The month in Apache Junction is almost over. We’ll drive away in three days. Colleen and Margie are the only two sisters yet to leave, and they’ll be returning to Minnesota in a little over a week. Of course, once we get to Minnesota around May 12, we’ll see them all again, except for Rita, who lives in South Dakota.
Tom has six sisters, a few of whom we hadn’t seen while in Arizona this past month. One is Patty, who lives in Blaine, Minnesota, and his sister Betty, known as Sister Beth, who lives in a retirement home for nuns in Milwaukee, whom we’ll visit on our way to Minnesota, most likely seeing her around May 9 or 10th, while we spend one night in Wisconsin. The next day, we head to Minnesota.
We have a reservation in a Residence Hotel in Eden Prairie for May 23, when we thought we’d stay here longer. But, since we’re leaving early, we’ll need accommodations when we arrive, two weeks earlier than planned. But, in this case, we’ve decided to wait to book those first two weeks to avoid having any pressure during the road trip. That way, we can take our time.
Also, we haven’t informed Sister Beth that we’re coming to see her and won’t do so until a day or two before our arrival. That way, it will prevent her from being concerned about our arrival.
We’ll do our last loads of laundry tomorrow morning and then join Colleen and Margie for “Taco Tuesday on Monday” at the local VFW. We’ll have a late lunch and won’t be concerned about dinner. If we get hungry, we can eat the remaining bacon and eggs.
Yesterday, I made a turkey breast with leftovers for today, with rice for Tom and salad for both of us. Today, before visiting Colleen and Margie, we eat the leftovers. Soon, I’ll make a fresh salad since we have ingredients we need to use. We’ve used everything that was in the freezer and most of the food in the refrigerator.
We’ll be taking seasonings and non-perishables with us since we were in Minnesota, and we’ll have a full kitchen at the residence hotel and be able to cook. We could be in Minnesota for quite some time and don’t want to eat out every day as we’ve often done. Dining out is very costly in the US.
Last fall, we were shocked in Minnesota when we started ordering Jimmy John’s unwich sandwiches to pick up rather than have delivered where there are so many fees. However, we get free delivery with Grubhub, which is offered to Amazon Prime members. The cost was $22 for each sandwich, including no sides. It doesn’t make sense to pay that much for a breadless sandwich. We can purchase the ingredients at a grocery store and get two to three meals by making our own.
We’ll possibly be staying in the hotel in Minnesota for two to three months as we await my appointment at Cleveland Clinic. With the cost of staying in a hotel for so long, we will be mindful of our other expenses. Also, renting a car in the US for such an extended period will be costly. It would be fine if we could keep our food costs in check. No one ever plans to live in a hotel for so long, but with a kitchen, we’ll be fine.
Once we get to Cleveland, we will repeat our living style in Minnesota, staying in a residence-type hotel with a kitchen and making our meals. While I am recovering, Tom can make easy meals, order takeaway, or pick up food ready to eat.
I took a break from this post and emptied a full-size suitcase for us to use to take in and out of the hotel in Santa Monica and on the road trip. This way, we won’t have to haul all of our bags into the hotel room each night. We have a big blanket to cover any bags in the vehicle’s trunk. My main clothing bag is packed, and I have a bag of clothes to drop off at Goodwill in Apache Junction.
Be well.
Photo from ten years ago today, April 28, 2014:
