Yes, you heard right, I'm going to leave my little slice of paradise for a few days.. I have to go to CO to pick up something I bought, and the things that my grandmother promised I could have when she died when I was young. She died 33 years ago, and my mother has been trying to keep them from me ever since.

I don't want to do a lot of mystery shopping while I'm driving, but I would like to get some gasoline, and mostly feed myself on the way there and back. I believe most of the trip will be on I-40 and I-70 and I'll go through or close to a couple major cities. So I'm open to suggestions.

That being said, I'd like to avoid going into Memphis, and toll roads as much as possible. And if you're close to my route, maybe we could meet for coffee or something, if you're open to such things.

What do ya think?

I plugged Northern AL (used Huntsville as an estimate) to CO into AI tool and it didn't take me anywhere near Memphis....Nashville > St. Louis > Kansas City > CO border....maybe just use Presto to find gas shops along the way....? not sure when you're leaving, but maybe look ahead for food shops that need to be scheduled ahead of time.....I'm a wimp i.e. - I rarely drive more than 6 or 7 hours on a long trip, per day - so can estimate that way.
You're going at a great time of the year for road travel, enjoy!
I would love to meet up, but I am nowhere near that part of the US now or in the near future.
I am happy for you to get your heirlooms/grandma's stuff.
Enjoy, be safe and we're here waiting to hear from you on how it all made out

For some reason my GPS route told me to take US 72 across, through Memphis. I like your directions better. It should be relatively easy to get my tank full again in and around Nashville, and possibly St. Louis too. My mother lives outside of Denver, so I get to drive through almost the entire state. I'm hoping to get a decent paycheck before I leave so I can blow it at a dispensary while I'm there.

Are you going alone or is your son coming along on this trip? Just hoping for a safe trip for you.

Good vibes for your "¦journey there and back. Did a similar family journey back east last summer. It was ultimately affirming and liberating.

I've recently returned from a road trip in my current west coast home state offering a lot of assignments. Had good luck inputting my current location and destination info into the job boards daily as I planned the next day, and along the way to help with food and gas expenses. Kept it to simple gigs to avoid overload. Didn't cover it all, but averaged 60%.

Didn't have time to consider entertainment and personal interests, but maybe you do. Not just for gigs, but for the stunning natural beauty, culture, and fun roadside attractions along the way.

A great opportunity to nourish the soul as you close one chapter to write the next one.

Safe travels !

@purpleicee wrote:

Are you going alone or is your son coming along on this trip? Just hoping for a safe trip for you.

I'll be the only human in the car. I think Ms. Butter Butter baby butt is going to ride along. She's wiggly and happy and loves everyone she meets. I don't know what kind of dog she is, I think she's some kind of hound mixed with pit bull, she's yellow and buttery soft. She is one of the 3 puppies I rescued in January of 2023, I lost the brown one, they were all very sick, and the vet said that even with surgery he wouldn't have a good quality of life. But Dollar man (the other baby boy) is all black and very handsome, but he's the most paranoid guy I've ever had, so he's probably not going to be good solo on a road trip.

I don't like driving solo, on my driving trips to AL to visit with my grandsons I always had another person or a dog (or two) with me.

I've also been toying with the idea of bringing along my oldest grandson, he's 22, and he's never met his great grandmother. I need to talk to his mom, he's undergoing chemo for lymphoma, to find out about his chemo schedule and find out if he's physically able or if he would want to go along at all.

Morl, please do your best to find someone to accompany you. I think we'd all feel better about your safety knowing you were travelling with more than a cute doggie. With that being said, I'm nowhere near these highways you've mentioned, but if you find yourself passing through the Dallas metroplex, I will gladly make the trip north to meet you for lunch.

Happy and safe travels.

I am glad you will have the dog. Too bad you cannot take the other dog so he can learn to calm down. I have one like that, too, that was rescued. He finally has calmed down. That would be great if your grandson could come and spend time with you. I hope he can. My prayers are with you and yours.

I will be in CO next month. That sounds like a long drive for you!!! The drive through MO and KS is a real snooze fest. Be sure to bring along a good audiobook or podcast. I also do not think you will pass through Memphis either.

I have an excellent CD collection, Bob Dylan, Queen, Bowie, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Led Zep (of course), Dr. Hook, Roy Orbison, Wilburies, Tom Petty, Beatles.. and several others.. I'll be ok with crunchy snacks and loud music.

Got some fancy new bluetooth earbuds too, and I'm kinda hoping that my new Google Pixel 10 Pro XL shows up before I leave. Yes, I swore I didn't want another Pixel, but I won't own Apple products, and the new Samsungs aren't an option currently. I'd give most anything for a new LG phone, but that ain't happening, so I chose to upgrade to a newer Pixel and I'm crossing my fingers.

If you need cheap accommodations for the night, check in with SQM as there are over 750 hotels all over the continental US. In return for about 45 minutes worth of effort as a mystery shopper (not an auditor), you will get back 50% of the room and taxes (for up to a 4 night stay). www.sqm.ca

It appears that the application page doesn't work. The requirement to list each individual city which would be close enough not to charge for travel is laborious. Many people are willing to travel for vacation purposes so why would it be a requirement to add individual cities? After I entered a few in the manner it required, the application still didn't submit. Instead it took out info such as the state and removed the drop down bar in order to select a state. You cannot write it in manually either. Here is the reason for not taking the submission:
Please list the cities and towns that are within your area and will not require any additional travel expenses.
Separate with commas.

Please enter the cities and regions in the following format - i.e.:
Toronto-ON-Canada, Atlanta-GA-USA

You also have to provide a picture of yourself.

Still generating duplicates"¦

I doubt I'll stay at more than one motel or hotel each way. I'm fine sleeping in my car, the back seat is almost completely flat, and on the drive there the back will be empty, I'll be able to lay down and stretch out. I don't think a box of dishes and two sewing machines will take up so much room that I can't sleep back there coming back too.

@Morledzep wrote:

I have an excellent CD collection, Bob Dylan, Queen, Bowie, Elton John, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull, Led Zep (of course), Dr. Hook, Roy Orbison, Wilburies, Tom Petty, Beatles.. and several others.. I'll be ok with crunchy snacks and loud music.

Got some fancy new bluetooth earbuds too, and I'm kinda hoping that my new Google Pixel 10 Pro XL shows up before I leave. Yes, I swore I didn't want another Pixel, but I won't own Apple products, and the new Samsungs aren't an option currently. I'd give most anything for a new LG phone, but that ain't happening, so I chose to upgrade to a newer Pixel and I'm crossing my fingers.

Like the diversity of your music collection! It's the soundtrack to life!

I always have road trip mixes ready to go and in addition the above, add in some R&B, 80's danceables and upbeat jazz, instrumentals, and funky dance tunes as well, like Earth Wind and Fire and Kool for when the road seems long and I need a lift or the beautiful landscape deserves an equally beautiful soundtrack.

Pandora app allows you to create ad-free custom mixes and channels for $5/month (cancel any time) that add in tunes that blend well with your choice of artists to enrich, rediscover faves you may have forgotten, and hear new talent you might love and not hear otherwise.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/10/2025 08:01AM by QTShopper.

QT, I tried pandora for a while. But they keep suggesting music I don't want to listen to, like Rush, and The Doors, and every kind of rap, and all that new-fangled machine music, and fake cuntry music. They could suggest big bands, or swing, or ragtime, or almost anything else and I'd be perfectly happy to listen and probably "like" them. I never bothered to put Pandora on the last two or three phones, and I honestly haven't missed it.

Looks like it's just going to be me and Ms. Butter baby. My grandson said the chemo is making his bones hurt and he doesn't like riding long distances in the car. And he's still working. I can't take my son, we have a farm to run. So, instead of leaving tomorrow, I'm going to wait until Monday, the hotels will be less expensive, on a Monday or Tuesday night, and probably coming back too.

The new Pixel 10 Pro XL showed up too. it's BIG, and it's thick, like an iPhone. It also uses the magnetic charging thing that iPhones have. It charges very slowly if you're using the phone, it charges much faster on a regular type C wire, all of my chargers are 2.4A so everything charges quickly with a good wire. I like it better than my Pixel 7 Pro, at least so far. Still trying to find out how to switch the Just-Shop-It app to the new phone. The T-Mobile tech guys said to take it to a store, and it should switch over on the wifi.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2025 02:23AM by Morledzep.

I hope you will be checking in with your son along the way for safety. And you could use the satellite feature to share your location with him.

purple, we have Life360 on the phones, we can always track each other if we need to. He just got a new phone a couple months ago too.. not the one he wanted though, he wanted a larger version phone, but he got a basic Samsung Galaxy S25. He says it's too small.. lol

Well, the road trip is being postponed, I couldn't leave on Friday like I thought. I scheduled grocery shops for Thursday and Friday this week, and I doubt I can get back before Thursday, even if I left yesterday. I also bought some stuff for the drive, and then my subscriptions came due, and suddenly all I have is about $600 and my mystery shopping money. But the second half of October usually means snow in the rockies (and Denver), so that will be a limiting factor. I think my options right now are to go early in October, and to get the bare minimum subscriptions, or skip them until November. And not schedule any grocery shops until much later in the round next time.

There and back again! Drove there on my dime, 2 days. Did a couple grocery shops there and discovered that my mother doesn't need groceries, her house is PACKED with food, her fridge couldn't support an extra bottle of milk if it had to.

I got my dishes, my grandmother's sewing machine and the auction sewing machine that I won ($0.25), she also gave me two enamelled Lodge cast iron dutch ovens, which was nice, and a sports bottle from a gym she joined but doesn't attend. My ex husband looks like a scarecrow with glasses. And her creepy boyfriend is completely unhinged now.

Coming back, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.. until 04:35 this morning, I did 9? maybe 10, famous highway stations for the gasoline, and two pizza shops, would have been 3, but Google maps seems to be going through some things. I was sitting in the parking lot of the pizza place and it told me that I was in the wrong place, so I got on the freeway to the next offramp like it said, and then it told me to go back to where I was.. so I just cancelled the shop. Google maps also cost me 3 additional gas stations, I thought I had passed them because I didn't get off the freeway in KS and chose to stay on the interstate to go into MO. And I cancelled the shops before I realized that they were actually only a few blocks from the truck stop where I spent the night.

How was your week?

@Morledzep wrote:

There and back again! Drove there on my dime, 2 days. Did a couple grocery shops there and discovered that my mother doesn't need groceries, her house is PACKED with food, her fridge couldn't support an extra bottle of milk if it had to.

I got my dishes, my grandmother's sewing machine and the auction sewing machine that I won ($0.25), she also gave me two enamelled Lodge cast iron dutch ovens, which was nice, and a sports bottle from a gym she joined but doesn't attend. My ex husband looks like a scarecrow with glasses. And her creepy boyfriend is completely unhinged now.

Coming back, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.. until 04:35 this morning, I did 9? maybe 10, famous highway stations for the gasoline, and two pizza shops, would have been 3, but Google maps seems to be going through some things. I was sitting in the parking lot of the pizza place and it told me that I was in the wrong place, so I got on the freeway to the next offramp like it said, and then it told me to go back to where I was.. so I just cancelled the shop. Google maps also cost me 3 additional gas stations, I thought I had passed them because I didn't get off the freeway in KS and chose to stay on the interstate to go into MO. And I cancelled the shops before I realized that they were actually only a few blocks from the truck stop where I spent the night.

How was your week?

Glad you made it there and back safe!

Busy week in my world. I did 2 assignment road trips this fall and did the same: Paid for gas and ate on the cheap by booking those as I went.

I concur about Google Maps. Wondering if it's an AI side effect or satellite issue, or who knows in these interesting times. The directions have been so squirrelly I actually review them and have been choosing different routes, discovering great places I never would have unless I took the (shorter) road less traveled. Once I vary from the suggested one, it usually catches up with itself and follows my chosen path in less time than the crazy detours it's been taking us on.

Never been to Colorado to explore, but hope to one day. Sounds like you chose the right place to make your home. I returned to my old stomping ground last year and was reminded why I moved on in so many ways. Love the landscape, but the human drama has continued with predictable results.

Congrats on that sewing machine score and those dutch ovens! Many just let the crockery sit in a cupboard, but they're truly an asset once you get to know them, especially if you like home-made bread and savory dishes.
Look forward to hearing more about what you've created with your treasures.

hey MLZ,
Glad to see you made it there and back all in one piece! yeah!
Whenever I'm in my car and want to look up a location, I use the Apple Maps App (say that 3 times fast)
on my phone - hasn't steered me wrong yet...not sure if you have that or something similar on your phone?
Glad you got your stuff!

Peace!

PS/my week? ugh, packing for my move and reading about new healthcare plans...could anything be more annoying? It will soon pass.....what's worse is I have a sibling going in the hospital tomorrow for a 14 hour surgery....serious surgery....lighting a candle and praying....



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/15/2025 11:00PM by BarefootBliss.

Bare,

I've relied on Google maps for years. It used to be spotty here in AL in some areas, and sometimes it still is, but not often anymore. But there were some design changes that happened a few weeks ago, and the GPS is now telling me to make unnecessary turns and going around in circles again, like it did years ago. A couple days ago, in MO, it told me that the gas station I was looking for was on the other side of the street in a vacant lot. And you should see the mess it made me go around in Commerce City, CO doing P66's on the way out of Denver.

I don't use, or own, apple products. It also means I don't and won't ever watch Apple+ tv too.

Where are ya moving to? There seems to be quite a bit of work to be had in and around Denver. Not enough to make me contemplate moving, but there was no shortage of stuff to do there. And considering that the P66's were posted over a week before I even left AL and they were all still available when I got there says something about the availability of shoppers..I think.

I doubt I'll ever darken my mother's doorstep again, and I know that I want nothing from her estate when she passes. Satan (my sister), Bill (rich guy she keeps so he can pay for anything she wants), and my ex husband can have all of it.

SBP,

There were some format changes a few weeks ago to Google Maps, and I'm not certain they were for the better. These were all routes I either did on my desktop and emailed them to my phone. Or, like the one in the Denver/Commerce City area, I made the route directly on my phone, and saved it to my home page to use the following day. But EVERY single time I clicked the button to go to the next stop, it sent me on a completely different route from what I had routed, and I was going in circles. I passed one of the gas stations, the first one that I did, no less than 4 times. It's good thing that Commerce City isn't a bigger area. And it made me go around a planned road closure for an event that wasn't going to happen until 2 days later. If I had been more familiar with the area I might have been able to correct it in real time, but the last time I visited my mother she was in a different part of Denver, no where near Commerce City. We aren't from there, that's where she went with the money she got from her parents' estate.

I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, in CA. I lived in So Cal for 55 years, though not all of it in LA County. I owned my home in Riverside County for 25 years before I left CA. If I had the means to own a home in CA again, I probably would NOT. The fire danger is just too much, and property taxes are really extreme, at least compared to here. The taxes on my home in Riverside went from $1600 to over $2000 every 6 months over the 25 years I was there. Here, in AL, my property taxes on 5 acres, with a marginally liveable structure on it, is just under $300 per year.

I'm looking forward to using those dutch ovens for sourdough bread just as soon as I get a new stove.. lol My grandma didn't buy pre-made food. If you had food in her house, with very few exceptions, it was homemade from scratch, and she expected the same from us (but I think I was the only one that listened.) I never bought bread in a grocery store until recently.

And for the record, the dishes were Franciscan ware desert rose set that came from my great grandmother who died before I was born. There are some newer pieces from getting replaced from normal wear and tear, we actually used to use them daily when we were kids.