couple that’s been dating for a long time. They also have a short engagement. The groom hinted that he was going to ask in 2008, but little did I think they’d set a date for this spring. Fast-moving, but I met the bride at a friend’s wedding in 2006 and she’s fantastic. It’s bittersweet for me, as he was my ‘backup’ and in 2 years he would have had to marry me on the agreed upon date. (Laugh all you want. I have to find another one.) Since they met through church, they didn’t have long to wait on getting a date for the sanctuary. I’m not sure what other plans are for the wedding. Being a friend of the groom, you get cut out of a lot of the planning chit chat. I’ve asked another friend if she’s heard details, but so far, no luck. We shall see what plans are afoot.

The last wedding is a Beach Weekend affair on the Outer Banks in NC. I cannot wait! This has been on my calendar for a year. Normally over Memorial Day weekend, I go to Texas and camp with some old friends (which started as a wedding invitation and morphed into an annual thing). But due to this wedding, I cannot go. That’s ok because the allotment for the TX trip now shifts to this wedding. And it should be cheaper than TX anyway. Instead of flying, I will likely be carpooling down with friends in a minivan from DC. Because the groom is renting a series of houses for a week, lodging will be fairly cheap. We’ll be able to cook, dine, and do all kinds of wacky stuff together. I hear the rental has wireless internet too, so I might be able to blog while on vacation.

What is wedding etiquette here? My boyfriend has been invited to some of these weddings. Do I pay for his share or should I expect him to pay? There is a problem with the April wedding in Boston because my boyfriend will likely have to fly up in time for the ceremony on Saturday, though I am considering Amtrak for myself. Quite a quandary.

There’s part of me that wants to take the curmudgeon route the Miserly Bastard takes, and just send a fat check and not go. But these are three people dear to me and the party should be a great time to catch up with old friends on the guest list. I’ll save the curmudgeon check for my cousin in Korea who is getting married this spring. (My sibling and I will each shell out $250 for my cousin and her fiance. We did that for her older brother who got married last year.)