How We're Doing

We're actually doing very well at sticking to our revised budget of $242 a day. Even with our expensive fun in Orlando--the Space Shuttle launch transport tickets (LTT) were not cheap, but the experience was worth every penny--we're averaging $246.34 a day, just a few dollars in the red.

Tonight, we arrived in Altoona, Pennsylvania, at a Quality Inn hidden between an Army Reserve Center and a VA hospital. There were only two other cars in the parking lot when we pulled up to check in. While D was in the lobby, a shirtless bald man and a limping kid meandered past our car. I made sure the doors were locked.

It's a little bizarre, like we're in a ghost town or an unused studio backlot from the 1950s. As I write this, the VA's huge American flag--seriously, it is bigger than our car--is lit up by spotlights. Because regulations say you can't fly the stars and stripes at night without proper illumination. The POW/MIA flag beneath it also gets some splash.

The previous guest in this room left most of a six-pack of Coors Light in the refrigerator. Two of them are in the freezer, the bottoms of the cans bulging out because their carbonated contents have frozen and expanded. D wanted to throw them away, but I suggested we keep them around in case of a werewolf attack. She laughed. I enjoy being able to entertain my wife.

~CKL