…and I’m doing what anyone in my situation would do - I’ve wandered up the embankment behind the hotel, in the pouring rain, to go shuffle aimlessly around the grocery store. 
Plans for today (2024)
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JAS_OH1
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But you said 15 minutes from the hotel. How far from home? Would you feel comfortable driving back to Ohio in that condition? Anyway, i hope the deer didn't suffer too much and died quickly.
We flew into Baltimore, 2 hours away from where we are now. The rental car company won’t let us drive it if we wanted to, and we don’t want to anyway, as you never know what bit up underneath is just waiting to fall off as soon as we hit 50mph.
Luckily, there’s an Enterprise right next door - I could put it in neutral and probably roll it right in there without starting it. We’re picking up a replacement at 3PM.
Luckily, the hotel has the Hallmark channel…
When are you supposed to be home?
We fly back home Wednesday.
JAS_OH1
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Today I will mostly be on the phone straightening out some changes with my health insurance. I cooked a bunch this weekend and we have a few containers of meat sauce for pasta so I had better freeze some. I recently got a Food Saver cryovac machine but I have only used it to seal up some raw chicken so far. I am a little apprehensive about trying it with sauce though I know people do it regularly. Guess I will read up on it before doing it to make sure I don't get any liquid into the machine, that's my biggest worry.
And had you planned to be in Baltimore anyway?
No, that’s just the airport we flew into (and will fly out of).
The “trick” is to make a bag with the FoodSaver, then get as much air out as possible by hand (you know, folding the top of the bag down to where the sauce starts), clip it shut with something, then let it freeze overnight.
Next morning, take it out and run it through the vacuum seal cycle, and no liquid should get in there.
FoodSaver says all this like it’s a feature, being able to vac weak liquids, but I think it’s a huge PITA, and you still get some ice crystals in there for what little air is in the bag when you first freeze it.
So you have to drive back to...? Seems like a right palaver to me.
No, not really. We flew from Cincinnati to Baltimore, which is the closest major airport to our hotel.
We picked up a rental car in Baltimore and drove roughly two hours to our hotel in Gettysburg, which is where we’ve been for the last several days.
On Wednesday, we’ll drive two hours back to Baltimore, drop the rental car off, then fly back to Cincinnati, where our car is sitting in long term parking.
It’s the usual routine for a fly-drive break.
I should clarify that…it’s the standard amount of palaver for a fly-drive break (which is still more than I care for).
Sorry I probably misunderstood. I thought you had to fly back to Baltimore from where you staying to pick up a rental car and then drive back to where you are staying. I'm obviously losing the plot...
No, not at all. We’re quite lucky in that there’s a location of the car rental company literally steps away from our hotel. All we need to do is drive it out the hotel parking lot and into the Enterprise rental lot right next door to swap for an undeermaged car.
JAS_OH1
Forum GOD!
And I have now been on hold for 49 minutes. I put it on speaker so I could do some housework while I was on hold. I will wait another 15 minutes and then try back on Wednesday. Mondays are a horrible day to try and get anyone on the phone with agencies.