Sunday 9Fed20 Amarillo Flee Market
Day 24
Woke at 7 but stayed in bed evaluating my situation. I don't seem to have the excitement I had on last year's roadtrip. On the face of it, It is understandable. I had just retired last year, the very day that I started my trip. It was all new and fresh. I was starting an adventure and lifestyle that I had dreamed of for most of my adult life. And of course in everything, the first time is always the best.
From my experience last year I have made some changes to how I operate on this year's trip
It is a bit different. This year I am more disciplined in my spending. I realize I can't drive hundreds of miles every day. Because of that I have a lot more down time. I drive to a big city and then just hang out there for several days, even a week. While I'm there I look for sights, attractions and events to see and do. I can't afford to see and do everything however so I do some research and pick and choose things that might be interesting and yet affordable.
A few examples is that while I was in Phoenix I saw the Desert Botanical Garden with Martha which cost $50 but the only other attraction I saw in Phoenix was the Hall of Flame and it was only $8.
In Tuscon I went to the Desert Museum which was $20 but that is the only thing I saw in Tucson yet I was there almost a week.
When I got to Tombstone I frivolously spent $25 on a ghost tour that wasn't that good. It was a impulse purchase that I have to be more cautious about in the future. This week I have driven approximately 600 miles from Tombstone to Amarillo. I stopped in El Paso and watched the Superbowl but didn't see any attractions there. I stopped at Carlsbad Caverns for a couple of days due to weather. The two tours I took of the cave would have been free with my Senior Pass except that I rented a device for an audible tour. I saw George Bush's childhood home in Midland Texas for $3 and the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and Museum in Amarillo for $4. My budget for Entertainment is $100 and my budget for travel is $100 as well. The two are somewhat interchangeable.
My budget for fuel is $500 per month. That equates to about 2k miles a month.. Since I left home on January 17th I have driven. 2276 miles and spent about $474 on fuel. It is about 250 miles to Oklahoma City and I will probably drive another 250 miles by the time I leave there on the 17th. I will be slightly over budget in fuel for the first 30 days.
Pete finally wanted out at 8 so I got up and got around. I checked out Walmart and did the bathroom routine then walked over to a McDonald's that was close by only to find out that the dinning room was closed. Apparently there weren't enough workers. I bet that by noon I could find at least one person within a mile panhandling, most likely with a hand written cardboard sign saying "Out of Work".
I decided to go check out a swap meet that I drove by last night. I came across a McDonald's on the way and had a senior coffee.
It has become obvious to me that the orders placed on the kiosks at McDonald's go into La La land. They are never displayed on the order board. This is the case with all McDonald's. Surely they are aware of this but if they were you would have thought they would have fixed the issue by now. So as usual I wait for 15 minutes and then take my receipt to the counter. As usual it isn't to be found on their order board. Today they gave me a large coffee because of the inconvenience. Hmm I may have just stumbled on a strategy to get my $1 large coffees back!
I spent an hour or so at the swap meet. It was indoors and huge. I found a pocket knife case made out of web material with a Velcro fastener. I was able to get the tracker device in it and attached it to Wiggin's collar.
After the swap meet I drove to a Sam's club that was very close by and fueled up. The gas fill receptical seemed to vent okay during this filling. I got on I-40 headed towards Oklahoma City. There was a 20 MPH wind mostly out of the North but a little bit from the East resulting in a terrible cross wind with a little head wind. I didn't get very far out of Amarillo before I pulled over for a nap.
I got back on the road and drove to Weatherford where I stopped at a Walmart. I went inside and bought a salad and avocado and took them back to the RT for dinner. I decided I would sleep there until 5 or so and then drive on into Oklahoma City.