How much did you pay for gas today?

Reviving a 15-year-old thread...

SON OF A BITCH.

Gwen and I are stuck in Raleigh, N.C., with a car that has less than 70 miles worth of gas left and a motorhome that has less than 70 miles worth of gas left.

We came up to see her sister and niece on Monday (and already knew about the pipeline ransomware) for a three-day long weekday trip but passed on filling the tank once we got here because I incorrectly assumed a place that freaks out over a snow forecast wouldn't panic over gasoline. WRONG.

Even at noon yesterday, things weren't that bad. So we drove around the town and spent a few hours at the N.C. State University arboretum. By then, the lines at any or every gas station were crazy. By the time we got back to the Fairgrounds campground, I thought the smart course of action would be to buy a few days' worth of food -- the nearest Harris Teeter is a mile and back -- and the store wasn't busy.

So we're fine with the current situation, except we only brought four days' worth of clothes.

But it's 360 miles -- or 40 gallons in the Beast -- back home and I have no way of telling where (and more importantly, when) I can get that kind of fuel while people around us continue to do stupid people things. Four out of five Raleigh stations are completely gassed out this morning. And the GasBuddy app has basically crashed.

Good thing the other car on the driveway at the cabin has a full tank.

 

Update:

Got back to the cabin by lunchtime. Gwen and I got up at 4 o'dark and drove 45 miles to the Pilot Flying J in Mebane, with the idea of either getting gas or parking until a tanker rolled up. Thankfully, they had four pumps for regular (and no diesel!), so poured $100 in the motorhome at $2.89, which got me to Gaffney, S.C., and $75 more at $2.69, which came close to filling the 55-gallon tank.

And that apparently set off the Fidelity credit card fraud-o-meter, because I suddenly got three 800-number calls in a row that I couldn't answer while driving. However, everybody's all happy once I explained. And there's not a single station in our county that has more gas than I do.

Still a great trip. Calabash shrimp at the State Farmer's Market. A walk around Pullen Park. Fireworks going off at Carter-Finley last night. Lots of sirens and fire trucks rolling up and down Wade Avenue.

 

Is the giant peach still there? Are the flowers Claire planted by the front walk still in bloom?

 

The giant peach is, but on a much shorter base and has been moved away from the Factory Outlet stores. And almost all of I-85 through South Carolina is one huge construction zone, which means the condition of the roads are only slightly worse than normal.

 

Reviving this ... AGAIN. (Sorry.)

Went to UF graduation in Gainesville this weekend -- niece became Gator grad No. 5 in the family. Stopped at Buc-ee's in Fort Valley, Ga., yesterday to fill up and didn't pay attention to the price until I got the receipt.

$1.76 a gallon! I don't know whether the pump was malfunctioning or Buc-ee's was giving it away for the holidays. But that was easily $1/gallon less than anywhere else on I-75. I'll take it as a very unexpected Christmas present.

 

Still $3.43 a gallon in Microville. It's being stubborn and won't come down. But since I fill up once a month, on average, it doesn't impact me like it does some others.

 

When I can't get to Costco, Arco is my standby as the next-cheapest. It was $4.89 for regular a couple of says ago. The last two times, it has been more than Shell, Union, Chevron, etc. Why is Arco gas suddenly more expensive than the others?

 

$2.87 or so. I passed a sign for discount gas on the freeway at $2.83.

 

$3.25 at a place that was 20 cents a gallon cheaper than any other in town. They must steal it.

 

$2.62. It’s good to live in New Gilead. Though, I did get gas for 2.76 last week in Ohio.