The Price of Gas didn’t Keep Me from Traveling…

And it shouldn’t keep you from traveling either! It’s not *that* expensive.

This past weekend, we returned from a 10-day/9-night activity filled vacation where we drove 2619.7 miles through 9 states (CT, MA, NY, PA, OH, IN, MI, IL, WI) and 1 province (ON).

With all the doom and gloom reporting of $5/gallon gas by the holiday weekend, we were prepared to spend in excess of $500 on gas alone.

That didn’t happen. Partly because the $5/gallon gas never materialized in the United States and because, well, gas, in reality, isn’t as expensive as people make it out to be.

We overestimated. Big time. And I think a lot of people are doing a lot of “rounding-up” in their heads, like us, making the gas seem a lot more expensive than it really is.

Total spent on gas was $318.77 spread across 8 fill-ups.

Not a small sum but, really, when compared to the cost of a night in a hotel or (gasp!) amusement park admission (and lets not forget the $5+ sodas once inside!), $30/day in travel costs is nothing. Way cheaper than flying and we had room for 5 adults (though that would have been really tight!).

For consistency, we filled up on the cheap stuff on each pit stop — regular 87 octane — and we didn’t “hunt” for the best price or seek out a specific brand. Whatever was closest when we needed gas…

Breaking down the above photo collage into more detail for comparison sake:

1. $39.82 total — $3.999/gallon at a Sheetz in Mill Hall, PA
2. $39.42 total — $3.999/gallon at a Valero in Clyde, OH
3. $40.82 total — $4.119/gallon at a Mobil in Belvidere, IL
4. $30.53 total — $4.199/gallon at a Citgo in Carol Stream, IL
5. $30.59 total — $4.399/gallon at a Mobil in Howe, IN
6. $49.72 total — $1.352/litre at an Esso in Cambridge, ON
7. $47.06 total — $1.339/litre at an Ultramar in Fort Erie, ON
8. $40.91 total — $4.219/gallon at a Hess in Cobleskill, NY

Fill-ups six and seven were in Canada, so a little bit of a calculation is required to “Americanize” them:

6. $48.63 total US — $5.005/gallon
7. $46.26 total US — $4.983/gallon

So you see, south of the International Boundary, gas is still a bargain. It really is. So get out there and travel — the price of gas alone should not be stopping you!

It’s not *that* expensive, hardly prohibitive, and had we made this trip exactly one year ago (when gas was “apparently” a fair price), the difference would have been a mere $80 over 10 days!

That, in my book, is nothing over the span of a planned vacation.