Save so so much with Kroger's 4x Fuel Points

I previously wrote about how to make the most of Kroger's 4x Fuel Points and now it's back!  It's always double the fuel points on your gift card purchases but in honor of graduation and Father's Day, from May 20 until June 16, you can receive quadruple the number of points!  It's awesome because anywhere you plan on spending money, as long as Kroger sells the store's gift cards, you can earn fuel points!  The deal gets even sweeter if you have a Chase Freedom credit card or other credit cards that award you a higher percentage of cash back on grocery store purchases!

Wow.  That was a lot of exclamation points.  No more.

Norris Dam State Park: Trip Fail!

Embarrassing confession.  I always get lost when I go somewhere for the first time.  I thought I'd be okay because usually I don't travel with a GPS and this time I was equipped with a GPS.  On top of that, I looked up the address on Google Maps on top of that, so I know ahead of time how I'm getting there (which routes so I have a mental map).  

I was on my way to Norris Dam State Park to participate in a guided hike of wildflowers that I mentioned in an earlier post on spring plans.  This was a program offered by the park, free of charge to the public.  All that it would cost me was time and gas money.  Tennessee has a great diversity of wildflowers that have short growing seasons, so I wanted to take advantage of that.  

Knowing that I have a tendency to get lost going somewhere for the first time, I did all the pre-trip planning.  However, with parks and addresses, the address will lead you to a specific part of the park, but not necessarily where you want to go.  I figured it would be fine though because once I get to the park, I could figure it out from there.  Wrong!  So I go to the west side of the park, wandered around and finally realized that I wasn't where I wanted to be.  By that time, I was too late to hope of joining any guided hikes.  Even when I got to the other side of the park, it wasn't clear to me where I should have gone in the first place...  Oh well, I saw many pretty trees, a nice dam, and beautiful blue waters.  

As they say, better luck next time!!!

Museum of Appalachia

I had heard people reference the Museum of Appalachia numerous times, but I had no interest of visiting.  It's just another museum and I wouldn't describe myself as a museum person.  I was into museums at DC because they were free (and they were good) but more often than not, I haven't been super drawn in by museums.  That all changed for me when I heard that the Museum of Appalachia had about three dozen actual Appalachian buildings purchased and moved to the site.  Who does that?  Lived-in buildings, on-site? Wouldn't it be cheaper to build replicas?!  So here is this museum that models an Appalachian town, half an hour away from me?  Incredible!  So, after learning that piece of information, this museum was on my must-see list.  The admission fee was $15 (AAA discount applied) which normally I would consider steep, but to support such a museum, I deemed it $15 well-spent.  

I just love the artistic arrangement of marbles, beads and arrowheads.  It definitely adds interest to the exhibit.

The Appalachian people live near the Appalachian Mountains, surprise!  I was unaware until recently that they lived so close to me since I'm a bit far and technically live in the foothills.  So it turns out that the Appalachian-designated region is more cultural rather than directly related to the mountain range.  The Appalachian region extends from the southern parts of New York to the northern part of Georgia, even though the Appalachian mountain range starts in Canada.  The Appalachians carry a stereotype of being backwards people stemming from the early 1900's and to this day the media portrays them as "hillbillies".  Being from California, I have very little exposure to Appalachians, except for reading a children's fiction novel that time traveled there.  So in Sociology 101 when we read Everything in Its Path: Destruction of Community in the Buffalo Creek Flood we watched some pop cultural portrayals of Appalachian people and I was like, "Ohhh that's what a "hillbilly" is."  I've obviously heard that term but had no idea what it referenced.  


Another regional difference to throw into the story, in middle school geography, we were taught to pronounce it as "Appa-LAY-sha" and the teacher made fun of a student for pronouncing it as "Appa-LA-cha."  Well, I get here and that's how people in Tennessee (and apparently North Carolina and Georgia too) pronounce it.  North of the Mason-Dixon line, people pronounce it as "Appa-LAY-cha."  M-W Dictionary pronounces it the way the Yankees do.  Bias, much?

Chair made out of horseshoes!  Given that the motor vehicle was becoming widely available, horse-drawn transportation was a goner too.  What a creative way of reusing horseshoes, turns out the repurposed and upcycled stuff is nothing new! 

Extra large photo in hopes that you can read the hilarious story for yourself.  If not, the story goes that this curled up stick was once as straight as the stick next to it but after soaking in a jar of moonshine whiskey, it turned into this.   "Moonshine is a bad thing."

Can you tell that music is a big deal?  It was the first time I had seen a lot of these instruments

Here a bunch more pictures of the beautiful facilities.  Before visiting this place I had just learned that my friends got married here and I can see why.  There was a very peaceful vibe to this place.  I'm glad I didn't come when there was a special event because I think that crowds of people would takeaway from its beauty.  Although, the events are supposed to be really good, so I think that special events warrant an additional trip, not avoidance.  (Though I hear the special events are pricey for non-members)

What a beautiful serene place!  I was so glad I came!  Although that peacock was in my way and I was scared to pass it, so I hung around a bit longer...  I'm scared of birds.  :P

I like the hanging gourds.  They look so cool and sort of like a telephone pole.

I had heard that lunch here was delicious, and especially their desserts.  They try to serve true to Appalachian style food.  What you see here clockwise from the left are pickled beets, beef tips, butter pecan cake, corn bread and cornbread salad.  I was curious to what cornbread salad was so I had to try it. It was essentially cornbread broken up with celery, carrots and mayo.  The cornbread itself was delicious.  It had just come out of the oven so it was super hot, but impressed me was the thickness of the cornbread crust.  The crust covered the bottom and top of it and it was thicker than pie crust.  I wonder how they get such thick crust.  Must be their baking pans or something?  I had the save the butter pecan pie for breakfast the next day.  

A hot meal is served each day that comes with cornbread and 2 sides

I missed it that day but signature Appalachian dessert is their apple stack cake.  The stacked cake became a phenomenon for fascinating cultural reasons.  The Appalachians have long been regarded as the poorest part of the country.  That has changed in recent years.  Traditionally, when someone gets married, the bride's family does not prepare the whole cake because that would be a great financial burden.  Instead, guests will each contribute a layer while the bride's family prepares the filling.  How many guests attend=how popular the family is, and you can see it by how high the cake gets.  I think that's a super creative way of contributing to the newly wedded couple's big day.

How to Save on Gas

Petrol, that is, for those who speak Commonwealth English.  

Coinciding deals are the best ways to save money.  Kroger is running a special that quadruples your fuel points on gift card purchases.  100 fuel points will save you $0.10/gallon at Shell Gas Station.  If you spend $100 on gift cards, you get 400 fuel points.  So I decided to buy gift cards for Shell and take advantage of the quadruple fuel points.  The promotion lasts until April 7, at least in this area.

On top of that, my Chase Freedom credit card offers 5% cash back on rotating categories.  For the months of April, May and June, I get 5% cash back on grocery stores.  Combine that with the Kroger gift card purchases, not only do I get 5% cash back on my grocery store purchases, I get fuel points off.  With gas prices being so high, every little bit counts.

Maybe you have neither a Chase Freedom card nor Kroger or your neighborhood Kroger isn't running that promotion (it always has at least 2x fuel points on gift cards, at least at mine), but keep your eyes peeled for ways to game the system.  :P

In the meantime, keep your tired inflated & drive like you did on your driver's test.  Ha!

Spring Plans!

The super mild winter for us here in most of the United States meant that spring came a lot earlier.  For the Eastern and Midwestern part of the country, they have seen record highs and tumultuous weather in March.  As for me, that meant I got a glimpse of spring blossoms to brighten my mood and my first trip to the basement to use as a tornado shelter!  Both exciting for different reasons.  Ha.

Source: Dogwood Arts Festival

Last weekend as my landlord was making preparations for a garage sale to clean out the things she owned, it began to dawn on me that my time remaining in East Tennessee was short.  SO I decided that even though gas prices are sky rocketing, I need to make better use of my time here.  I'm going to go on some day trips during the weekend.  In fact, these places are so close they're hardly considered a day trip but I've never been super comfortable driving to new places, especially by myself because I get lost while I drive... a lot.  So for me, these short little trips might be equivalent to a typical person's day trip.  It sort of works out because with these places being so close, it saves on gas money, right? 

East Tennessee Spring Destinations!

• One of the Historic Houses of Knoxville Crescent Bend's Tulip Time!  April 1 donation-based admission fees 
• I was a huge fan of Tulip Time in Pella, Iowa from when I was in college, so I look forward to continuing my annual Tulip Time tradition
• Norris Dam State Park Guided Wildflower Hike March 31 & April 7
• Frozen Head State Park Wildflower Pilgrimage April 14 & 15
• Oak Ridge Reservation Wildflower Walk April 15
• Sponsored by the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
• House Mountain Scenic-Recreational State Natural Area 
• A couple from church is leading a hike right after church ends, I'm excited!
• Dogwood Arts Festival Events from late March to late May
• Dogwood Trails and Gardens April 11-30
• I plan to drive and maybe walk through the Oak Ridge route where it was featured a few years ago.  Since dogwood is a tree, it should be relatively permanent and equally beautiful.  There are also two sites in Farragut that I'll check out.
• Dogwood Art Detour April 28 & 29 visiting artists work spaces
• There's a studio in Oak Ridge near my house so I plan on visiting that one.
• Museum of Appalachia
• A replicated village of about three dozen real Appalachian buildings plus a museum, sounds wonderful to me!  The restaurant also looks like it serves authentic Appalachian cuisine.  Double bonus!   Luckily I have AAA to save an extra few dollars.  
• Sheep Shearing April 27 sounds... awesome!  Includes spinning and quilting with the fiber.  And, homemade ice cream and freshly squeezed lemonade.  Although I hear it gets majorly busy during special events, so I might want to avoid that instead..

And now, looking at all of these activities that I may or may not actually partake in, I feel less restless with my spare time here and cherishing my downtime even more.  Ha.  Wonderful!  Also, I should note that all of these places are less than an hour away, which for me is perfect! 

Anyone else planning to take advantage of nearby spring attractions?

Why get a rental car?

Isn't the point to go on the cheap?

The first time I got a rental car was while in college, our school started a Hertz Connect pilot which allowed students to rent the car for $8 an hour (including gas and insurance) or $64 for the day.  What made this service compatible on a college campus was that the driver only had to be 18 or older.  Typically, there are fees for drivers under the age of 25 and some companies do not rent out to drivers under 21.  Both times I got a rental car, my school paid for it because it was for an organization activity.  A lot of students that did own cars hardly drove it because our school was like a bubble, and so it was more cost effective to pay for a rental car the few times they needed it, rather than the cost of car ownership.

The first time I got a rental car after graduating was because I had a visitor and no car to show them around.  At first I was totally flabbergasted at the price of the car rental because I'm under 25 so there was an additional $10 per day fee, which undoubtedly added up.  Even after getting a car though, I still got rental cars on occasion.  My car is 12 years old and struggles with driving uphill.  On a trip to the Smokies (and again through the Smokies to Asheville), I was not going to put my car through that and potentially face mechanical problems sooner than necessary or worse, have the car break down on me during the trip.  At least, if there was a problem with the car during the trip, I could call the rental company and they would bring another car.  Sure, it would delay the trip but at least not ruin it.  The cost for renting a car for the weekend would be far less than the cost of repairing a car (as I know all too well...).

I didn't think of this on my own though.  I've known of people who drove their own cars for daily commutes to work and running local errands but renting a car anytime they made longer journeys.  Part of that has to do with mileage, because no matter the age of the car, high mileage can shorten the lifespan of the car.  So in the long term, rental cars can make sense even when you have a car of your own.

Plus, some Enterprise periodically runs a weekend special where it's only $9.99 per day (but a 100 mile per day limit and $0.20 per mile after that) and Hertz often has promotions such as waiving the under 25 driver fee and you can combine discounts.  Hertz partners with AAA, some insurance companies, and probably other companies to offer discounts.  The cheapest deals on rental cars that I've seen are on Hotwire, but to book you must be 25 years old.  Bummer!