The pie rode in Tina's lap the whole way, a pumpkin in a glass dish with foil over it, and every time I touched the brakes she said my name the way she says it when I've tracked gear oil into the kitchen. That's the first thing I remember about this year's drive to Lincoln. The second is that the whole trip cost $61 in gas.
Thanksgiving was at Tina's sister Renee and her husband Curtis's house this year. They live in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the four of us went up Thursday morning, stayed through Friday, and came home Saturday.
Why the van, and which way we went
There was no debate about which vehicle. My Silverado has been at the body shop since a deer took out the front end on US-36 on November 8, so the Sienna was the only choice. Honestly, it would have been the choice anyway. It seats eight, it's quieter on the highway, and it gets about 22 on a trip, where the truck gets maybe 18.
The way we go is I-29 north along the Missouri River, through the northwest corner of the state and into Iowa, over to Omaha, then west on I-80 to Lincoln. It's about 195 miles door to door and right around three hours with a stop. There's a shorter two-lane route that cuts across through Nebraska City, but in late November I'd rather have the interstate, the plowed shoulders and a gas station every half hour.
We left at 7:30 Thursday morning. Garrett drove the first stretch up I-29 on his permit, which counted toward his 40 hours. He merged on at the north edge of St. Joe without any help from me, which is a long way from his first I-29 merge back in September. I took over at our first stop.
We made two stops going up. The first was about an hour in, at an exit in the northwest corner of Missouri for bathrooms, coffee and a driver swap. The second was in the Omaha area, mostly because Lainey announced she was going to die if she didn't get a snack, and partly because I wanted to top off before Lincoln so we'd have a full tank for the weekend.
Coming home Saturday we stopped once in Lincoln to fill up and once at the same Missouri exit, out of habit.
The gas math
Here's what the notebook says for the whole trip:
- Miles: 414 (390 there and back, plus 24 driving around Lincoln)
- Gallons: 21.8
- Average price: $2.80
- Gas total: $61
- Mileage: 19 mpg
Nineteen is lower than the 22 I usually see on the highway in this van. Two reasons. It was loaded with four people, luggage, a cooler and the pie, and we drove into a steady northwest wind the whole way up, the kind that makes the van feel like a billboard. The cold doesn't help either. The van did 21 on the drive home with the wind behind us.
Split four ways, the gas was about $15 a person. You can't get one bus ticket to Lincoln for that. And the drive was easy: clear roads, no ice, light traffic Thursday morning and heavier but moving traffic Saturday afternoon.
What else it cost
Not much. We stayed at Renee and Curtis's, so no hotel. We brought the pie and a pan of Tina's rolls, which cost about $14 in groceries. Lyle, our neighbor three houses down, let Rusty out twice a day and wouldn't take money, so I owe him a favor and probably a pie of his own.
The one thing I'd change next year is the departure time Saturday. We left at 1:00, and by the time we got through Omaha it was dark and we were on I-29 in deer season. After the month I've had with deer, I'd rather leave at 10 and be home before dusk.
The pie made it, for the record. Not a crack. Tina gives the credit to her lap. I give it to the van's suspension, which I did not say out loud.