I often jokingly call John Mr. Security. When we’re getting ready to head out the door and everyone claims they’re ready, I’ve learned to adjust our departure by several minutes to allow for John’s “ten-step security check” process: checking to make sure all the windows are closed and locked; all the doors are locked; checking them again; making sure a certain light’s left on if it’ll be dark by the time we return…

If we’re going on a trip, I add on several more minutes and make sure I have a good book to read while the kids and I wait in the car.

John would cringe to know that I’ve sort of accidentally forgotten to close the garage door some nights when he’s away. Shhh. Don’t tell.

I come by my lackadaisical attitude naturally, growing up as I did in small-town Kansas where people didn’t even lock their doors at night.

Not so in John’s home growing up. John’s dad used to leave their Tv on to deter burglars when no one was home, which I don’t imagine was so great for the electric bill. But I don’t think their house in Montgomery, Alabama ever got broken into, either.

Have I ever mentioned that his dad served 20 years as a police detective? And that was after his 20 years in the Air Force? You could say that John comes by his… fastidiousness, shall we say, quite honestly. And as much of a hard time as I’m giving him, I do feel safer when he’s around.

So I wasn’t surprised when John started telling me about the security measures that he set up in his apartment in Monterey while he’s away. He bought no fewer than three timers for his little hole in the wall for three different lights to turn on and off at certain times:

1. A lamp in the main room comes on in the early evening as the sun goes down and turns off about 10:30.
2. The bedroom light then comes on for a few hours.
3. Then at 2:30 the bathroom light comes on for a few minutes. You know, like someone got up to go pee.

I was all like, you’re kidding me. Pee security?

This conversation was prompted by a text John got from his apartment manager in Monterey telling him that one of the cars in their parking lot got broken into, prompting John (and me) to be so relieved that his car was parked safely on base where he caught the shuttle to the airport. Thank you again shuttle service. And believe me you that John thought about parking security when he decided to get a shuttle ticket rather than seek out another means of getting to the airport that would have required him to leave his car parked at the apartment lot for two weeks.

These security timers are cheap and oh-so-easy (according to John) to use. All you have to do is plug them into the outlet, plug the lamp (or radio, etc.), into them, then set the timer for when you want them to turn on and off. If someone were really staking out your routine? They’d probably figure it out. But then, most burglars just choose the easiest target, and that’s probably going to be the apartment with no lights on at all.

The timers John bought were just like these I found on Amazon, but John bought his at Home Depot for less than $4.

What measure do you employ when you’re gone? When you travel? Or do you chill and not do anything at all and hope for the best? (But hopefully at least close your garage door.) (If you have a garage.)

John flew in last night from San Francisco to the Cincinnati airport, non-stop, with *only* a three-hour delay. That darn fog!

• One round-trip ticket: $490.90
• shuttle from base to airport (round-trip): $69.00

Thank you shuttle for your services, without which John would have paid almost $300 to park at the San Francisco airport. And that seems like a fairly good price for a non-stop flight at Christmas time?

Naturally, the first thing on the agenda the morning of his first day back was a showing. So where did we go?

Of course! And then to Home Depot for a bulb to replace the burnt-out light over the kitchen sink, and for five bags of salt for the water softener. Or was it four? Who cares! I didn’t have to lift them.

Ah, the good life. It’s nice to have him home.

I’ve always longed for travel. When I was young and growing up in Kansas, I used to pour over maps and imagine places I would visit someday and places where I might live and dream about the days I would travel. I never had any particular place in mind; I just wanted to go everywhere.

As soon as I graduated high school I left Kansas — for that raucous State of Iowa. Oh, but lest ye judge! A big reason I chose the school I did was because of its amazing foreign language program that required majors to spend a year abroad studying in a country that spoke their target language. I spent barely half of my four years actually on my college campus. The rest of the time I was either in Germany for language study, or in Tanzania on another study adventure, or traveling around Europe on tour with the college choir. For years after graduating I (and my parents) paid on the student loans required for my education. But surprisingly, these sojourns abroad didn’t cost any more — and sometimes less — than my time on campus. (That’s what going to a private liberal-arts college will do for you.)

On Family Travel

Fast forward… er, several years, and travel continues to be a part of my life — though it seems to lean more toward moving to different places rather than simply visiting them for awhile. My husband and I often joke, “We don’t need to vacation — we just move!” And indeed, my travels did seem to slow down substantially once I married and had children. Traveling with young children is just… Hard. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you it isn’t. And yet while I say I’ve felt like I’ve slowed down, when I think back on where all we’ve been, with children in tow, I am rather amazed at ourselves: Paris; Venice; Pompeii; Canary Islands; Bavaria; New York City; San Diego; Gulf Shores; Zion National Park; Breckenridge; D.C.; San Antonio; Cincinnati…

None of those include places we’ve lived, mind you. That’s another list.

My point with all this? As much as I’ve been able to travel in my lifetime, kids or no kids, I’m always thinking of places I’ve yet to experience. And now that I have a family, I think in terms of where I’d like to take my kids. I still think about all the great places I’d like to go, but now it’s in terms of  how I want to share them with my family.

Or, you know. I could always go by myself if no one else is interested. I’m not picky.

When we found out that we were moving this year — and to the other side of the country, no less — I recognized I was running out of time to visit certain places in Eastern U.S. that I always thought we’d “get around to” eventually. Like Washington, D.C. And Niagara Falls…

I got the itch to go to Niagara this summer about 24 hours before our impending departure to Kansas in July for my cousin’s wedding. Instead of packing for the trip and cleaning our house to make it show-ready, I found myself googling the documents necessary to apply for a passport card, and scrambling to print official passport photos… You know, important stuff.

Passport Renewal

Only John’s passport was still current, but rather than renew all of our passports I researched what exactly we would need to enter Canada as U.S. citizens since they implemented the new procedures in 2009. If we had plans to fly overseas again any time soon, I would have considered renewing all of our passports, even though it would have cost $75 for just one adult renewal.

But we have no plans as a family to fly anywhere soon. Our SOP (military lingo for Standard Operating Procedure) for travel has been to visit and experience places within driving distance of where we live and avoid the cost and hassle of flying as a family whenever possible. Since we move around regularly, we always have plenty of new things to see and do!

And if the military moves us overseas again? (Which we do hope they’ll do.) They will provide all the family members with passports, at no extra cost to us.

I had heard about the new passport card that serves as an alternative to crossing the Canada and Mexico borders in lieu of the regular passport book. These cards are only good for travel over land — not by air — but since that’s the way we roll that would work just fine for the foreseeable future. And even better — turns out that not only do these passport cards cost considerably less than regular passports, but minors under 16 aren’t required to have them at all so long as they’re crossing the border with their parents: you just need their (original) birth certificates.

Cost of one adult passport card (renewal): $20*

*The cost of a passport card renewal has since gone up to $30. What I didn’t know at the time I ordered mine in July was that fees were going up just one week later. I didn’t even realize that until I looked up the links for this post! That probably explains why it took four weeks to receive my card rather than the two weeks the web site had suggested. The link above takes you to the site that reflects the current costs. My card was also considered a renewal because I have an expired passport book.

I totally wasted $8 on passport photos by going the last-minute route, though. All she did was use her point-and-shoot on me with a white-sheet background. I could have taken my own photo at home, then taken my memory card in and plugged it into their console with the passport photo specifications and printed my own for 39 cents. I guess I had to make up for missing the higher fees on the passport itself. *sigh*

Total cost of one passport card (renewal) for one adult (me): $32.45

This includes the card, the photos, and the postage with receipt confirmation ($4.46).

Much better than having to renew passports for all of us!

The Family in front of the American Falls - and Bridal Veil (on the Canadian side)

How Much We Spent at Niagara Falls

We had an absolutely fantastic time! The particulars:

• Three nights and two days.
• Three Waterfalls. (Did you know that?)
• 860+ miles …
• Total amount spent: $633.56.

This wasn’t our most frugal trip.

The biggest spenders were split pretty evenly between food and playing tourist. The breakdown:

• $176.30 on eating out.
• $178.56 on tourist attractions (and one photo souvenir).
• $117 on lodging.
• $98.54 on fuel.
• $26.93 on parking.
• $31.23 on cash for various spending, including tolls and coffee.

Some Notes on Niagara Falls

Peter and Horseshoe Falls -- on the Canada side

We spent the first day on the Canadian side and the second on the New York side.

On the Canadian side:

The Canadian side offers the best views of the Falls, and it also offers many more tourist attractions. Having never been to Niagara before, we opted to buy a family “Adventure Pass” that included Niagara’s Fury, The White Water Walk, Journey Behind the Falls, and the Maid of the Mist. The package cost $159.63 (in American dollars) for three adults and one child: 12 and older are considered adults (i.e. Conner) ; and five and under are free (i.e. Peter).

The Pass requires you to time stamp each activity — except for Maid of the Mist, which you just have to wait in line for. If you aren’t able to make your pre-arranged time, it’s no big deal; you just book another time. The Pass is good for two days and also entitles you to ride the Peoplemover Shuttle that runs for several kilometers along a route that hugs the Niagara River and stops at various locations. This is handy because you really just want to park your car once and leave it there for the day — otherwise you’d be driving around continually looking for another parking spot. (And paying each time.) Or you’d be walking and walking and walking… Which is fine for healthy adults, but with little kids can get whiny and weary until you just want to tear your hair out and be done with the whole thing old after a couple of hours. The Pass also grants you discounts at other attractions along the route, such as the Butterfly Conservatory and the Incline Railway, none of which we took the time to do, with no regrets. We greatly enjoyed our day:

1. Niagara’s Fury

We didn’t really see the point of this over all, unless maybe you’re visiting Niagara during the winter months and just want something to do inside. The attraction is a couple of movies: the first illustrating the evolution of the Falls in partial cartoon format to appeal to kids; the second in 4D IMAX form complete with the rain gear they like to hand out everywhere because you will get wet. We were shocked when we noticed the regular price of this attraction if you were to purchase tickets for it outside of the Pass: $10 a person. Skip it and just go straight to the Falls, in our opinion.

2. White Water Walk

This was nice and all, but we couldn’t figure out why it required an entrance fee? Except that you have to take an elevator down to the level of the man-made trail, so I guess they want to pay for the cost of maintaining the boardwalk and all. And the elevator. And the person who works the elevator. But the white-water rapids are lovely. Just nothing you can’t see, say, in Colorado, for free. (Or the cost of a hike.) I know, I know… So go to Colorado.

Peter trying to look innocent...

I guess I was a little disgruntled because I had the impression from looking at the map that The White Water Walk would give us a view of the Whirlpool, but no such luck. Although we did get up close and personal to this bizarre wall full of … chewing gum? Such a decorative array, I didn’t realize what the colorful gems were until I caught up with the kids and saw Peter trying to pry one off the wall, to put into his own mouth, no doubt, if I hadn’t stopped him. Ew.

3.  Journey Behind the Falls

This was very cool. You take an elevator down, down, down, to a tunnel carved into the rock that leads to a couple of openings that give you a view of, well, behind the falls. And yes, they issue what is apparently the standard plastic rain gear, because you will get wet.  Did you know that the edges of the Falls continue to move back? But of course they do. That’s erosion! So someday the guardrails in those tunnels that keep crazy people like our Peter from plummeting to their deaths will have to be moved back as the Falls erode further and further away from the current edges. The tunnel was lined with posters illustrating the history of the Falls’ erosion and Niagara in general. It was all very interesting, seriously. Even though my 7yo daughter kept urging me to “Stop reading, Mom!” because we always had to keep going, going, mustn’t stop! Maybe we should have made them walk everywhere, after all, instead of riding the Peoplemover Shuttle between attractions…

After the Maid of the Drenched!

Maid of the Mist is down there! (taken from the New York side)

4. Maid of the Mist

This is, quite simply, the thing you Must Do when you visit the Falls. Unless you’re afraid of water, because you will get wet. (Have you noticed a common theme here?) The Maid of the Mist is the quintessential Niagara Falls experience and also the oldest tourist attraction in North America. (Who knew?) But I must beg to differ with the claim that the boat ride affords the “best view of the Falls” — because I couldn’t see a thing! Oh, yea, they issue you the standard plastic rain gear, but by the time you’re under the Falls (which is what it feels like) the Mist spray is shooting up and down and sideways and all the way into your eyeballs and unless you’re part Mermaid there’s no way to see a thing! I tried keeping the plastic hoody over my face, but after the wind whipped it away a couple of times I gave up. It was a colossally intense experience. We absolutely loved it. Just bring your goggles…

On the New York side:

Compared to the Canada side of Niagara Falls, the New York side is a bit… seedy, shall we say? But that’s mostly just the town of Niagara. Niagara Falls State Park is a spectacular place that gets you, seriously, right up next to The Falls themselves. The Canada side offers the best views; the New York side gets you the closest to the Falls themselves. If what you’re wanting is to plummet down the Falls in a barrel, the New York side would be a good place to launch. (With a hefty fine of $25,000 American dollars awaiting you if you survive.)

We headed toward the park with the intention of parking on Goat Island. Alas, we were turned away because all the spaces were full. We detoured around the town of Niagara for a bit and stopped at a nearby Starbucks for some fortification and to ask about parking alternatives. According to one Starbuck’s employee, we could “just park downtown” where we already were, in a spot clearly marked, 15-minute parking only because “the cops never check” and it’d be no problem. Mmmkay.

We opted not to try that one out to see how it’d go.

So we got our mocha/latte/frappa-frappas and drove on, happening upon the Daredevil Museum through no intention of our own, situated as it is in the middle of a convenience store just a few blocks from Goat Island. I suggested we go inside, having been the only one who’d read of the place and knew it might offer a bit of a distraction until we could figure out what we wanted to do. I never brought up the option of going there before because what I had read of it sounded less than appealing, these artifacts of misguided attention-seekers and their decaying daredevil vessels on display in the corner of a seedy shop next to racks of cheap souvenir t-shirts made in China.

But John and Conner ate it up, taking the time to read all the news articles about the misguided plungers, as well as the miracles such as little Roger Woodward, who accidentally fell over the Falls – and survived. To date, still the only person to do so without protective gear. We successfully headed off pleas from the little kids for over-priced pre-packaged ice cream cones and headed out again. Luckily some parking on Goat Island had opened up and we drove right in, parking in the South Lot which, despite what you might read or see on a map, is not free parking, but still well-worth the $8 fee.

Goat Island

Conner & Olivia on Three Sisters Island

What a wonderful afternoon. We walked around Goat Island and the adjoining Three Sisters Island, stopping all along wherever we fancied to fling rocks into the river or to collect shells from the shoreline or to just stand and view the awe-inspiring Mist of the Falls and the deceptive calm of the rapids as they approach the fatal drop at Terrapin Point. Nothing stops you from wading out to your death except the Love of Life and All That is Holy and the power of mother bear. It truly is an awe-inspiring experience, so close you are to these magnificent falls and their awesome beauty.

The New York side is not to be missed, people. You simply can’t believe your proximity to the falls and their natural power. It’s a divine experience.

Conner and Horseshoe Falls -- on the New York side

I have no regrets at the amount we spent on this trip, short as it was. Sure, we could have done better. But we could have done so, so much worse: you might notice the paltry amount we spend on lodging? $117 for three nights! As I researched places to stay in Niagara, I came across an Air Reserve Base just ten minutes from the Falls, attached to the Niagara Airport — just $39 a night! Who knew? I figured it might be a dump, but hey — we can deal for that amount. But it was so nice! And with a micro and mini fridge to boot. Truly a bonus.

Standing next to the American Falls -- this is a point-and-shoot camera, people.

It’s been three weeks since that trip, and we’ve been busier than a couple of beavers trying to dam up Niagara Falls, trying to get ready for John to leave us and this house. He reports to his new assignment in California in a month or so, and our house here in Ohio still shows no signs of selling. We’re biding our time, leaning toward the kids and I waiting out the market and staying put until something happens. In the meantime, I am thankful for trips like these and others, that remind me of the grandness of this world we live in, and I’m trying not to be too anxious about the house and wistful of John leaving on a new adventure without us. We’ll join him in due time.

Random Bridge in West Virginia

So the kids and I just got back from road-tripping it from Ohio to Maryland! A rather spur of the moment decision to go visit some friends we haven’t seen years. I decided if I waited until John got back (from his TDY), or until we could otherwise all go together, it just wouldn’t happen. It’s funny what goes through your mind when you find out you’re moving — to the other side of the country, no less — a year earlier than originally scheduled: I realized how much I still wanted to get to on this side of the country, Washington, D.C. included. We won’t get to it all, but I’ll do what I can in the months we have left.

Hmmm… some 1,137 miles later, I’m quite content to sit put again for awhile. At least for a couple of weeks.

So, those of you reading this? Are you old enough yet to realize how fast the years can fly by? I mean, ten years since we last saw these friends we just visited? Is it possible?

Okay, I just have to clarify: John has actually visited them a couple of times over the years when he has gone through DC for work. That is so not fair.

But yes, it is otherwise possible for the years to fly by like that. I totally believe that time speeds up the older we get. Remember when summer seemed to last forever? And now it’s gone in a hiccup.

But I digress.

The friends we stayed with were some we knew when we lived in Maryland (Silver Spring) back when Conner was *sniff* just a tot. And our timing seemed to work out for this trip despite the last-minute plans because my friend’s husband was also traveling for work, so it was just we ladies and the kids. (Not that I wouldn’t have wanted to see you, Ken. Mwah.) Our friends’ oldest and Conner were such good buddies Back in The Day, just a couple of months difference in age between them. Back then, we didn’t see them terribly often, what with work schedules and living in different towns and oh the traffic I do not miss it.

Having lunch (yummy hummus!) down by The Mall

But it was enough to cement a friendship that Ligia and I have maintained electronically over the years — recently via facebook (naturally) which has helped me to feel like I already knew her younger son Seth, who was born after we left. Oh, and then there’s the two new people we added to our family since we last saw them! So much fun to put personalities with the faces.

The boys, of course, haven’t exactly stayed bosom buddies over the years. Conner was all like, “We’re going to see who?” But within hours they were jostling and hanging out and getting to know each other again and being good sports about it. I knew things must be going okay when they friended each other on facebook.

But you know when you share a history with people? And you’re together again and it’s like *poof* just yesterday that you saw each other? And the years just melt away. Sigh. It’s just too bad they have to leave a so many wrinkles in their wake…

With so much to see and do in the Washington, D.C. area, I decided that I would make reconnecting with our friends the priority and keeping the kids entertained and healthy a side bonus. True to Budgets form, I’ve crunched some numbers:

Total spent for six days of travel (one adult, one teenager, and two younger children): $387

• $160.53 = gas.
• $45.85 = Metro and parking.
• $180.92 = food and everything else*. Including the toothbrushes and toothpaste I forgot for the little kids and diapers for Peter (because he’s still working on pee control at night) (poor mom guy).

*I am not including what I spent on snacks and groceries/sandwich stuff that I packed for the road. This is melted into our grocery budget, which I am mentally planning a future post about that will update our monthly spending in that area.

Some of the ways we spent money on our trip (and some ways we didn’t):

RACK-O-RIBS: Um, come again?

The first couple of days of our visit, Ligia’s sister-in-law (a college friend of mine!) was also visiting with her two little girls. The first night we went out to dinner, the moms were all focused on ordering for the younger kids and Ligia and I assumed that Conner and Miles were fending for themselves. Whoops.

A whole rack of ribs. For each of them. You’ve got to be kidding me.

Cost = $18

I told Conner whatever he didn’t finish was going to come out of his allowance. I think he took me seriously. It took them awhile, but they each finished the whole dang thing.

City Center Fountains

Rockville Town Square

The little kids loved running around the fountains at the Town Square in Rockville. It was hot and it was humid and it was just what the doctor ordered.

Cost = $0

The big boys were still eating.

The Mall

Ya’ll know that the Smithsonian Museums in Washington, D.C. are free, right? (Including the zoo! Which we didn’t get to this trip – boo.) You could conceivably visit our nation’s Capital for weeks on end and never run out of things to do yet not spend a penny on anything but food and transportation.

And lodging, if you’re not so lucky as us to have friends in the area *happy face*.

Of course, we had to spend money on one of the museums that isn’t free: The new Spy Museum.

(I think Miles got “Spy” confused with Gangsta.)

One Ticket to Spy Museum (not part of the Smithsonian) = $18

Peter in the Discovery Center

That is, it’s new to us since we last were here. I had heard wonderful things about it, and I was really, really glad that Conner got to experience it himself without his little brother and sister lagging behind (or running ahead) and costing me triple the price. Ligia and I dropped off the two older boys, then took the younger kids down to The Mall to visit Darwin’s Museum The Museum of Natural History where we hung out in the hands-on Discovery Center and the Insect Room and then spent an extraordinary amount of time fascinated — seriously — by the rocks.

And the gems and stones. And all the cool gadgets illustrating how earthquakes work and where they happen and how often and computer applications that allow you to control the velocity of a meteorite and show you the impact based on your choices and view a simulated explosion. Who knew rocks could be so enthralling? I wish I could have that museum in my backyard when I start homeschooling. We were quite taken aback at how much time we spent there and how much fun it was. Especially with all the emphasis at the entrance on Darwin and his evolutionary theory. You can just ignore all that if you’d like.

The Metro

Part of the fun of visiting Washington, D.C. is riding its Metro system ( DC-speak for subway). It’s clean and safe and the kids will think they’ve hit the jackpot. I swear you could probably just ride around the Metro all day and they’d be perfectly happy. When we were in the museum, Peter kept asking me, “Do we get to ride on the Metro again?” I hoarded their all-day passes in my pocket but brought them out for them to swipe themselves in the station. Yes, even during the busy rush hour.  The Stuffy Suits can wait just a cute minute while kids practice their Life Skills.

We also just told Miles and Conner to get themselves back on the Metro once they were done with the Spy Museum and come find us down at the Mall. Ah, the beauty of cell phones. (And yes, I shamelessly took advantage of Miles having a phone since Conner doesn’t.) With instructions to look at the map and call us if they had questions, we figured the worst that could happen is we’d have to go retrieve them from off the beaten path down in Virginia or outside the beltway in Maryland somewhere. But they did just fine. More Life Skills, people.

All-Day Metro Passes* for four people = $36.00

*The all-day passes actually start after 9:30 a.m. and cost $9 for ages five and up. Metro fares also increased just this summer, and an additional 25 cents is added to each ride purchased separately… though it seemed to depend on whether the ticket was purchased during rush hours or not…? It got so complicated, I just cut him off and went and bought me some all-day passes, straight up. Sometimes you just shouldn’t have to think that much.

WWII Memorial

The WWII Memorial was another addition since we were last in Washington, and a very welcome respite from the heat and humidity. Oh my, was it hot. We were all ready to jump in clothes and all. Thing is, they don’t mind if you dip your feet in, but you’re not supposed to go wading.

Ask me how I know this.

We did take lots of water to drink with us to The Mall. And we drank lots of water. Have you ever been there? Olivia and I kept laughing and saying, “We walked and we walked. And we walked some more…” (Have you seen that commercial?) It is a lot of walking, and we didn’t even attempt to see all the Memorials: just the highlights. There just wasn’t time, but I’m okay with that. My kids now have a reference to what we’re talking about when we mention the Lincoln Memorial, or the Capitol Building, or the Smithsonian Museums, or The Mall in our Nation’s Capital in general… But I do think that someone missed the boat by not adding at least one more Metro stop along the Mall. Say, around about the Lincoln Memorial area, and maybe the Kennedy Center…

But I digress again.

Walking the Mall and experiencing all the wonderful Memorials and Monuments costs nothing! Ah, but there are ways to spend your money. And we succumbed to one.

Lemon Ice. And it tasted so good. The guy had to reach in deep for the cups: he was having a good day. I didn’t hear what the people behind us asked for, but he was out of it.

Three Lemon Ice and one ice cream sandwich (for Peter) (even though he really doesn’t like ice cream and mostly ate the chocolate and let the ice cream drip on the ground) = $10.60.

Worth every penny.

The visit was a resounding success and worth every ounce of exhaustion. And I have used the better part of two days to recover and finally compose this blog post. (And edit lots and lots of pictures… Have I mentioned lately how much I can’t wait to get me my DSLR? (I’m focusing on being grateful for the opportunity to take this trip, and not on how much better my photos would be if I had a better camera.) (Really, I am.)

I don’t have the time nor do you have the inclination to read and see about all we did and all the old friends we saw on our trip. But I must at least mention a new friend I finally met, a fellow blogger (and military spouse!) who I’ve followed for quite some time and who (currently) lives in Maryland herself. Do you all read The Happy Housewife? Toni homeschools a whole gaggle of kids, and I asked her if I could crash her place and pick her homeschooling mind while we were in the area. Lots of bloggers have talked about making real-life friends through relationships that started with blogging, but this was my first opportunity to make that transition. Though I hope it’s not my last. I got such great specific homeschooling advice from Toni, and one of the appeals of meeting her was that two of her children are teens and are well into “high school” by public school standards. I totally see myself picking their brains in the future as well. They were all so nice! We ended up hanging out for five hours. And we even managed to talk about homeschooling for some of that time!

Thank you for being so welcoming, Toni! I look forward to picking your brain some more (about homeschooling, yes… or whatever!) in the months to come!

But that’s a topic for another day.

A Monsoon 4th of July in McPherson, Kansas

Finally. Oh, how I’ve missed you all! We logged almost 2000 miles in ten days between Ohio and Kansas. It did rain over the 4th of July, effectively canceling my sister’s Independence Day Bash.    We did, however, manage to set some money on fire light some fireworks at my parent’s house in between bouts of Monsoon Showers. We weren’t the only ones waiting for a break: their street looked (and sounded) like a verifiable war zone. For those who did not keep up with the comments on the previous post, our final tally for the 4th of July…

Neighbors Watching the (very smoky) Fireworks Show

Fireworks: $40.80

John bought the fireworks the day-of and took advantage of many discounts. For more tallies and quote$ and to see how others celebrated (or not) this crazy American holiday, check out the comments on the previous post. I especially found it interesting how many people commented that their towns canceled their fireworks’ displays because of budget constraints.

Total Cost of Our Road Trip:$642.38

This includes everything. The breakdown:

• Donuts: $8.78
• Fuel: $304.41 (Good news — Our van did not break down on this trip!)
  
• Fast Food: $79.42
• Coffee/Drink Stops: $16.13
• Booze: $36.45
• Pizza Delivery: $33.96 (the only meal we paid for at my parent’s)
• Braum’s: $7.58 (Anyone traveling through this part of the Midwest must experience some Braum’s ice cream.) (Unfortunately this transaction did not include any ice cream for me.)
• Wedding (and Shower) Gift: $75
• Sunglasses: $15.15 (because John thought he lost his.) (Now he has two.)
• Flower Girl shoes: $10 (because I forgot to pack these for Olivia)
• Four tickets to Toy Story 3D: $35.50
• Two tickets to Knight & Day: $20

We were appalled at how much it cost us in Kansas to go see a movie. I mean, Kansas. That figure for Toy Story? That was a matinee. Which included the 3D glasses, but still. We’ve grown accustomed to military discounts which not only apply to the ticket cost but also throw in the 3D glasses for free. We weren’t able to get a military discount at either theater we went to, in my small hometown or in Kansas City. Hmph.

The Cost of Not Communicating

We didn’t do very well this trip on packing food for the trip and cutting corners on eating in general. Never mind the booze. (We didn’t drink all of that ourselves, honest.) (And none of it while we were driving.) I also blame my dear husband for not communicating with me as the reason for a good chunk of the change above. The day we left, I was going about getting ready and thinking I had all the time in the world, when I overhear John telling Peter to go get his shoes on.

Me: “Why? We’re not anywhere near ready.”

John: “We have to get going, we have a showing in 20 minutes.”

Me: “Wha…?” And you did not mention this why? I continued to make known my displeasure at this apparent oversight as I ramped up my speed and ran around the house and started throwing things in bags and in the cooler and in the car. I wasn’t packed. The house wasn’t ready. Lunch was not ready to take with us.

I was not happy.

Instead of  making sandwiches to go, we ate at McDonald’s. I also forgot Olivia’s shoes. Her cute-cute, like-new sandals that I had found at the Thrift Store. The ones she was supposed to wear as a Flower Girl in my cousin’s wedding. And I totally blame my husband. Somehow, he thought I knew about the Showing, even though he was the one who answered the phone when they scheduled it. Obviously, he holds my mind-reading skills in high regard. And has no idea what all is entailed to get a family of five out the door for a road trip. Or he might have noticed that we weren’t anywhere near ready.

Now granted, I could have been more ready than I was. I was moving slowly. Very, very slowly. Acting like we didn’t have 600 miles ahead of us to drive that day… All the more reason to cue someone that I might not be ready to head out the door anytime soon? At least not in the next 20 minutes? Perhaps? Yes? Grrrr.

Ooh, just typing about it is getting me all worked up again. And I’m actually totally over this. Really. Love you, babe!  “We just need to work on our communication.” (Name that movie.)

Cash has been de-throned.

Cash has not been King around here. In fact, it made nary an appearance in June and not one at all in July. I have more thoughts on this which I’ll explore more (hopefully) tomorrow, along with the update on our debt. (Hint: still not very exciting.) Suffice to say that the lack of cash spending has been more due to neglect on my part rather than an intentional omission. However, I’m not sure that cash (rather than debit card) is the best way for us to go — at least not completely…

But we are desperately needing some His and Hers Blow Money again. See those Coffee/Drink Stops up there? Hello, Discretionary Funds? I’m tired of you nickel and diming me with your debit card while I’m trying to keep up with logging our daily transactions. Especially when I’m not on the computer so much because I’m traveling. It’s just too much to keep up with. And yes, I realize I’m dangling my prepositions, but you have to realize how overwhelming it can be. It feels like when my kids throw perfectly clean clothes into the hamper along with the dirty ones, effectively requiring them to be cleaned once again. It’s just not necessary. I knew you’d understand.

And I promise to try to make more sense tomorrow.

The Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio is simply spectacular, and one of John’s all-time favorite museums to visit. Possibly one of his favorite places, ever, I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll ask him real quick. Hold on.

“Hey, John, is the Air Force museum one of your favorite all-time places to go?”

“Yea.”

See?

Seriously, it’s quite amazing. Especially if you’re a history buff and aircraft geek like he is. Oh, and it’s Free. Did I mention that?

It’s quite huge — you can easily spend a day there. And then some. Starting with the Wright Brothers’ first plane ride, it’s organized chronologically throughout some three-plus huge hangars, with more aircraft on display outside. We’ve only gone less than a handful of times ourselves since we’ve lived here, but since I’ve never gone myself without the little ones along, I never got beyond WWII.

Olivia and a Post-WWII Hydrogen Bomb Explosion

Today, we decided to start with the post-WWII section and head straight for the Cold War. We walked through Air Force history from the Berlin Airlift all the way up to the modern era. I was particularly sobered by a video documentary that took you through a battle in Afghanistan narrated by the soldiers who fought it. Not all of them survived, but the ones who did credited the strategic air strikes for the reason they’re still here today.

When’s the last time you played tourist in your town?

I get that not everyone has great museums within easy distance to visit — especially ones that are free. But what about what you do have? Is there a statue or monument in your town somewhere? Perhaps in a public park, or in a square downtown, depicting a historical figure or an event of some importance to your area? Do you have any idea who that person is or what they did to merit the honor of having a statue, or memorial, erected in their name? Or what event was so significant to your town’s history to merit a place of honor?

"These wrist guards give me super powers!"

So often we neglect the history in our own backyard as being worthy of our attention. We take it for granted, or we never even consider it in the first place. I challenge you to look around you and consider the heroes and legends and historical figures that helped carve your town’s history, shape this country, or preserve the freedom that we all enjoy today. Take a moment to educate yourself, reflect on their service and valor, their sacrifice, and simply remember. And be thankful.

Underneath the skin of an F-86

If you do find yourself anywhere near the Dayton area, I highly recommend the Air Force Museum. Even if you don’t have a built-in walking aircraft Encyclopedia named John like I do telling you everything you never knew you wanted to know about the aircraft on display (seriously) (I mean no sarcasm here) you can gain so much just by walking through, reading the placards, and generally seeping up history through the awe-inspiring displays.

Olivia in the cockpit of an F-4

Even the kids will enjoy it, although with younger ones you may find it more difficult to stop and read the placards, so to speak. Or to stop and really lose yourself in the various video documentaries. There are plenty of hands-on experiences for them to enjoy, cockpits to sit in, and cargo holds to give you the feel of just how large these flying ships of steel really are. We can also highly recommend the IMAX  — though of course that experience is not free.

Come to think of it, you really ought to consider a visit to the Air Force Museum no matter where you live. Going through there again today reminded me of visiting our nation’s National Parks — you hear just as many foreign languages spoken by fellow visitors as you do English. Truly, we Americans do not take advantage of everything this amazing country has to offer as often as we should. How much of it have you seen? And what could you go and experience today?

• Alternate Title: Why You Shouldn’t Travel Without an Emergency Fund
• Alternate-Alternate Title: How Not To Communicate with Your Husband About Finances
• Alternate Sub-Title: Why You Might Not Want to Max Out a ROTH Right Before Traveling Cross-Country

First I Met With Our Financial Adviser

On our recent trip to Kansas to visit family, I met with our financial advisor who lives in my hometown of McPherson.

We picked this financial advisor several years ago based on recommendations from family and friends; I had just stopped working full-time and was looking for someone to help me start a traditional IRA account since I no longer would have one through an employer.

Fast forward ten years and we have met with this financial advisor only one other time since then, before I sat down with him again last week.

They say you should invest your money and then leave it alone, but this is kind of extreme.

My motivation for this meeting was to determine not only the best place, but also the best amount, to park in a liquid savings account to prepare for our upcoming move in one year.

ROTH vs. TSP

In the past, we have mainly focused on contributing to The Hubs’ TSP account (the military version of a 401k) for retirement savings. A few years ago, we did open up a ROTH, but it remained small and we continued to invest primarily via his TSP. We even stopped making contributions to the ROTH altogether after we moved to Ohio and our expenses went up while The Hubs’ pay went down (after moving from overseas).

In this past year of climbing the financial learning curve, I have grown to understand that the advantages of a ROTH out-weigh those of the 401k as an investment vehicle. Contributions to a 401k make sense so far as you are getting an employee match. The TSP does not match a dime. Thus, we should first max out a ROTH and then with whatever savings we have to spare for the remainder of the year we should put toward the TSP.

We Stopped Retirement Contributions to Focus on Our Snowball

Some of you may recall that we stopped making contributions to The Hubs’ TSP account to focus on paying off our debt. That made me nervous. I decided I would just let that help motivate me to pay off our consumer debt as fast as possible. (It worked!)

All of This to Explain Why I Did What I Did

So I’m sitting down with Mr. Financial Adviser and he’s explaining how we can not only still make a 2009 ROTH contribution, but we can park it in a ROTH money market account so long as we want to keep it safe and liquid: ROTH rules state that we can withdraw contributions that we make at any time; it’s the earnings on a ROTH that incur penalties if withdrawn too soon.

The best part? If and when we determine that we do not need to use the money short-term, we can move it into a longer-term investment. So we’re getting the best of both worlds: Not losing out on a ROTH contribution for 2009; and still having access to savings if we need to use it short-term.

Mistake #1

We paid off our consumer debt in February (oh, gee, have I mentioned that?) and had $1000 leftover that I put into our regular savings. By the end of March, I had added another $2400.

This was money that normally was going toward our debt snowball!

We already had $1000 in our (emergency) savings… Have you been doing the math? We had about $4400 in savings by the end of March.

I went into the meeting intending to put the entire amount into a ROTH… but I got a little excited and decided to go ahead with the maximum contribution (for 2009) of $5000.

Mistake #2 and Why This Was a Problem

I knew I was cutting it close by adding the extra $600. Just before we left on our trip I wrote a check for over $1000 for (yet more) car repair and maintenance. (Haven’t gotten around to blogging about that yet.) (But I will.) (Oh, boy.)

As we started our (800-mile) drive, I discovered the air conditioner wasn’t working. Remember those warm days we had? It was a long, long drive.

I planned on taking the car to the shop while in Kansas but hadn’t yet made the appointment at the time I met with Mr. Financial Adviser and decided to write a check for $5000. Not only did I not factor in the cost of the repair, I didn’t even know how much it would be.

Mistake #3

I didn’t bring so much as one credit card, or any other access to money, on the trip with me.

Mistake #4

I didn’t tell The Hubs (who’s still deployed) how much money I was moving around. Nor did I factor in his cash spending for April when I mentally did the math and calculated I could splurge for the additional $600. A couple of weeks ago, The Hubs lost his camera. (Totally not a Hubs thing to do.) (I suspect he had a little help “losing” it.) He finally decided to buy himself a new camera — for $300.

You following this?

Mistake #5

By this time, I was starting to catch on that maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to deplete our entire cash savings while I was in a middle of a road trip without any other means of getting to some cash. I double-checked the account — yes, we do have overdraft protection. Whew. I was safe.

I was so wrong.

Mistake #6

I counted on the overdraft protection coming through in the event I needed it to fuel up along the way. It didn’t exactly work out that way…

Sure enough, The Hubs’ transaction for his camera posted on the account; then the bill for the AC repair (more on that later) about which I apparently wasn’t even concerned; along with all the usual other stuff and wham! just like that: No more money. And no savings. And no credit card.

I could have easily asked for some cash from my parents before I left to cover me just in case. But I didn’t. Not out of pride, mind you. I just didn’t think I’d need it. The overdraft would kick in, Hubs’ paycheck would hit the next week, and I’d pay it all off and start over. No biggie.

The First Stop

About halfway through the middle of Nowhere Missouri I stopped for gas and swiped my debit card at the pump.

“See Cashier”

Oh, crap crud.

I go in and she tries swiping it on her register, first as a debit, then as a credit. No go.

I dig through my wallet and find $18 in cash. I hand over $15. A round number felt less desperate.

We hit the road again.

I decide to be proactive and call the bank to see if they might bail me out help me out of my stupidity.

A Note on ODP (Overdraft Protection)

When you overdraw on your checking account and the overdraft kicks in, it likes to pull the money over in $100 increments. Our checking account actually has two ODP accounts: the primary is the savings; the secondary is a credit card.

I had left a whopping $56.02 in our savings account. The checking account was already overdrawn by $185.06, with $200 pending from the credit card ODP to cover it. The customer service representative went ahead and transferred over the $200 (this was the weekend, so normally the ODP credit would not post until the next business day) which gave me access to $14.94. He also went ahead and transferred over my savings to my checking account.

I had $70.96 to get us home. Luckily, we had plenty of food in the car.

The Last Stop

Because $15 doesn’t come close to filling up our lean, green, mean machine (that only takes high premium fuel thankyouverymuch) I stopped again shortly to add another $30. This time, I went in to pay first to avoid the pump way overestimating an approval on the card as they are prone to do. Everything worked fine.

Just one more stop would get us home. I went ahead to pre-pay like before, only this time I forgot to tell the guy I needed to pump premium gas and not regular unleaded. And he didn’t ask. He swiped the card for $40. My last.40.dollars.

“Oh, you needed premium? Let me just refund that.”

Oh crap.

It all happened so fast, and I knew what was going to happen: debits subtract out of your account right away as pending transactions; credits don’t show up until they hard-post at the end of the next business day.

Sure enough, after he “refunded” me, he tried to swipe the card again with the correct fuel pump and it wouldn’t take. I called the bank again.

I Was Amazingly Zen About the Whole Thing

Can you see how much time and effort this took? Amazingly, I was rather Zen about the whole thing. It would have been one thing if I were broke. Instead, I was just stupid. It’s an entirely different mentality. The whole situation was pathetic and totally avoidable, but not sad and hopeless. I did have money; just not where I could get to it.

I’d like to blame my woeful lack of planning and foresight on some news that we received right before we left that will drastically affect our immediate financial future (among other things). But truth be told, I had the steps in place that led to me traveling without any money well before that news got my head spinning and my gears shifting.

If you follow me on twitter or are a fan on facebook you already know what I’m talking about. If not… Well, then, serves you right; you’ll just have to wait.

Whew, what a Spring Break we’re having! We drive almost 800 miles to visit family in Kansas; the air conditioner goes out in the van; my youngest has an ear infection and a sinus infection; and my oldest has strep. Oh, and my camera broke. Why is it we came here again? Hmm…

To be honest, it sounds much worse than it really is. We had a fun, full, beautiful Easter Sunday with lots of good food, family, and conversation. And my mom gave me her old camera to use. So I could take a ton of these.

All. Cousins.

Nine boys and one girl: the offspring of three sisters. Lots and lots of testosterone…

… and one Queen Bee. You could kinda say she revels in her singularity.

By the way — Olivia’s Easter dress? Cost me $1.80 on clearance at the Thrift Store. I had admired it a couple of times before, but was never willing to pay its regular price of $9.

Apparently, neither was anyone else.

It would be really easy to use the excuse of my camera breaking to go out and buy a new one. I’ve had my sights set on a nice digital camera for… oh, just about forever now. I remember salivating over the Nikon D40 when it was the latest and greatest, however long ago that was.

But the first thing I felt when my camera finally broke? (It’s been trying to for awhile now.) — Was annoyance. Because I’m not ready to indulge in a new one just yet — certainly not the new one I’d like to have. Oh, it’s on my list of wants, that’s for sure. But I can’t justify it as a priority want — yet. Soon, though. Soon…

Any recommendations? I’m looking at a Nikon D80. Although I’ve heard good things about Canon, too.

Car Repair

I’ll be taking the car in to someone tomorrow to check out the air conditioning. Hopefully, it just needs some freon. Or whatever that stuff is that makes the air… condition. That repair (maintenance?) will be on top of the repair I took the van in for right before we left. I haven’t even had time to blog about that bill yet.

*sigh*

I’m beginning to think our van just doesn’t like Kansas.

I have just been dragging my heels writing this post because it is such a sore point for me: When I look back at stupid ways that we’ve spent our money, this one’s near the top of the list.

We bought a timeshare 10+ years ago. Ages ago, it seems. And we’ve had some great vacations out of it! But we had no business buying a timeshare in the first place.

We didn’t have cash for it, of course. And yes, it’s been paid-off for several years now… But when I think about what we could have done with that money instead? (oh, retirement funding, perhaps?) I just want to go back and shake myself. I mean really, what were we thinking?

The Truth About Timeshares

• You never really stop paying for it, even once it’s paid off. Two words: Maintenance Fees. They go up every year, with seemingly no end in sight: five years ago ours were $462; this year we paid $542.

• Yes, you can exchange your timeshare week for a week at another resort and choose from  “thousands of locations worldwide!” But you have to maintain a membership with a timeshare exchange company (we use Interval International) which requires even more fees: $89 for one year’s membership (discounted when you buy more than one year in advance); plus an additional fee when you actually make an exchange. ($129, or more if the exchange is international.)

• The best way to get the most out of your timeshare exchange is to be really flexible. Our lifestyle as a military family has been anything but predictable. At the time we bought the exchange, we actually thought we might be staying where we were for quite a while (the DC area). Aha! But life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans, and all that. We ended up moving again. And again, and again… And along the way I have done my best to try to fit our exchanges into our schedule, but the best way to get the exchange you really want is to request it as far in advance as possible — like, a year. The Hubs’ schedule has never been written out that far ahead for us to plan around.

There Have Been Some Benefits

• We have had some great vacations! Choosing an exchange can be like closing your eyes and pointing your finger at a spinning globe: It feels adventurous! Since our schedule is not very flexible, I have had to be flexible about where we try to go, usually picking something in the same general area of the world where we are living at the time. We have stayed at a Hot Springs resort in Montana; a resort on Gran Canaria of the Canary Islands; and right on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, to name a few.

• We have always stayed at resorts with full kitchens and at least one bedroom. This is a huge plus when you have small children! Some of the resorts are five-star, too: In the States that means the facilities and the service are excellent; in Europe we discovered that it really doesn’t mean anything at all…  (The star system in Europe only indicates what types of facilities it has. If it has a pool; a sauna; a bar; and an exercise room, that will earn it so many stars. It may be a dump, but by golly it will be a full-service dump.)

• It has allowed us to travel when we really could not have afforded a nice vacation otherwise. Yes, this goes back to the whole, “What we could have done with that money instead”, but I’m trying to find another benefit here to round things out. Our oldest son, now 14, has grown up knowing what it’s like to visit new places and experience a vacation in a relaxed, low-key setting. I am quite certain that, had we not had this timeshare, we would not have been able to take vacations for a week at a time, and certainly not in places as nice as some of these resorts have been. Timeshare resorts are like mini apartments. (In fact, one stands out as being larger than a couple different apartments we’ve lived in…) It’s the perfect setting for a family with small children to be able to take breaks during the day; allow the little ones to take naps; and have plenty of space to spread out — not to mention the facilities you need to keep your own groceries on-hand.

Yes, we’ve considered selling it — actually tried to once, in fact. But there’s not exactly a huge market out there for people wanting to buy timeshares, and there’s lots of scam artists to avoid. In short, after the one attempt, I decided I just didn’t have the energy and wherewithal to try it again. We simply continue to try to get the best use out of it that we can: Trying to make lemonade out of the lemons that we planted, so to speak.

To be honest? A part of me thinks about what future vacations we can have, especially when the kids are older and The Hubs is no longer in the military and our time is more flexible. Of course, you can do these things without a timeshare as well, which brings me to another drawback of owning one: The Opportunity Cost. What good deals have we passed by because we had this timeshare we needed to use instead?

I guess we’ll never know.

Anyone else want to fess up to buying a timeshare? (Whether you could afford it or not?)

(Yes, Carmen, I went to Chicago! Thank you for playing!)

So… What do a musician from Milwaukee, a yoga instructor from Chicago, and a stay-at-home mom from Dayton have in common?

We reconnected at our 20-year high school reunion this summer. Amy and I were BFF’s way back in the day — Nathan and I were in all the music stuff together. He went on to get a graduate degree in voice and now performs on stage and composes music and sings opera, and I … ? Well, I don’t. (insert smiley face)

And Amy? Well, she does stuff like this.(I was having fun with the photo editing on picnik.com.) (It’s free!)

Amy fled to Chi-town right after college and we kept in touch for years. The Hubs and I even visited her a few times up in the Big City, but then in the last five years or so we lost touch… Going to visit her again, even if it was just for a couple of days… Well. It was like we never lost those years at all! We all change, and yet we’re still the same. If anything, we’re even better.

I drove up from Dayton to Edgewater, the northern part of Chicago.

Total miles roundtrip: 638
Cost in fuel: $64.17

Total tolls roundtrip: $9.50

And I couldn’t show up empty-handed!

I did not go to Chicago to play tourist; rather, to visit my friend. We hung out at her apartment and she fed me well. Oh. my. word, she fed me well. Yummy pasta and lamb and sauteed vegetables…

…Amazing Sicilian cannoli. (They “only make ze best”.)

The motivation for visiting Chicago in the middle of the week was, however, to see Jann Klose, a friend of Nathan’s who performed at “Uncommon Ground”, a hip “slow food” restaurant in Edgewater. The performance rocked, and so did the food. Another friend of Nathan’s joined the three of us, and we treated her to dinner as well.

Nathan with Lars, keyboardist and accordionist extraordinaire (left) and Jann Klose, singer/songwriter magnific (right).

Total cost of dinner out with tip (service was most excellent): $60.00.

Amy’s place was just a few blocks from Lake Michigan. Before I left, the kids and I talked about what they’d like me to bring back for them: it was unanimous.
Sand from the beach! The cheapest travel gift around, and infinitely more interesting.

I would be remiss if I did not include some “necessary” expenses that The Hubs incurred while I was away. Namely, eating out at Micky-D’s and buying donuts for him the kids.

As he explained,

“The kids were so broken up about you being gone, it was needed to keep them sane.”

Pause.

“Okay. It was required to keep me sane.”

Total Cost Breakdown:

• Gas: $64.17
• Tolls: $9.50
• Hostess Gift: $33.14
• Restaurant: $60.00
• Misc. Groceries: $15.82
• Wendy’s on the way home: $2.92
• Donuts and Micky-D’s for The Hubs the kids: $17.82
• Total: 203.37

Me and Amy: 1989

Me and Amy: 2009

Of course, you can’t put a price on friendship. Go ahead and pull out the tissues.