Tag Archives: Costco

Costco Reality

We love Costco.  And there is lots to love!
We love spending $3.21 for lunch for the two of us.
We love the free tire rotation (since we bought them there in the first place).
We love filling up the truck with their cheap(er) fuel.
We love their clothing (even though I didn’t purchase anything this last trip).
We love stocking up on vitamins and other OTC drugs.
We love that we can get items for the RV (like new wiper blades) and items for the pantry (like coffee and snacks) at the same time.
We (I) love their avocados.

But maybe it’s good that we don’t get to one very often. Because what we don’t love is that we can’t seem to get out of the store for under $300.

And we won’t run out of packing tape anytime soon!

Moving Day

We got an early start,
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driving separately since our first stop was to have the truck tires rotated at a Costco outside of Charlotte. Once the tire chore was done we hooked up the truck and set out for our final leg!
Did some big roads
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and some not so big roads.
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The drive was not without a bit of stress – we each chose the wrong way to go (once per leg of the trip), but they were correctable without too much trouble. We arrived safely in late afternoon, and are now settled in our lovely new neighborhood! The other two couples are arriving tomorrow and then we’ll all be good to go!
So thankful that once again for traveling mercies – something we never, never, no never, take for granted!
Steph

 

PS – for a little more info on where we are, hop over to the Where Are We Now page!

A long hard drive

We knew our drive to Oklahoma had a couple of complications, but still, it was less than 300 miles, so how hard could it be?
Although the forecast called for rain, the day started with some promise –
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But it was going to be a broken promise!
Our first stop was getting Lizzie inspected at a garage just 10 miles down the road, so I was going to follow in the truck for the first bit. (Texas RV inspections are pretty simple. Lights, flashers, turn signals, wipers, horn. $7. See ya next year.) Since our next stop was going to involve getting the tires rotated on the truck, we decided to continue in our caravan style to avoid unnecessary hooking and unhooking in the rain.
Yes, the rain had arrived.
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Can you see Lizzie up there? With those bright (newly inspected) lights?
By the time we arrived at Costco for the tire rotation, the rain was steady and the wind was blowing. We did our shopping, had our favorite Costco $3 lunch (IYKYK), and retrieved the truck from the tire center. And it was still raining. So we decided to delay hooking up the truck until we stopped for fuel about 20 miles down  (up?) the road.
By now the wind had picked up too, so after Gary filled up Lizzie (gulp), we found a place to park and waited out the worst of it. The rain finally let up enough for us to get hooked up, and (after we put on some dry clothes) we were on our way! Reunited again!
But there were still 165 miles to go. While we were in a pocket of no rain, the wind continued to batter us.  And let’s not forget about that good old traffic demon. Lots of folks were getting the heck out of Dodge (Dallas!) for the weekend!
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And then, as expected, the rain returned.
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We took a break at the Oklahoma Welcome Center, and considered calling it a day and just staying there for the night. But after the driver took a little power nap, we opted to continue on our way.
Eventually, we got off the interstate which, even though it was still 50 miles to our destination,  made it seem like we were closing in on the prize!
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Oklahoma – thanks for the hint of Fall color, but if you could do something about the utter lack of shoulder, that would be lovely!
Off the main highway, onto the dirt road
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and finally, a full 10 hours from our departure we were parked.
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So it was a pretty yucky, super long trip. But there were some bright spots –
RV Inspection – check
Truck tires rotated – check
Filled up the truck @ Costco – $2.93/Gal (Sweet, right?)
Arriving safely – even if it was a bear of a trip. Always thankful for that!
And a bowl of delicious soup waiting for us upon our arrival. Thank you to our wonderful Group Leaders!
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It might’ve been a long hard drive to get here – but I’m pretty sure we’re going to have a good month! (For a little more about just where we are, hop on over to the Where we are now page!)

Thanks for coming along on our rainy day travels!
Steph

Home is where the heart is

Well, even though I often feel like my heart is actually tucked away at that little cabin in Vermont,
Untitledthe truth is – home is where we park it! And right now it’s still parked at Odosagih Bible Conference. The trip home was long – breakfast at a local (and newly reopened) diner, a quick nap before we even made it out of Vermont, then a stop at the Costco in Rochester. We picked up some favorite Costco items, but were mostly delighted to find gasoline at $3.99/gal! (Sad that makes us happy, right?) It made the long lines (each line was at least 8 cars deep) worth it. All in all about eleven hours from start to finish. But it was uneventful (in a travel sort of way) and we are thankful to be home. Monday we start our second month here at OBC. We’re working alone (as in we’re the only SOWERs here this month), which mostly means that Gary and I will be working together. I’ll let you know what kind of group leader he turns out to be!

I’ve been looking through some pictures from our Cabin time – so be prepared for some additional stories about that little red cabin up on the hill!

Thanks for stopping by! Praying that tomorrow brings you blessings as you spend time in corporate worship with fellow believers!Steph

 

Photobook Backlog

One of the things I’ve tried to do each year we’ve been on the road is put together a photobook of memories.
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As you can see from the various sizes of the books, I’ve used a several different companies – Shutterfly, Costco, and Picaboo to name a few – and usually go with the one with the best sale or coupon at the time. Along with the Yearbooks,  I also like to make memory books for other special events – family reunions, special trips and of course, our adventures with our grandkids! This past month I’ve been working hard to catch-up on some bookmaking! Not only did I have our Year 17 Book to do (our ‘year’ runs from August 1 – July 31), I also wanted to document the wonderful Family Reunion at The Cabin we had in July and  I had TWO grandson adventure books to put together! Phew! I started with the easy ones – the ones for the grandboys. Those came together fairly easily, and I’m happy to report that those books are on their way to the appropriate grandson! (And my copy has been added to the library!)
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The other two – The Reunion and Year 17 – are taking a bit more time. So many pictures – so many choices! Putting together a book of memories that took place over a week is so much easier than trying to condense an entire year into a photobook I can actually afford! But I’m plugging away and hope to be done before December at the latest!
Looks like I might need to commandeer some of Gary’s side of our bookshelf pretty soon….
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I wrote a bit about my love of photobooks about ten years ago, so if you’d like some additional details, you can check it out HERE!