Volume 2December 1999Number 5
When I started this calculation this year I was under the mistaken assumption that our winter cost us a little more this last year. But even though I thought it cost us more, we still thought the price of spending the winter in the South, is better than shoveling snow in the North. We miss the Grandkids but everybody has to sacrifice a little so that we can work on our tans. (Ha Ha) We never did get the Breakfasts that were promised to us by Tom, if we would ''only come back home''. He'll be sorry when his baby-sitters don't come home this time.So here goes the expenses and costs for last year. We'll try to show a comparison of this, and the year before. We were gone for a toal of 119 days, and the figures are totals for the 119 days. 119 days was 7 days fewer than we were gone the year before.5,203.6$798.86$883.73$130.29$1013.69$847.53$43.75$73.64 As always, the remaining costs are very arbitrary including admission fees, beer, wine and liquor, shopping trips into Mexico and Apache Junction, and so forth. We had some increases in services and goods, such as campgrounds, meals and restaurants. Our membership campgrounds increased $2 per night from $4 to $6. But the average price per gallon for gas went from $1.13 to $1.04. So all in all there were ups and downs through whole winter.The year before last (97-98) it cost us $34.37 per day to stay on the road for 126 days. Last year it cost us $31.86 per day to stay for 119 days. A savings of $2.51 per day. While these figures do cover the catagories above, they are the bare essentials in expenses to remain away from home. The actual realization that it was cheaper for us to get away last year was a definite plus in figuring our budget for this year. We may actually be able to do this for a few more years. We decided that instead of being on the road this year we would find a nice campground and spend the New Year there. Even though we were sure that the Y2K horror stories were just that....stories, we thought that we'd rather not be travelling because of the traffic. We couldn't have found a better place to spend the holiday than here in Owensville, MO at the Lost Valley Lake RV Resort. It is a fabulous place with everything from an indoor pool to racquetball courts and an indoor sports arena where the New Years Party will be held. For $25 a couple we will attend the party including favors, snacks and 1 liter of soda apiece. Soda to mix with the ''spirits of nectar'' that we will bring along.I am finishing this story in the ''supposed'' new milennium after the Y2K Rollover. Better known as January 1, 2000. This has been a large disappointment for the news media who have been hyping the breakdowns and catastrophes which were supposed to happen. Our water is still pumping, the electricity is still on, and even our e-mail worked faster today than it did on the 30th of December. But had all hell broken loose, we'd have been better off in this motorhome where we were, than at home at the mercy of the catastrophes.I don't foresee any unusual problems from here on out, except the usual nightmares that we endure on each one of these anual sojourns. But me and the mrs. are a hardy lot, and besides somebody has to do this. It's a thankless job but were getting used to it.We just had to tell you about this resort. While we briefly mentioned it in the Y2K story it really deserves its own additional description. We've been here for the past week and have enjoyed every minute of it. It's one of our Coast to Coast network parks and costs us $6 per day. Our site is Electric/Water/Sewer and we're on top of a hill that affords us sun most of the day. In the lodge (clubhouse) are two snack grills, 2 racquetball courts, Men's and Women's Saunas, a store, and a 'removable dome' swimming pool. In front of the lodge is a 30 acre lake with rental boats, canoes and bathing beach. Alongside the lake is a championship Frisbee Golf Course. Also alongside the lake are the riding stables where horses can be rented. The indoor Sports Arena houses the Mini-Golf Course, Basketball Courts, Movie Theater, Shuffleboard Courts and Exercise Room with multiple machines. And to top it all off the second swimming pool is located outside this building. We have never seen a resort like this one in all of our travels. All of the amenities are available to us as Coast to Coast members. Every once in a while you run into an excellent resort like this one, but I'm sure we'll be going quite a while before we hit another one as good as this. 
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