Where's the lubricant?

On the way home from work, my idiot light came on - time to refuel my car. Not a pleasant experience right now - most of the gas stations in the area are selling regular unleaded for about $2.50 a gallon or more. I spotted a convenience store with $2.37 and was happy to find cheap gas (the convenience store catecorner at the same intersection had $2.54). Then I did a double-take...since when is $2.37 "cheap gas"? It was less than a year ago that I was griping about price-gouging during our evacuation for Hurricane Frances:

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At about 5am we pulled into a Mobil station in Brunswick, GA. There was a bit of price-gouging going on - typically a gallon in Georgia goes for around $1.75, but they were selling for $1.99.

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Only two weeks ago, $2.25 was the average, with $2.19 being the best deal to be had. And when we first arrived in Virginia, we saw $2.08/gallon (it was up to $2.19 by the end of the week).

Of course, $2.37 (and even $2.50) is cheap compared to California, or Europe. This whole fuel thing is getting ridiculous, but I keep buying - we have a very sparse public transportation system, and with intense heat/humidity and kids to transport, biking isn't an option. So I grit my teeth and pump.

It's enough to give one vapors.