T-minus 1 day

Its always a hectic time getting ready for a big trip. The days seem to go faster and the time shrinks. There are always last-minute things that come up that complicate the process as well. For instance, I took my van into the shop to have a tuneup and checkup before the big road trip. I found that I have a lot of work that needs to be done to make this van roadworthy. New brakes, new wheel bearings, new idler arms, and a couple of other smaller items. Total bill $1,100.00. That hurts the pocketbook, but it's important to have these things taken care of before the trip rather than to have them surface during the trip.

I also got a call from an antiques dealer to go look at an estate with a bunch of books in Richmond (about an hour round trip) today. So that blocked out another two hours from my schedule that was unplanned. I didn't buy a whole lot of good books there, but got a few things that I can use.

While I am gone I'm going to have my daughters Tessa and Lindsay take care of processing Internet orders and mailing the books out. They have both done this before for me when I have been gone, but usually it is only two or three days. This time it will be about nine or ten days.

I am really excited to get out on the road and start looking for books. I'm planning extra expense for gas, as I see that prices have crept up again to over $3.50 a gallon here in the Cache Valley, and will no doubt be at that level or higher in many of the places that I fill on this trip. My Chevy Astro van and trailer that I pull do not create make a good gas mileage combo. When I start loading down the trailer with boxes of books, and especially if I'm driving into the wind, my mileage can go down to 10-12 miles a gallon. It probably gets about 15-16 miles per gallon maximum under favorable conditions. So I figure I'll burn about 225-250 gallons of gas on this trip, which will equate to over $800.00 in gas expense. Add motel and food expenses and I'll be at $1,200.00 in expenses. That's why it is important to purchase a lot of good inventory on these trips. I'm confident that this trip will follow the pattern of other trips and that I will be able to do this.