Wednesday Whining

The Sotos Syndrome conference will be in Niagara Falls this year. And I really want to go. It's the last weekend in July, so I was trying to figure out a way to tie it into some sort of family summer vacation.

Idea #1: Vacation!

Fly to the conference and back, and spend a couple of days in New York after. Dude, airfare is freaky expensive. Airfare alone could run as much as $4k, plus conference registration x6, food, plus possible hotel in New York, plus anything we DO in New York. So, maybe as much as $6 or even $7k. Um, no.

Idea #2: Road Trip!

Yeah, let's pack four kids in a car and drive 4-8 hours a day for 4-6 days, occasionally stopping to glance at a tourist attraction or pee. Head to the conference, then fly back home. Except that one-way airfare, plus a car rental, plus all those hotels along the way, plus conference registration x6, plus food somehow equals around $5k. PLUS, I have to take a ROAD TRIP. With my KIDS. Not so much.

Idea #3: Fly and Drive. And Pay.

Fly to Philadelphia. Rent a car and drive to my brother's house in Jersey. Ditch the girls and maybe Baby J., drive to the conference with D. and maybe Baby J., then spend a few days back in Jersey, daytripping to NYC, Phila, and maybe even D.C. Fly home. This is still expensive, but it is the least expensive option I have found. It may still prove to be prohibitively expensive, but I'd still like to try to make it work. Realistically, airfare could be $1500, and I don't know how much for the car. Plus daytrips and food means probably around $4k, which is still more than I want to spend.

I really want to go, but I also really want to get out of debt, you know?