Finally got my locs done!

I finally made it to Virginia last weekend to get my locs retwisted. (Cue CeCe Peniston's "Finally.")
It had been almost a year since I last saw my loctician, Michelle.
Why so long?
Well, I had been trying to go down for several months but the weather had been acting crazy on me so this was the first weekend where Mother Nature cooperated with my schedule.
Now, I've had my locs for about eight years. I got them because I was a long distance runner in high school and needed something conducive to my athletic lifestyle.
Michelle, a loctician at Black Butterflies in Chesapeake, Va., has been doing my hair most of that time. (My brother's ex-girlfiend's mother started them but when he broke up with her daughter, she stopped doing my hair.)
So anyways, Michelle does my hair for several reasons.
First, I went to high school with her, I know her family, we lived in the same neighborhood and rode the same school bus together. She's cool peoples.
And secondly, no one is certified to do interlocing in the Baltimore/D.C. region. I've made the phone calls and done the research.
So yes, even though I live in Maryland, I still travel to Virginia and pay Michelle about $100, usually two or three times a year, to do my hair.
With this most recent visit, Michelle dyed my hair a honey brown-ish hue, washed it and retwisted it.
I didn't feel like getting it styled because I wanted to spend much-needed time with my family. It usually takes her about four hours to do my hair.
My locs are getting further down my back and looking really pretty.
The wait was well worth it. And my scalp is thanking me.
What's the longest you went before getting your hair done? How often do you see your hair stylist? And how much do you pay?