Fun thread, especially with the side-discussion of car mileage and all...

$mas eve: go not far to the twins' father's family gathering - 2 parents, all 7 of their children and their sundry Others (INCLUDING ALLAN C I HOPE!), and all 8 grandkids should be there; the happens in Stony Point, which is barely north of Cville (about a 20 mn drive door-to-door for me). Then after that drive up to Fairfax (Northern Virginia, about a 2-hour drive without too much traffic) for MY family gathering, which will have one parent, 3 out of 4 daughters (all dicorced or divorcing), and 7 out of 8 grandkids (the 8th, with her parents, spend $mas in Tasmania, whence the Papa, my one remaining brother-in-law, hails. I think their motto is What Winter?). But that's OK, it's that child that gave all 14 of us the stomach flu over Thanksgiving...

I used to do this driving with a minivan, and had to fill my $20 tank at least once to get there and back. Now with my Mobile Marnita, I can get there and back without refilling the $15 tank. I don't do capacities in gas tanks, only values. I would guess that I had a 15-gallon tank and now have a 12, but am not sure. Btu I do definitely get better mileage!

Flashback: When I was in college I got to go to West Africa (Freshman year), India (sophomore and junior years) and Thailand (junior and senior years) for winter break... *sigh* ... those were the days! Now I drive for a couple of hours -- then I flew for a couple of days... and it didn't matter more than 20 miles whether I went over the Pacific or not when going Boston-Bangkok! Love that International Date Line...