How I Spent The Sixteenth Week Of The Rest Of My Life

Even though I'm typing this from my sister's place in Humboldt Park, I am no longer a resident of Chicago.  At midnight, my Chicago address is no longer associated to me.  I'm down to two Groupons (Cafe LaGuardia and Bombay Kebab) that I can realistically use and three more that I'll have to sell (shakes fist at Fireside Bowl).

Not that this means that I don't have a crapload to do before I board the plane tomorrow.  I actually rented a car yesterday and today since there was no way I could lug all of the stuff that I need to donate around otherwise (it's going to be hard enough to deal with two backpacks and a suitcase).  And I still have to do things like cancel my bank account (that's one way to put my loans on deferment) and gym membership (I made the hundred visits with a few days to spare on my birthday).

Still, since I'm a week behind again, I thought I might as well type out my expenses for moving to Washington D.C.  It honestly feels like a month ago after wrestling a futon down three flights of stairs yesterday.  It will be good to get these receipts out of my wallet finally regardless.  I've probably had an hour to spare before this but I left my modem in my last rental car.  That's one more thing to cancel.

Here's how I "spent" last week:

TUESDAY, APRIL 19 ($108.34)

• 6:46 a.m. Walgreens - $10.61.  I couldn't believe that after the night of bowling before, I was able to wake up so early and pack my remaining stuff in the car.  But one thing that did was make me thirsty.  I needed to buy water.  While I was there I also purchased travel sized shampoo and Q-Tips.  And kleenex.  I left stocked.
• 10:32 a.m. Gas America - $44.09.  With all the talk of gas prices, I was worried at what it would cost to fill up my little Nissan Versa rental.  It turned out to be not that bad at all.  Well, I mean, in comparison to what I thought it would be.  That is a little costly for gas.
• 12:53 p.m. Indianapolis Art Center - Free.  While it was a lot like Lillistreet in Chicago but with a gallery attached, their sculpture garden, Artpark was amazing.  I stopped there to see the famous crooked house.  It took a while to find, but this was my most worthwhile detour.
• 1:54 p.m. Waffle House - $6.00.  The entire time I was planning my adventures in moving, one destination stuck in my mind.  I needed to go to the closest Waffle House to Chicago.  That's actually on the other side of Indianapolis from this one.  But the first one I reached was good enough.  And the grits and cheap price reminded me why I love this chain so much.
• 7:22 p.m. Taco Bell - $6.27.  While I stopped at a couple of rest stops along the way (which really don't even have details with which to bore people), my car seemed to have infinite amounts of gas.  I, however, did not.  So my favorite bit of road food absolutely hit the spot in southeastern Ohio.
• 8:00 p.m. Love's Travel Stop - $41.37.  Gas prices were surprisingly cheap heading into the mountains.  This station was in Zanesville, Ohio.  That's pretty much the edge of civilization.  The stops were getting to be 5 and 10 miles apart and most of them had BPs.  I was trying to avoid chain gas stations (and especially BPs).  But my car was running on fumes by this point.
• 10:06 p.m. I-70 Rest Area - Free.  I only mention this rest stop because it was where I slept.  I hadn't intended it to be.  I was just going to take a nap in far western Pennsylvania before pushing on south to get a cheap hotel.  But when I woke up at 2:15 p.m., I just decided to go back to sleep.  It wasn't too bad.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20 ($67.64)

• 9:57 a.m. Ruff Creek General Store - $2.38.  Instead of getting my daily water at a Walgreens (or any other chain store), I got it at this store that's been operating continuously since 1925.  Sleeping at the Pennsylvania Welcome Center did give me a chance to pick up a cool brochure on all of these general stores.  I only hit up this one though - even though I had some time to kill.
• 11:17 a.m. Poky Dot - $15.00.  The portions at this famous (at least in northern West Viriginia) diner are legendarily gigantic.  They have a He-Man Breakfast that has about 10 items.  I settled for a smaller skillet since I wasn't that hungry.  It was still enormous.
• 11:49 a.m. Coal Country Miniature Golf - $5.30.  This was the one tourist trap that I did not want to miss on my journey, so it was helpful that they opened slightly early.  It was everything that I had hoped for in this course.  It was challenging and slightly kitschy.  And I was a minor celebrity.  Since I had posted on Facebook in advance that I was coming, they had a little sign out for me.
• 3:54 p.m. Weller's Service And Lube Center - $40.00.  The fact that I only had to get one tank of gas between Pittsburgh and Washington D.C. (and I didn't even top it off since I paid cash) astounded me.  Gas turned out to be relatively cheap in Maryland as well.
• 6:15 p.m. Taco Bell - $4.96.  I dillied and dallied a bit (but the mini-golf was worth it) which caused me to hit the D.C. area right about the time of rush hour.  GPS took me on a strange route which took me directly from western Maryland to metropolitan Virginia.  I had to stop at this Bell in Manassas because I was going to pass out otherwise.  The bad thing was that I missed the storage place's office closing by about 30 minutes.

 THURSDAY, APRIL 21 ($151.34)

• 11:44 a.m. Extra Space Storage - $82.34.  One expense that I forgot to account for was my storage's first month's fees.  And this trip took far longer than I thought it would with signing contracts and such.  The actual moving in only took about 20 minutes.  Still, since no one was home in New York City to let me in, it was probably good that I got there late.
• 3:03 p.m. Maryland I-95 North Welcome Center - $2.00.  The one bad thing about getting a late start was that I had planned on eating lunch before I left Virginia.  This was curtailed by the fact that by the time I was done, I really just wanted to get going.  I hit the worst traffic I had ever seen between Washington D.C. and Baltimore and before I realized it, it was almost dinner time.  I needed these snacks to avoid passing out.
• 4:59 p.m. Waffle House - Elkton - $7.00.  After hitting the Waffle House closest to Chicago, I hit the one closest to New York City.  At least by my unofficial calculations.  It's definitely the last one on I-95 North just before the Delaware border.
• 6:03 p.m. Pilot Travel Center - $47.50.  I took the bridge to bypass Philadelphia which meant that, ironically, even though the plates on my car were Delaware, it was the only state I didn't set foot in.  I also did not get out of the car in Washington D.C.  This station was in far southern New Jersey.  Since I was so tired I couldn't move when I got to New York City, this was actually my last real stop of the night.
• 7:40 p.m. Grover Cleveland Service Center - $12.50.  I didn't actually spend any money inside the center.  This was for the tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike and bridges into New York City.  This place is on the 100 worst places in the world, but it didn't seem that bad to me.

FRIDAY, APRIL 22 ($103.50)

• 10:16 a.m. Bronx Zoo - $22.50.  The zoo admission was $16.00, but when I saw that it would take almost two hours to get there by train, I drove.  I street parked for free to make up for it.  Sort of.  The zoo was absolutely amazing.  I had never seen such active animals.  Although the famous cobra that escaped was a bit sleepy.
• 1:54 p.m. Emilia's Restaurant - $16.00.  Of all the places I could have chose along Arthur Avenue in The Bronx (that borough's Little Italy), I chose this kind of iffy one because it had lunch specials.  There was absolutely nothing special about my gnocchi.
• 5:09 p.m. Caffe Muzio - $33.00.  The actual meal was $20.00, but getting there was the expense.  I ended up using a parking meter and putting $10.00 on a MTA card when I had to park in the East Village after circling the West Village for a while.  Since we knew the chef, however, there were some good freebies.  Our amazing spread probably would have been about that for normal people.
• 9:41 p.m. The Bell House - $26.00.  I had bought my ticket to the Seaweed reunion a while before.  But still within my time of unemployment so it counts.  It was not that odd that my most expensive day of the trip (without moving expenses) was my vacation day in New York City.
• 1:06 a.m. Commonwealth - $6.00.  This is supposed to be one of Brooklyn's best bars.  I was so beat that it just seemed like any other place to me.  My loss I think.

SATURDAY, APRIL 23 ($83.77)

• 12:55 p.m. Museum Of The Moving Image - $17.50.  Technically it was on my way out of the city anyhow, but I've been meaning to get to this museum in Queens.  I ended up eating lunch there to save time as I took a guided tour.  I need to come back on a free day and just explore exhibits the next time I'm in New York.
• 5:38 p.m. Citgo - $51.00.  This was my only stop at a corporate gas station the entire trip.  Which was ironic since every restaurant in this little city, Rock Hill, in the Catskills was independent.  At least it was a Citgo and not something horrible.  This also includes the Triboro Bridge which I had to cross to get out of New York City.  I will be glad to not pay another congestion charge the rest of the way.
• 5:45 p.m. Rock Hill Diner - $7.00.  The entire town of Rock Hill seemed to be owned by one family of hippies.  There was a pizza place across the street, but I was in a diner mood so I had an egg salad sandwich.  It was almost my last chance for New York City food.  Everyone else in the place seemed to be transplanted New York City people.
• 6:05 p.m. Peace Love And Ice Cream - $3.00.  If the name of this place doesn't give away the mood of the town, I'm not sure what would.  I got an Italian Ice which was the other thing I forgot to do in New York.  I definitely left happy.
• 11:43 p.m. Junius Rest Area - $2.27.  New York is far bigger than I thought it was.  Especially after I got delayed when I hit a deer.  It was apparently okay (as was my car) since the cops never found a carcass.  But I needed donuts to keep going as I was nowhere near Niagara Falls.
• 1:41 a.m. Clarence Travel Plaza - $3.00.  Another rest stop was my hotel for the night.  This time, however, my back seat was clear so it was totally comfortable.  The odd thing was, since it was on the Thruway (the last stop before Niagara Falls), I wasn't sure if it was going to be free.  It ended up just being the usual Thruway toll.

SUNDAY, APRIL 24 ($118.50)

• 7:01 a.m. Valero - $45.76.  I was glad that this place was self serve without being open since I got such an early start.  My car was again almost empty since I waited until I was off the Thruway (all the stations were BP) before I filled up.
• 8:07 a.m. Whirlpool State Park - Free.  Getting to Niagara Falls before everything (except the casino) was open was weird.  I ended up just scoping out the parks for a bit.  This one had a great view of the rapids leading to the falls.
• 8:45 a.m. Niagara Falls State Park - Free.  Parking was ordinarily $10.00 but there's one scenic turnoff by Three Sisters Islands that served my American side viewing perfectly.  I forgot that the Canadian side viewing was better and that I should have just crossed the bridge.
• 9:55 a.m. Daredevil Museum - $5.00.  This museum is free since there's not a lot to it.  Except the displays of actual craft used to go over the falls are pretty awesome.  So I donated the change from my water (as well as rounding up with another couple of dollars) to the museum.
• 11:08 a.m. Criminals Hall Of Fame Wax Museum - $8.40.  This museum was the one of many in Niagara Falls on the Canadian side that was recommended by Roadside America.  It was a bit disappointing except for the creepy clown serial killer.  It looked a little too real.  The Foursquare discount made it $5.40, but I've also included the bridge fare.
• 12:20 p.m. The Flying Saucer - $11.00.  Even though both of the last two things were in Canadian money, I'm going to call them American on par.  The food here was amazing even if the alien aspect was a little understated.
• 2:48 p.m. Highway 401 West Rest Area - $4.00.  The fee is actually the Ambassador Bridge to get back into the United States as this was my only stop the rest of the way in Canada.  I ended up taking a nap as I was really tired from the day before.
• 7:36 p.m. Meijer Gas Station - $44.34.  I was thankful that I didn't have to deal with Canadian fuel costs (I don't understand liters).  This was my first stop in the United States and in my parent's hometown.
• 8:23 p.m. Mr. Thai - Free.  My parents paid for dinner at a Thai place by their apartment.  I wasn't super impressed but they both really loved it, so I'm glad they found a new restaurant.

MONDAY, APRIL 25 ($17.00)

• 1:10 p.m. Stage Deli - $17.00.  I can't believe how popular this place is since it never fails to disappoint me.  This time I got an egg salad sandwich and a knish and neither tasted very good.  Plus my waiter seemed like it was his first day on the job.
• 3:46 p.m. Men's Warehouse - Free.  My parents bought me a sport coat for my birthday.  This was a lifesaver since I needed one badly before I interviewed in Washington D.C.  And they are not exactly cheap.
• 5:44 p.m. Mayberry's Family Restaurant - Free.  Every Monday, my uncle and grandfather go to dinner at this diner in Farmington Hills.  It actually turned out to be one of my favorite meals of the trip.  The portions are huge.  Though how an Andy Griffith theme restaurant ended up in Metro Detroit, I will never know.

So that's $650.09.  That's about $50.00 over what I planned to spend to move (plus another $50.00 or so that I spent on Monday of this week), but pretty close to accurate (thanks to not staying in hotels).  And the cool things that I saw made it all worthwhile regardless.  Since I'm all done with driving long distances for a while, I'll even say that it saved me money in the long run.  My total money spent since I've been unemployed is $3721.91.