Spring Vacation Visitation Travel: Days 3 & 4

Jasper County Courthouse and Bell

We ran two hours behind schedule since my ex-husband decided to play games to an extent where the police had to help return the boys. It's both fortunate and unfortunate that this happens so often that the boys aren't intimidated by the police. It's just a regular thing for them. I thank God that the police in my ex-husband's town have always been very helpful and concerned.

We left at 5:30pm Eastern time. We stopped in Murfreesboro, Tennessee at 11pm at the Days Inn. I had a heck of a time trying to find a hotel with a double room. A Holiday Inn north of Nashville tried to sell me the same suite we ended up in at the Days Inn for over $100 (before tax). The room we had was still expensive and over-budget but I got it for $80 so hey.

We left the southern Nashville suburbs around 10am and got home at 11:30pm with an eighth of a tank left. It rained from southern Georgia all the way down to North Port. Traffic ran smoothly, for the most part, and we didn't have any of the delays that we had traveling north.

Fuel was more expensive. In northern Florida, it cost me $3.55/gal. That's the most I've ever paid in my life.

Food costs for the return trip total $25; Hotel cost: $92; Fuel: $160; Total Return Trip: $277

Total Travel Expenses: $497

Total Trip cost with expenses during the week, including top-up cards: $902

If I didn't have to top-up my phone twice to deal with the problems my ex-husband caused, I would have been below $850.

Tom's taken Michael and Eddie to the Florida International Air Show again this year. They'll be gone all day as long as the weather cooperates.