|
About Me
Mostly a weekend driver. Traffic? Pfft!
Recent Posts
Categories
CarSpace
Sunday Driver
Don't know where I'm going, but I'll be there soon.
At this moment, I am four people away from having 1000 CarSpace friends. I'm sure you are all greatly impressed with my popularity. Actually, it isn't easy being everyone's friend and I won't delude myself that there are some that accepted my friendship without great enthusiasm. But, that's okay. And there are a LOT that I have tried to befriend with no response. Maybe it's my photo? That odd looking character just doesn't seem like someone they would care to indulge with in friendship? Ahhhh...well....their loss! :-)
For those that have been chastising me for writer's block and lack of blog entries, I have just one thing to say, it's not my fault! I lost my keyboard! My cat deleted it all while I was away from my desk! Spongebob is on!
And now I'm done. It's time to go and invite more friends. I wonder who will be #1000?
So when we last left our penny-pinching heroine in her quest for the cheapest gas possible, she was warily watching the gas gauge needle dip further below "E". An unexpected detour could leave our heroine stranded and begging for help from kind passersby, or perhaps left to the merciless travelers who laugh and wave at sidelined souls. Oh No!!!
Okay, enough of the third person.
In rural areas, detours are usually not just a couple of blocks long. We're talking MILES out of my way. Miles of lonely roads that no one lives on or travels. Well, maybe the occasional tractor pulling a wagon laden with recently baled hay that is undoubtedly stacked higher than is safely allowed. Oh yeah, and it's not really two lanes, but more like one and half, so passing is going to be a real challenge. With the hay protruding on either side of the wagon, the farmer cannot see me. I toot my horn. He stays his course. I give a longer toot. The hay behemoth begins to amble towards the right. Ah, he heard me and is making way for me to pass. I maneuver to pass and see a quickly moving 4x4 pickup barreling towards me. I scoot back behind the wagon and decide I'll just not take any more chances.
As I trundle behind the wagon, I think about how it could be worse. If I do run out of gas, a quick phone call to the hubby and he can rescue me. No worries! Except I left my cell phone at home on the charger. Drat. Oh well, I was born and raised in the country. I was taught to live off the land. I can survive on wild berries, mushrooms, and grubs. Ew.
I'm sure by now you're screaming JUST TELL US IF YOU GOT YOUR STUPID GAS! Ahem, yes, I did make it to the station. Filled up the cans and the car and paid 25 cents a gallon. How much did I pump into my 15-gallon tank? *Drum roll* 14.9!
Shoot, I had a tenth of a gallon left! What was I so worried about?
In my quest to get the full discount off of 30 gallons, I wait until my gas gauge is quavering on E(nough)...I hope. My tank holds 15 gallons. That means I should be able to fill three 5-gallon cans to reach my limit. That is if I make it to the station first.
I've never let my gauge go much below an 1/8 of a tank, so I'm not sure just how far I can get on Empty. My husband scoffs, "Don't worry about it. I've gone 50 miles in the truck with the arrow dipping way below the E." Uhhm, the same truck that you have to smack the dash to get the gauge to un-stick. Oh yeah, that's encouraging.
I load up the gas cans and make my way to the grocery store station. It's only 15 miles away. There shouldn't be a problem. I'll make it there with at least a drop or two of left over. Just as I get to the one railroad crossing, the lights flash and the gates come down. It is the slowest, longest freight train in the history of traindom. Minutes pass as I wait with the engine idling. Should I turn off the car? But didn't I read it takes more to start it and so that might defeat the purpose? Plus, if it's turned off and when I re-start the guy behind me gets impatient and honks his horn, which startles me and I nervously press on the gas and hurtle into the crossing only to be hit by another train coming from the other direction??!!! Stuff like that happens. I've seen it on SpongeBob, I think.
The train finally passes and I gingerly press the pedal. Jack-rabbit starts suck up the fuel, doncha know. I'm half-way there, no reason to worry. I've got PLENTY of gas to get me there. Yep, just a few more miles....of closed road ahead. Uh-oh.
Stay-tuned to the next installment of Karen Sweating Bullets on the Detour of Hell!
A local grocery chain offers ten cents off a gallon of gas (up to 30 gallons) at their pumps for every $50 you spend in the store. For a few weeks, it has been increased to twenty cents for every $50. Get the truck, Elmer, we're goin' to the store!
After buying as much veggies, fruit, and meat that the fridge and freezer will hold (also enough TP to last several months), I had a whopping $2.70 off a gallon! That means my out of pocket will be only TWENTY CENTS A GALLON! Now as exciting as that is to a frugal, penny-pinching, skin-flint like myself, the big disappointment is that my vehicle has a 15 gallon tank and they don't allow two cars to fill up on the same pumping. I've seen people try that and the clerk immediately screeches on the loud speaker, "PUMP #3 STOP!! Only ONE VEHICLE per fill up!!!" Like prairie dogs peeking out of their burrows, everyone at the surrounding pumps stops and stares over the top of their vehicles at the startled culprits. We want to save some money, but jeeeeez, who can tolerate public humiliation like that?
So, you can't fill up two vehicles at one time, but there's nothing that says you can't fill up a gas can, or two....or three. :-)
To be continued....
With the gas prices, Sunday drives aren't what they use to be, or are they? Most folks are in a hurry to get where they need to be and rarely take the time to get off the beaten highways and look at the countryside. Although a one tank trip is more costly now, it can still be an economical get away.
If you're in the Chicago area, here is an idea for a Sunday drive or weekend get away. Lake Geneva is less than 100 miles from Chicago. There are a ton of activities available: boat tours, canoe/kayaking, fishing, hiking, festivals, shopping, etc. And, oh look, this September marks the 30th anniversary for the Annual Lake Geneva Classic Car Rally. It's also fun just to drive around and check out the mansions, which were constructed late to 1800's to early 1900's as summer homes for Chicago elite families. The Golden Oaks has been renovated into a bed & breakfast and looks like it would be a very cool place for a weekend get-away.
|
|
