Penny-wise and Pound-foolish

To save $200, I booked this flight to Missouri by way of SFO rather than Oakland or Sacramento.  Either of those would have been closer to the California Delta Loop on which I live.  But. . . the flight itself, booked two months ago, would have cost $200 more out of Oakland, and about $250 more from Sacramento.

I felt so confident in my decision.  My purpose in travel is to make two appearances as Guardian Ad Litem, and I can’t ask for reimbursement for the expenses of this trip.  I figured that I’d rise early, park at the BART station, and commute to the airport.

Then I took the BART while my son was visiting and started getting nervous.  Could I really get to SFO with a small carry-on bag and my pocketbook, down the escalator, through the train doors, the hour to the airport, up the escalator, and over whatever concourse I would have to traverse at that end?  And could I really leave my car for five days in the handicapped space at the Pittsburgh BART?  I had smugly covered the need for a laptop by leaving one in Kansas City, but did I know where the power cord was?  I did not.   Confident that the person at whose home I had left everything could find it, at least that part could be deftly  addressed, leaving me a bit lighter for not having to lug the computer.

Many machinations later, consultation with a friend in Oakland, and a lot of heartache, here’s where we stand:

Cord located in KC? No.  Laptop has to be toted to Missouri.

Parking possible long-term at the BART station?  Deemed not safe.

Corinne capable of BARTing alone for the first time all the way to SFO?  Uh, no.  Ill-advised, I’m told.  Let’s do a few more rounds with a companion, I’m cautioned.

So. . .

Hotel room at SFO:  $110.

Long-term parking at said hotel for five days: $60.

Rolling bag to tote a few personal items and laptop, since computer bag doesn’t roll and rolling suitcases are, you guessed it, in Kansas City having not made the cut in the last minute packing: $40.

Dinner at hotel in SF:  As yet to be determined, let’s estimate $20.

Total: $230.

Annnnnnddd, subtracting that from the savings —- I’m thirty bucks in the hole, though truth be told, I’d had to have paid to park at Oakland or Sacramento, so I can probably call it a wash.

Along the way, the navigator got me lost and I saw an extra forty miles of California scenery, which I must admit to having enjoyed immensely.  Called the Green belt, my lost-as-heck route took me past miles of gentle hills with glorious windmills, just the type of landscape that I most enjoy seeing when I’m lost, and somewhat dismayed, and needing to find a soft place for my emotions to land.

It’s the eighteenth day of the forty-ninth month of My Year Without Complaining.  Greetings to you all from the BW Grosvenor SFO hotel, where it’s tea time.

Life continues.

2 thoughts on “Penny-wise and Pound-foolish

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *