Citizen Wayward

I had a jury summons for today, so I was able to work from home as I waited to find out whether I needed to report to a courthouse, but I didn't. And now, my final civic duty as a resident of the state of California is complete. I cannot be called for jury duty again, and we'll be long gone by the time November elections roll around.

* ☼—grin—☼ *

I'm sorry. Was I gloating?  Heh.

I can't help it, we're about 3 away months from our move-in date and I'm getting more excited by the day.

Since I was working from home, I took the opportunity to make a few calls I wouldn't have been able to make from the office. I started calling around for RV rentals. I am looking for:

One-way rental.
Allows pets.
Towing capacity for Roo.

All of the RV rental websites I looked at do not provide online quotes for one-way rentals, so I needed to call. It took calls to 4 rental businesses to find one with a one-way, pet-friendly rental available and a towing capacity of 2,000 lbs. Too bad Roo weighs 3500+.

But talking to the rep at least let me start building out more numbers for the moving budget. Between a 5-day rental, and mileage and one-way drop off fees we'd be looking at around $1,000. Plus $2,000 in deposit money ($1,000 for the RV, $1,000 for the pets). The RV gets 10 MPG, it's roughly 2,800 miles door-to-door, so at current gas prices we'll need to set aside at least $1,100 for fuel. Even more if we're towing.

Okay, at least $2,100, with another $2,000 up in the air for deposits.

But the chances of finding an RV available with one-way rental that allows pets AND can tow Roo are shaping up to be slim to none. So, shipping Roo with an auto transport service would run another $1,000.

Alright. Now it's $3,100, with $2,000 in deposits. 

Yowza. Ooookay.

The other option, driving the car, is now looking much more attractive. Roo has been getting 27 MPG, which brings the fuel expense down to about $400. If we stay at Motel 6s (Motel 6 has a free app! That'll come in handy!) (FYI—I was able to download and install the app and look up hotels for each nightly stop all before the website was able to complete a single search. Just sayin'.) for 5 nights (it'll take 5–6 8-hour driving days, driving at an average of 65 MPH .) I'll need about $250 for hotel expenses, and pets stay free at Motel 6.Since Scoob and I will share the driving we can probably fit in more than 8 hours of driving each day and only need a hotel room and food budget for 4 days, but I'd rather plan for 5, just in case.

Then there's food. I'll probably pack a small cooler in the car, and maybe we'll eat dinners out (I mean how can you pass right through Albuquerque and not try the red and green enchiladas, or through Memphis without at least tasting the BBQ). I'll be generous and say $50/day for road food and meals to cover both of us.

Even if I pad the budget and round up, I'm only seeing about $1,000 with this option. Somebody check my math, please.

Ha, Mr. Welch! Put THAT in your algebra pipe and smoke it! (Mr. Welch was actually geometry. Close enough!)

Stops in Needles, CA; Albuquerque, NM; Oklahona City, OK;
Memphis, TN; and Asheville, NC.