A Boston Woman
Now for some details of a motor camping tour taken by a Boston woman and her friends. This trip involved much more elaborate preparation and considerable more expense than the case just given, but nevertheless was much more economical than a similar tour by rail and hotels.
This Bostonian after minimizing baggage as much as she thought possible took along the following items: one light-weight cloth-tailored suit, half a dozen tailored shirt-waists, one foulard gown to wear of an evening should occasion arise, the necessary underwear, a motor coat and bonnet. She also took extra wraps, steamer rugs and rubber coats. The clothing was packed in suit cases. The party consisted of eight people and took sleeping tents, each tent large enough for two. They took hammocks and folding beds so constructed that they could be bundled and tied on the rear of the car. The tents cost fifteen dollars each. They had two luncheon or tea baskets and three thermos bottles. The baskets used were circular in shape, about the size of a cart wheel, and contained small silver, cups, saucers, and plates for eight people, besides an alcohol cooking apparatus and numerous metal covered dishes and china platters. When these baskets [[9]]were closed they were carried after the manner of extra tires.
With this outfit and two cars these motorists toured through New England and a portion of Canada. They tented in open field or grove wherever night overtook them. Fresh eggs, milk, butter, and occasionally a chicken or two were obtained at moderate prices from farmhouses on the way.
Some long trips are made with a surprising economy not only in the matter of shelter and subsistence, but also in expenditure for motor supplies. A school principal in Montana made an excursion from his home to San Diego, Cal., and back. He logged a total distance of 2,503 miles. In doing this distance he used only 116 gallons of gasoline and three and a half gallons of oil. These cost the sum of $39.35, making his transportation cost him at the rate of a little more than a cent and a half a mile (1.6 cents). His mileage on gas figured out 21.58 miles to the gallon. Of course, in these figures no account is had of the wear and tear on the car or of depreciation.