Low Cost Fun: Take a Road Trip!

Thank goodness the price of gas has leveled out a bit so my next suggestion will be met with fewer eye-rolls than 6 months ago. Take a road trip. Get out the travel guides for your area. Go online and do some cyber exploring of the towns (or for us, the states!) near you. Taking a road trip, having a basic understanding of where you are going, opens the doors for some 2 hours in a car induced communication (as well as plenty of eye rolling as your partner gets heated at the other drivers on the road).

We began our Sunday quest by going to Maine. Originally I'd wanted to have gone up for a night away to a B&B and even found a few low cost options due to the time of year. But I had to take a look at our accounts and ask myself what was really important? A night away, when we don't have any children and only a bird to really bother us at home. Or a nice drive, new scenery and some tasty food? Option #2 won, especially since I got my Dyson for Valentine's Day (a steal on a DC17 at Bed Bath and Beyond. They will match the current online price of 345.00 AND you can use your 20% off coupon. SCORE).

So ahead we went, after gassing up the car and plying ourselves with coffee. We hit the Maine border and I told the Bloke to pull off...so we took a beautiful coastal route to the town we were going to donate some hard earned cash to. We got there, barely. Note to self...start out on a road trip well fed. One piece of toast and some strawberries hours earlier does not a happy couple make. We got there, pulled into the beautiful town of Ogonquit to a restaurant I'd read about and wanted to try. The issue, the place was PACKED. 2PM and PACKED. All of the parking around the little shops were full, leaving us to drive a mile away and walk.

This was the best thing that could have happened, other than our terrible hunger, we took the Marginal Way along the water and what a sight! (photos would have been included here however I was too hungry on the way there and since it was unpaved, the Bloke wanted to take the regular street back BOO). Finally we got to MC Perkins Cove, were seated at a table with a beautiful view, and enjoyed our belated Valentines meal of lobster rolls and fries (mine with tempurai-sh sweet potato fries!) Ok. I had a bloody mary too seen below and it was GOOD!

The view, the fresh air, the food, it was the perfect get away for us. We saved $125.00 on lodging and still had a lovely day. We got home and felt like we'd done something! So many times when you're watching your wallet, we get the "Poor Me's". I can tell you, feeling the cool wind whip across my face, holding my husband's hand as we struggled along icy Marginal Way, the "Poor Me's" never entered my mind.

Total cost of Day:

Gas: $12.00
Lunch: $75.00 (Lobster rolls and fries X 2, Bloody Mary, Beer and split dessert). This is high as it is our big dining out of the month and can easily be adjusted to your needs! I would have happily stopped at a road side shack for lobster rolls, something that is much easier in the summer!

Saved: $125.00 on Accommodation