Cheapest Hotel

The most expensive part of travel is usually the over night accommodations. We'd all like to stay at the 5 star resorts, but the budget won't allow it. To travel less expensively, you stay at Super 8 or Motel 6. Is money really tight? Then you'll be rolling into the KOA's.

But what if you've decided to see the whole country in 2 months for $150?

The first night of our hitchhiking adventure, Chuck and I slept under a juniper tree outside of Flagstaff, AZ. It was far enough away from the road to not be seen by traffic, and since we had no tent, the tree offered a little protection from the elements. We wanted to travel as light as possible and being 21 we figured we were tough enough to make do with just sleeping bags. By the next night we had only made it as far as Winslow, AZ and splurged on a box of granola bars before camping under a picnic table at a rest stop. Trust me, an April night in Arizona is not warm and we awoke feeling a little cranky about our adventure thus far.

But as our 3rd day warmed up our fortunes improved and we hit the jackpot when a quiet cowboy in a silver truck took us all the way to Oklahoma City. He was tired but couldn't stop for sleep so he picked us up to help him drive. It was dawn when Cowboy let us out and that's when we discovered the accommodations that we used for the rest of our time on the road. We were at a major interchange with several overpasses and men were emerging from the concrete. We couldn't see where they were coming from...it looked like they were just sinking through the road above. They were walking and sliding down to the road below. When the last of them left we climbed up and found this...


...about three feet of warm, safe, privacy. An they were located every few miles all over the country. No reservations required. Sure, there were drawbacks. Concrete is hard. Freeways are noisy. Trucks were rolling just inches over my face. But we loved the fact that they were everywhere and we would be completely hidden while up there. Even if drivers looked for us we couldn't be seen.

We questioned the safety of our shelter just once in Nashville when I was awakened by Chucks scream. I opened my eyes in time to watch him rolling down to the road below as he fought to stop his descent with a single arm coming out of the breathing hole of his mummy sleeping bag. I probably should have been more concerned but I was laughing so hard I couldn't even find my own bags zipper so I could go down and help him. He was bruised and scraped and sore for days but the memory of it still makes both of us laugh.

So there you go. If you are on an extreme budget, I've just tipped you off to the cheapest hotel I know of. 26 years have passed and I still look under the over passes nearly everyday to see who knows the secret.

Pay Cut? No Problem!

As unemployment in our country rises above 8%, my own employer continues to make tough decisions. We had another round of lay-offs this week and each cut seems to get harder and harder on everybody. Three months ago, my division of the company had about 100 employees. Today we are less than 70.

This time we all knew what was going on and we knew the risks of being called to the bosses office. My meeting was as at 8:00 and I was told that my salary was getting cut by 5%. I said, “Thank-you, very much.”

All morning people gathered in huddles quietly discussing events. No one could show too much relief because no one had any idea who survived and who didn’t. When making eye contact with someone in the copy room, one person would just lift a wondering eyebrow and the other would respond with a nod. Then you knew you were safe to talk about it and show relief that you weren't going home.

It wasn't completely surprising to anybody. We're in an industry that represents good times and economic health. People are going to cut their ski vacation from the budget before they stop buying socks, milk, or cable TV. It’s actually remarkable and a testament to good management that we haven’t had deeper cuts. During the good times of the past few years we were actually paying down debt instead of acquiring more. I heard one ski resort closed last month…right at peak season. Rumor has it that other companies are obtaining last minute financing to keep from going under.

We could be in much worse shape, but that doesn’t make it any easier to see your friends lose their jobs. Friends with families and mortgages just like me. People with talent and skills and loyalty. After the cuts were final we had a “survivors meeting” and the VP that had to deliver the news to the victims could barely get through it with out choking up. He made the points that the economy was terrible and we had to reduce cost while trying to preserve as many jobs as we could and there were no guarantees that the layoffs were over. In order to preserve as many jobs as possible, everyone had their wages cut and the CEO would take no salary at all this year. I hope its enough to get through until the economy turns around.

Actually I hope it's enough to get through another 3 years until my youngest leaves home. Then I don't need a job or a mortgage. I just haven't decided yet if I'm moving into Todd's basement or Troy's boat. (they think I'm kidding)

Mowing the Lawn

I like to read good writing. Whether it's an entire book or just a bumper sticker, I love when the words are perfectly chosen and arranged to the point where I'm not just reading information...I'm reading art. And I wish I could do that.

So aside from this blog just being a way to keep in touch with friends and family, writng is something I enjoy. And it's a way to practice the art and to try to come close to some of the writers I admire. Sometimes I'll find that among a thousand words, I've strung ten together that are really good and its worth the time I put into it.

I still enjoy it but sometimes it feels like it's becoming a chore. It's like watching the grass in your yard get longer and longer and knowing that you should cut it. It just kind of nags at your brain and you imagine that the neighbors are shaking their heads and blaming you for their sinking property values until you can't take the pressure and you shuffle out and mow your lawn. When you're done, you don't feel pride at a job well done. Just relief that the chore isn't nagging at you anymore.

Any of you other bloggers feel that way? Natalie? Kelly? Brooke? Do you suspect that after a week of nothing new, your readers are saying "Bad blogger, bad blogger! Go to your room!"?

Sorry. I like writing, but I hate mowing the lawn.