road trip!

So...I'm going on a road trip. With my parents. Actually, first I am flying to Pittsburgh to meet them, and then the road trip begins the next morning.

I think it's going to be: crazy. fun. exhausting. exciting. frustrating [at times]. beautiful. fun!

My main concern is that I get violently carsick. All the time. So I will be stocking up on dramamine, and hopefully driving a lot so that I don't have the possibility of being sick. And, since my dad is an early riser [somehow he actually finds pleasure in rising at 5 am?!] - I hope that on the two mornings we plan to drive, we leave ridiculously early and I can sleep for some hours in the car, thus not being sick.

Anyway.

Here is our master plan:


Friday, August 15: My plane leaves Philly at 8:30 and I get to Pittsburgh around 10 pm. Then I'll stay with my parents at a hotel that night. [Even though I have many friends I want to see! But I don't think I can since I know we will leave at the crack of dawn the next morning.]

Sat, Aug 16: We leave Pittsburgh early [hopefully not too much before 8 am] and drive to Nowheresville, Virginia to visit my cousin Julie and her family. She just had a baby girl in July...after having 3 boys! How exciting.
This leg of the trip should take 5 hours.

Then we leave VA and drive to my sister's place in Gastonia, North Carolina! It should take about 3 hours - and hopefully we get there at like 5 or 6 pm and RELAX for the rest of the night.

Sun, Aug 17 - Tues, Aug 19: We enjoy North Carolina, especially when we whitewater raft on Monday night! We're all staying at my sister's house with her puppy, 2 roommates, and their cat and dog. It will be a full house!

Wed, Aug 20: We are leaving [hopefully early] in the AM and driving to Baltimore, MD to see another cousin and her husband and their new baby. This drive will probably be the worst - it's like 7-8 hours, the same as driving Philly to Erie! [Ugh. I've driven that SO many times, and I must admit...I hate it.]

Once we finally get to Maryland, we're are going to visit with me cousin and her new baby. THEN we are driving [hopefully not too long] to our hotel so we can FINALLY crash!

Thurs, Aug 21: Hooray! We get to 'sleep in.' Then we have a 2 hour drive back to Philly, where we are meeting my hubby for lunch.

I get to go home, but my parents are driving a couple more hours, then staying at their final hotel. I will certainly be looking forward to sleeping in my own bed [and not alone!] by this point.

Fri, Aug 22 - my parents drive back to Erie, while I sleep in and enjoy being home again!

$$$

WHY does money bother me so much?

I feel like a reverse snob.
I look down on people with loads of money
who go on fancy vacations all the time
and drive huge stupid SUVs
and etc.
I wish it didn't bother me so much
but it just does.
Maybe because I don't have tons of money
and I never have
and probably never will.

We've had to wait so long
just to feel slightly secure
in our finances
that now we have to wait
again
for other things.
[Oh, that infernal house purchase!]

I hope that if I was wealthy
that I would spend wisely
and GIVE give give
and not splurge so much
as I see others do.
Yes, I am jealous
when you travel the world
all the time
and 'own a house in a gated community'
several states away
and seem to take this for granted.

It's mostly the traveling.

Tonight at small group
K was in Austria [!] so he couldn't come
B just got back from Costa Rica [again]
and is going to Jerusalem next month
and D was in France/Europe for the millionth time
and then at that blasted vacation home.

grr.
I hate to feel jealous.
I know that I need to work on that.

And I should keep saving
in hopes
that I make it to Europe
[for the first time]
before I turn 30.

And I know
I will definitely
NOT
take that for granted.

I <3 gardens.