Today marks the second day of the great trek across the country.

Day 2 Sunday

(If you are not reading this post at www.howisavemoney.net or in your feed reader, it may have been stolen from my site.)

Planned drive time: 4 hrs 13 mins

Actual drive time: 5 hrs

Old Way

I did not really have a plan for getting myself, the cat, and my overnight items into the hotel. The only thing I knew I would do was to carry my purse and the cat when I checked in.

The first night I carried my purse and the cat on the first trip. I then went back for my backpack with my laptop, and a small overnight bag. I made another trip to get the litter box and then realized I needed her food and water bowls, resulting in yet one more trip to the car.

New Way

I realized that I needed to have a better plan for getting into and out of the hotels since I would be doing this 4 times. My plan now is to take the cat in her carrier, along with my overnight bag and my purse when I check in. I would then leave all this in the hotel room, letting the cat out of the carrier. Then I go back for the litter box, my laptop bag, and her food and water. Her bowls would remain in my overnight bag and I could just wash them in the morning before I left for the next leg of the trip.

If I need any miscellaneous items then I would make a third trip to the car when I go out to get food.

Over the next night I became a little better about repacking my overnight bag with the essentials I needed. This saved me from making more trips and from carrying too much.