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That is how we feel as well. As I said we will sometimes skip lunch, just stop for a quick potty break, fill the car with gas and maybe pick up a little something but we do like to try new things and yes, driving too long without a break isn't a good idea. I do know people who do this though. I feel the same about preparing a bunch of stuff before we even leave home, that to me isn't really a vacation. Some money saving eating ideas are good and I can understand people using them, but too much isn't fun. At least for us it isn't.
I agree with you. If money is so tight that we cannot afford sampling the local cuisine, I think that I would rather stay home.
Recently, most of the free breakfasts have been pretty darned good. Even the low end properties have upgraded in order to become competitive.
We will be traveling by car, staying in motels, with friends, and want to avoid eating out as much as possible.
This is an easy fix.
Bring your own food, shop while you are traveling, and possibly use cooking facilties of the friends you visit. The question then becomes, how will you keep that food fresh, and how long will you need to do so. If you will be staying in a motel, often there will be a small fridge. While traveling between motels, an ice cooler is really the best way to keep foods cold in the car or truck. I enjoy hot oatmeal and hard-boiled eggs at any time of the day. Mashed potato flakes and dry gravy mixes go well with canned or deli meats. I always stop along the way and buy fresh fruit, salad makin's, cheeses, and potato salads.
No need to go hungry, no matter what your budget is!
That is how we feel as well. As I said we will sometimes skip lunch, just stop for a quick potty break, fill the car with gas and maybe pick up a little something but we do like to try new things and yes, driving too long without a break isn't a good idea. I do know people who do this though. I feel the same about preparing a bunch of stuff before we even leave home, that to me isn't really a vacation. Some money saving eating ideas are good and I can understand people using them, but too much isn't fun. At least for us it isn't.
Agreed.
Slightly off topic, but I'm just learning how differences in how people want to eat can affect the happiness of those vacationing with you. I personally am a self-confessed mini glutton when it comes to food...I vacation to eat lol.
I have some friends that feel the same way, and other friends who want to eat as little as possible (ie are fine with some nuts for breakfast whereas I love a bigger breakfast with more variety). I budget more for food and almost nothing for other things like shopping, whereas I know others who want to spend as little as possible on food but buy shoes, jewelry, etc. on vacation.
Just realizing I need to take these sorts of things into consideration when thinking about who I travel/vacation with in the future.
When I travel I usually a)book a hotel that has free breakfast, 2)plan on eating one meal out, 3)get a hotel that has a fridge. That way breakfast is either free, or something simple like cereal and fruit, I can pack sandwiches for lunch, and then 1 meal is either "take in" (pizza or fast food) or we'll eat out at a sit down place.
I don't just do it for money savings, eating out 3 times a day would literally make me sick. Restaurant food is so heavy, I can't handle it more than once a day.
We get pretty authentic local food included in the $10-$20/night lodging. We often cook together, so get to learn how SHOP & prepare it as well.
Triple bonus (nice room, nice host, nice food)
Frequently the hosts provide a guest cottage (complete kitchen), sometimes on the beach, mtns, lake or tucked in the forest. Seems those who participate in hospitality sharing have a knack for improving your trip!
I could comment on many a wonderful meal, but a snowy evening on a Mennonite farm eating HUGE grilled cheese and 1/4" smoked homegrown ham on thick homemade full grain bread stands out. Also staying the home of Danes and getting to help make and sample their breakfast treats! Many farm homes with fresh corn / potatoes / meat and dairy products from the bulk tank! Yum (& @ no-cost). Internationally meals are a pretty big thing and host expects you to eat with them (for several hours).
We treat our guests to local fresh Salmon and wild berries (and garden produce).
Not so bad for the price... ($10 room and board for whole family).
We get pretty authentic local food included in the $10-$20/night lodging. We often cook together, so get to learn how SHOP & prepare it as well.
Triple bonus (nice room, nice host, nice food)
Frequently the hosts provide a guest cottage (complete kitchen), sometimes on the beach, mtns, lake or tucked in the forest. Seems those who participate in hospitality sharing have a knack for improving your trip!.
If THAT is YOUR idea of traveling, that is fine. It is certainly NOT mine.
For years, when we have had to stay with my wife's relatives we have done just that. However, that also meant taking showers in an unheated basement during the dead of a Midwestern winter. Or sleeping in a bed where the mattress was only 5" long and my feet had to dangle over the edges and the like. Or sleeping on a mattress where you sit down and the two ends of the mattress pop up. Or waking us nose to nose to a chihuahua who is upset by your presence in an area he considers his own.
I do not want to stay with relatives or friends or acquaintances even when I am visiting them.
My husband drinks a lot of soda. On car trips we take a cooler filled with ice and large bottles of soda. He then filled up a glass with soda and ice to drink instead of buying cold sodas from fast food places or gas stations while we are driving or at the hotel. Just that one very small trick saves us at least $15 on a weekend trip.
My wife is amazing ,she an make elaborate meals from scratch on a Coleman camp stove. A cast iron frying pan with a lid can be used for baking. You might even consider taking a pressure cooker, for quick and easy cooking. Buy old pots and pans at thrift shops.
Maybe there is an online cookbook for campstove cooking.
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