Crunching the numbers

Originally posted on MySpace on March 31, 2008.

When I was planning my Great Beach Bash Road Trip, no detail went unturned. I made hotel reservations for every town and city I was staying at ahead of time. Made a list of all the places I wanted to see and things I wanted to do. Calculated about where I would need to fill up gas and kept track of the prices online via AAA. When it was all said and done, pretty much everything happened like clockwork, which can make a long road trip that much easier. I admit, I can be pretty obsessive when it comes to planning...and compiling facts and figures. Like last year’s Five For Fighting groupie road trip, I’ve come up with the numbers. I think you’ll be amazed, maybe a little shocked and even a tad amused. All I can say is...thank goodness for my tax refund and my auto GPS.

Number of road trip days: 17

Total miles driven: 3600

Most miles traveled in one day: 435 (from Reno, NV to Boise, ID, with one gas stop and my Zoo Boise visit thrown in between)

Number of road kill mishaps: 1 (I feel rather badly about it, but I couldn’t avoid the little bird that bounced off my windshield driving Hwy 95 in southeastern Oregon)

Number of gas fill-ups: 14

Total amount spent for gas: $573.45

Cheapest and most expensive gas purchased: $3.25/gal (Boise, ID) and $3.63/gal (Bishop, CA)

Number of times I had to add oil: 0 (unlike my groupie road trip, where Hwy 1 in California did me in)

Number of hotel stays: 9

Total amount spent for those hotel accommodations: $1049.12

Number of times I stayed at Super 8: 4 (hey, when it comes to price and amenities, it was perfect!)

Number of museums visited: 12

Number of zoos visited: 4

Number of animals petted: 9 (4 zoo animals at West Coast Game Park in Oregon, and 4 cats and a dog at my friend Lynne’s house in L.A.)

Most number of places visited in one day: 4 (it would have been 5, but the World’s Largest Sitka Spruce was a victim of the December windstorms along the Oregon coast and is no more)

Number of times I had my Blazer washed: 2

Number of times I was mistaken for someone else: 2 (it still cracks me up)

Number of times my name was mispronounced: 1 (by The Today Show’s Natalie Morales, but she corrected herself immediately)

Number of times John Ondrasik said my name at the Beach Bash, and correctly, I might add: 4 (I think...the night was kind of blur at times)

Number of times I bought food from a national fast food chain restaurant: 8 (I really tried to avoid doing this but it’s hard not to when you’re time constrained)

Number of CDs I took with me: 96 (with the exception of my Five For Fighting CDs, I didn’t play anything more than once!)

Number of photos taken: 1620 (aren’t digital cameras great?)

Of the photos I took, how many of them included John Ondrasik: 14 (sometimes, those candid shots can be golden!)

Road trips are great. Sometimes it’s the only way go, especially if you’re seeking out the unusual and the obscure...places off the beaten track. And, those can be the most fun...take it from me. Next year...the Great Five For Fighting Groupie Road Trip II. This year can’t go by fast enough for me!