Spring Break for Seniors

Driving 4,500 miles across from Illinois to the West, we shared windshield time, driving duties, map perusals, GPS setting, and other things that are unmentionable. We are still married. Seniors are resilient.

From Illinois, through Missouri. From Tucumcari, NM to Tucson, AZ to Williams, AZ and the Grand Canyon, and on to Winslow (and THE CORNER); to Roswell, NM, and Longview TX, and home through Little Rock, AR, we hiked and golfed and toured our way around those GREAT areas. We are still married.

We met great people, laughed, talked, learned about every area we went to. We shopped, frugally, and we ate. Frugally. Rachel Ray, we decided, has nothing on us! Forty dollars a day is, like, extravagant! Seniors know how to squeeze value out of dining out during a trip!

Rich and Phyl's Handy Travel Eating Tips (for road trips):

Tip #1: Take it with you, for heaven's sake! Pack a cooler, and bring along those water bottles, juices, pop cans, purchased at your local grocery store (preferably with coupons!). Bring enough for the trip, and buy a variety of flavors. Look at what those drinks cost at a gas station stop!

Bring non-perishables, too, like crackers, peanut butter, nuts, trail mix, and energy bars. You know...the ones you bought on sale in your grocery store (preferably with coupons!).

If you start to run low, stop a local grocery store to re-stock. And enjoy wandering the local grocery store...some of them are really very interesting!

Tip #2: Stay at moderately priced motels with FREE BREAKFAST! (Be sure your motel chain of choice offers 'perqs' to you for a certain number of stays, or points for other good 'stuff'. (That's as good as coupons!).

Eat a good breakfast! It's good FOR you! And, you can survive nicely through lunch on the goodies you packed at home. Or take a bagel from the Breakfast Bar. With Cream Cheese. But not too often. Don't be a piggy.

Tip #3: Eating dinners out within a budget is really quite easy. If there is no famous restaurant in the area, choose an interesting restaurant. Skip the chains. Be adventurous! If the motel recommends a place, try it! The Diner down the street with the cow on the roof could be a great place for local, fresh food. You are out to have a vacation, don't be a stick in the mud!

Don't order a cocktail. Alcohol drives up the price of the dinner. If you are over 55, ask for a Senior Discount. There is no point in being shy if it saves you money! And there's no point in trying to fool the waitstaff about how young you are; they are all 16 and think you are a dinosaur anyway. So fess up!

Chances are, one of you is probably overweight anyway, so order an appetizer as the main course, especially if the menu is a pricey one! Salad and an appetizer is a good evening meal. You can dine at the plushest of restaurants this way, and spend next to nothing (we had dinner for two in some great places for about $10.00 each). And take your leftovers! You can use them for lunch on the road tomorrow!

Happy travelling!