Something I learned over the past 2 weeks...

and it's an important lesson I think. 4 main trips, 3 "short" trips, and little trips to the stores. We filled the gas tank at least 6 times (and then at least 2-3 times when it was like "half fill up" times). You know, THAT kind of driving trip? We started off, at home, with gas hovering around $3.96 a gallon, get to Savannah and Hilton Head and Tybee Island and gas was only around $3.98. This was the FIRST weekend. We drive home, and see that gas is now around $3.98 at home (it is quickly approaching the 4th you know). We drive back to Hilton Head, and gas is now around $4.02 there. As the holiday weekend progresses I notice that gas is back around $3.98 on Hilton Head as we are preparing to leave. NOT BAD!

Okay, Dh is probably going to kill me, but this is the lesson I learned. See, I ended up with lots of sinus filled cavities (either from allergies or a cold coming on) so I was not feeling quite up to driving much on our long drive home. We had a combined driving time of around 30 hours (easily) by this point in roughly 10 days. During this time we had "shot" a wedding, been on the beach, swum in pools, played conasta, watched movies, walked some, and tried to get portraits of our family.

Dh has been driving for quite a long time by this point, and we had made 2 stops already. Samuel informs us that he has GOT to go, and we're between Macon and Atlanta at this point. I've been "dozing" off and on with my sinus pressure headaches. Dh pulls off at the next exit, there is 1 gas station. He tells me, "We'll stop here, fill up and take Samuel."

I see the sign. "It's $4.12 for gas!" Dh replies, "well, he's got to go." I swear he then told me that we might as well fill up now instead of having to stop later as it would not save us that much later...just a few cents. Dh doesn't fully remember that, and since I had been sort of sleeping a little I could have just "inferred" that from the one sentence he does remember. When you've been married for over 11 years you do sometimes attribute sentences that would normally GO with a said sentence...a kind of mind reading.

I filled up our tank, 11 gallons. I'm still shocked by the $4.12 a gallon. Remember, we're between Macon and Atlanta so there are plenty of other "gas stations" nearby...well before we'd run out of gas as the tank holds around 20 gallons. ;)

We drive a little longer, probably around 100 miles or so (about where we'd have needed to get gas). Gas was $4.02 a gallon. So, in reality we spent 10cents a gallon more than we should have. At 11 gallons that's $1.10. NOT A HUGE DEAL. Just don't bring it up to Dh. ;) As we're getting closer and closer to home I comment again (see, didn't learn my lesson the first time) that gas is now $3.92 a gallon in some of the places...20 cents a gallon cheaper!

That's when I learned my lesson to NOT BRING IT BACK UP to Dh. If I didn't think $4.12 a gallon was a good price, then I should not have pumped the gas. Right?

Okay. Lesson learned. If we could have made it to the $3.92 a gallon place, that would have been $2.20 saved. Most likely though we'd have been pushing by that point. ;)

As I told Dh, it was nice to see the prices falling the closer we got to home. Too bad that right after I said that, prices started going back up a little. No I do not remember WHAT gas is here...and after all, it would change by tomorrow anyway. Suffice it to say, gas is NOT $4.12 a gallon here...YET!