Quarantine

2023-07-15
Portland, OR

This morning we stopped by an urgent care to get a strep test as my throat is pretty sore, and it is worth resolving that if possible. The good news is that I don't have strep, but the bad news is that I have Covid. My home test was negative so I was a bit surprised. Today is day four of symptoms, so I will isolate today. Cue montage of Chuck sleeping, reading, blogging, and sleeping again.

Valerie is convinced she won't get this from me, and after three days sharing a car and a hotel room, she has a strong argument. Nevertheless, after plying me with medicine she left the hotel for the day and visited some of the local sights. With nothing in particular to share from my 1 mile walk near the hotel, I'm going to pull out some pictures from earlier in the trip.

So I may as well talk about another topic: gas prices. Currently Washington has the highest gas prices in the country, beating even California. AAA says the average is $4.98, which I'd believe. We have seen prices from $4.29 to $5.79, but then we tend to go to remote and/or popular places where prices can be high even in better times.

The cause seems pretty typical; increased demand in the summer, coupled with refinery and pipeline maintenance in the Northwest reducing supply.

Of course, our need is inelastic; without gas we aren't vacationing or returning home (although in the Midwest we saw low $3's). So while I look at the price as a curiosity, I don't hunt around for the cheapest gas because it's easy to burn up the $0.40 that I would save. Also, I tend to fill up at 1/2 to 1/3 of a tank because out west sometimes it is hundreds of miles between gas stations. My car claims that it has 550 or so miles to a tank on the highway, although I have not actually run it down far enough to test that. It is getting 30-32 MPG depending on ethanol content.

I was hoping for more savings in Oregon, but it's right on par with its northern neighbor. Some part of that is because in Oregon you don't pump your own gas. They are relaxing that rule in some (mostly rural) places, but unlike when self-service was introduced many years ago there doesn't seem to be a cost savings for pumping your own. Or maybe the gas would be even pricier.

We will head east soon enough and gas prices will drop as we cross the country, down to about $3.00 in the Midwest. I will continue to note them and buy gas regardless.