Author Archives: edwinandlisa

Adventures in Fantasia

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I was super surprised the other day when I discovered that one of my all-time favorite movies from my childhood was having a special engagement screening at a nearby movie theater. The NeverEnding Story was playing hey final show courtesy of Phantom Events. Naturally I dropped any plans I had for the evening to go ahead and watch the movie. Sorry, I went by myself but when I got to the theater I was definitely not alone as many other fans of the movie were also there to enjoy the big screen.  What I did not expect was that before the movie played, there was a short documentary type pre-show that chronicled the making of the movie and how the author of the book tried to prevent the movie’s release because he did not believe it was in line with his vision. I am glad that the movie was released and I am glad that I had a chance to watch it once again in a movie theater!

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Anatomy of Vacation Costs: Oregon Caves Weekend Trip

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Here are the costs associated with our just-completed Labor Day weekend trip:

$49.00 Yurt camping
$12.70 Lunch – Corvallis
$21.60 Dinner – Roseburg
$5.05 Breakfast – Grants Pass
$4.77 Lunch – Roseburg
$20.00 Oregon Caves tour
$17.73 Gas
$12.25 Gas
$21.68 Gas
$164.78 TOTAL
$82.39 Average per day

Analysis:

We only stayed one night and lucked out to get a yurt at a popular state park.  We used buy one / get one free coupons during our lunch and breakfast stops, and we used a Groupon for our dinner in Roseburg (good thing too — the food wasn’t all that great).  Gas was a big chunk, as we drove over 650 miles roundtrip but averaged close to 30 miles per gallon in my trusty 1992 Toyota Corolla!  Although we didn’t use any type of award points, we still managed to have a two-day escape for less than $200 total.