| D.C. to Austin: Drive More Often Logistics by Ryan Cofrancesco |
| <<Thank you to Uncle Nick and Aunt Estelle; Linda, Kevin, and Theresa; Jennifer and Alise; Uncle Matt; and Dave Feigelson - all of whom helped me have fun and keep expenses down during the trip! :-) >> |
| Link to the DC to Austin: Drive More Often page to see more about why I made this crazy trip - and some of the fun stories that came out of it!!:-) Return to Autobiographical page! Return to Writing Ryan's main page |
| Introduction (for explanation read the narrative) This trip took 8 days - from May, 9 to May 16, 2002. I traveled about 3, 418.8 miles. I spent a total of $392.73. Distances and Times (driving times include all stops for meals and supplies, such as gas and beverages) Washington, D.C. to Chatanooga, Tennessee 632.5 miles, 11.5 hours Chatanooga to New Orleans, Louisiana 522 miles, 9.25 hours New Orleans to Austin, Texas 572.2 miles, 9.75 hours (Only 6 days were used for travel. I took a full day off in both Austin and Chatanooga on the return trip. The same routes were used on the return trips and all mileages and times were similar) Expenses *GAS* I spent $157.55 on gas. The price ranged from $1.29 to $1.42 and averaged somewhere just below $1.35. My car, 1993 Chevy Lumina, got about 28.8 miles per gallon. *LODGING* I was lucky enough to have family at every stop I made except for my second pass through New Orleans when is slept in my car. Parking there cost $15. *FOOD* I got a lot of help with food expenses from my family and friends along the way, but I also splurged for really good meals in New Orleans and other places. Total cost for food - including meals for myself and others and snacks on the road - was $121.55. *MISCELLANEOUS* Since I was working with money that I was being paid to take the trip, I didn't mind too much spending my money. I spent $112.18 on miscellaneous things. The largest parts of these expenses were the Steinbeck audio book, a New Orleans baseball cap, the Mike West CD, games at Dave and Buster's in Austin, and beef jerky in Texas. Other, smaller, expenses included ice for my cooler and some beverages for the road, cough medicine and tissues as I caught a cold in the air conditioned hotel room in New Orleans and a notepad that helps me remember all these details! Not counted in these expenses is the $40 I may have to pay for the Virginia speeding ticket. Expense percentages are something like this: 40% for gas 31% for food 29% for miscellaneous |