Chris, maybe you should get a cell phone.. you can get free long distance and the rates aren't that bad. Or you could use that 1010220 deal, I dated a girl that lived out of town and I used that all the time.. saved me alot of money. The thing about that is if she isn't home and you get the answering machine it cost you a dollar, anything up to 20 minutes is $1. I'd always call her first, using my regular service, then if she answered I would call right back using 1010220.
As far as the travel expenses, you might want to check out
www.orbitz.com . I went from Wilmington to Orlando last summer and it only cost me $137(or thereabouts), round trip. You can find deals, bro.. just look around. There is actually a guy on my route that has a web site and he swears he is cheaper than Orbitz, I'll see if I can find out the name of his site again (I don't see him that much).