Hi WorthyWads: There was a $0.25/gal deal using the QT app this past week in case you have not used it? Wayne
Hi All: And the short trip up to Chicago with just enough fuel to make it to Elizabethtown, KY for the lowest prices between Nashville and Kenosha, WI. 09-22-2025 - Elizabethtown, KY - Neighborhood Market - $2.499 As Marian and I were driving back to the 65, we passed a Shell and Amoco just a few blocks down the road that were charging $2.519. despite GB showing $2.799 for each. Darn it as I woold take a Shell refuel with the $0.05 off per gal Fuel Rewards over a no-name, non-Top Tier Fuel refuel any day of the week! I put that one in my memory bank for the way back. A quick stop in Chicago before moving on... Chicago at Night The city at night from the Adler Planetarium. Buckingham Fountain I should have brought my Tripod and Sony mirrorless for this one. A beautiful location regardless. Marian's iPhone 16 Pro shoots quite a bit better than my Galaxy S22+ at night. New Rt. 66 Market in Chicago! The new Route 66 start marker is located on the corner of Adams and Michigan. I think I know this person? Chicago Rt. 66 History The one and only, the original, Chicago's start of Rt. 66 sign. Parking at night is a lot easier too. Cloudgate Known also as the bean at night With a $0.10/gal Shell discount in hand for T-Mobile Tuesday, this Shell in Kenosha, WI matched the lowest prices in the area so definitely! I needed < 5-gallons to make it back to Elizabethtown, KY so it was a very short fill. 09-23-2025 - Kenosha, WI - Shell - $0.10/gal discount off discount for $2.799. And remember that Shell and Amoco in Elizabethtown, KY that was almost $0.30/gal less than GB was showing? I headed there and sure enough, $2.519 on both plus a $0.05/gal Fuel Rewards discount providing a Shell top off at the best price of the RT. 09/24/2025 - Elizabethtown, KY - Shell - $2.469 Wayne
Hi All: I had a few short jaunts around the Nashville area this week and added < 2-gallons at this Costco since it was a great price vs Nashville itself. 09/26/2025 - Mt. Juliet, TN - Costco - $2.439 Winter Fuel is here. Less expensive but less energy dense leading to slightly lower efficiency as well. Wayne
Hi All: It is about time I complete a little catch up... While in TN, a few refuels in one of the lowest cost regions in the country. Not the lowest cost but close to the bottom anyway... 10-07-2025 - Baxter, TN - Shell - $2.339 10-07-2025 - Baxter, TN - Love's - $2.299 Wayne
Hi All: Next up, a short trip to the west coast for thanksgiving with family. This is where the real price differentials from TN to CA occur. 10-13-2025 - West Memphis, AR - Love's - $2.379 10-14-2025 - Amarillo, TX - Love's - $2.259 Refueling with just enough fuel to get to the lower cost station(s) ahead and once to that lowest cost station along the path, begin topping off at each refuel to minimize the overall driving cost while crossing the country. 10-15-2025 - Albuquerque, NM - Valero - $2.499 10-16-2025 - Glendale, AZ - Costco - $3.339 10-16-2025 - Yuma, AZ - Love's - $2.859 And after AZ, oh boy, up they go! Wayne
Hi All: Welcome to California and wow! 10-18-2025 - San Marcos, CA - Costco - $4.099 10-22-2025 - Tustin, CA - Costco - $3.999 10-27-2025 - Tustin, CA - Costco - $3.999 10-30-2025 - Moreno Valley, CA - Costco - $4.199 Wayne
Hi All: And November was no fun... 11-03-2025 - San Marcos, CA - Costco - $4.349 11-06-2025 - Santa Ana, CA - Speedway - $4.099 11-08-2025 - Tustin, CA - Costco - $4.299 A short trip to Vegas to see how Sin City has changed over the course of a year since my last visit. Less than CA but not inexpensive vs the southern states from TX to the Carolina's by any means. 11-12-2025 - Las Vegas, NV - Costco - $3.449 Like any trip, refuel to a top off at the lower prices while you head to your destination... 11-12-2025 - Victorville, CA - Costco - $4.199 11-15-2025 - Oceanside, CA - Mohsen - $4.189 11-17-2025 - Signal Hill, CA - Costco - $4.199 11-22-2025 - Fountain Valley, CA - Costco - $4.099 11-27-2025 - Fullerton, CA - Sinclair - $3.949 It is not very often I refuel at a Sinclair but the above was one of the lower prices in Orange County and it is Top Tier Fuel so sure. Wayne
Hi All: And back to Nashville... 12-06-2025 - Lake Havasu City, AZ - Love's - $2.759 12-07-2025 - Albuquerque, NM - Costco - $2.439 12-07-2025 - Amarillo, TX - Sam's Club - $2.109 12-07-2025 - Midwest City, OK - Phillips 66 - $1.999 It has been a while since paying under $2 per so thank you Phillips 66! 12-08-2025 - West Memphis, AR - Love's - $2.189 12-09-2025 - Mt Juliet, TN - Costco - $2.249 A short run up to the Chicago area to visit my mom was also in the cards... 12-13-2025 - Louisville, KY - Sam's Club - $2.129 12-14-2025 - Madison, WI - Kwik Trip - $2.399 12-17-2025 - Pleasant Prairie, WI - Costco - $2.339 And back to California for Christmas with family... 12-17-2025 - Springfield, MO - Costco - $2.099 Breaking the $2 floor in OKC and Amarillo too! 12-18-2025 - Oklahoma City, OK - Costco - $1.949 12-18-2025 - Amarillo, TX - Sam's Club - $1.919 12-19-2025 - Albuquerque, NM - Sam's Club - $2.179 12-19-2025 - Gallup, NM - Shell - $2.499 12-19-2025 - Kingman, AZ - Love's - $2.699 The closer to California, the higher the prices so top em off while it is under $3 I my policy! Boom! 12-21-2025 - Oceanside, CA - Mohsen - $3.589 12-26-2025 - Oceanside, CA - Mohsen - $3.589 And back to Nashville for New Years with my Grandson in tow... Lowest price in possibly all of AZ with the find in DT Tucson! 12-27-2025 - Yuma, AZ - Love's - $2.859 12-27-2025 - Tucson, AZ - Shell- $2.129 12-28-2025 - Santa Rosa, NM - Love's - $2.329 And back below $2 per as we traveled across TX and OK. 12-28-2025 - Amarillo, TX - Buc-ee's - $1.949 Less than $1.90 per just outside of OKC! 12-29-2025 - Midwest City OK - Sam's Club - $1.859 12-29-2025 - West Memphis, AR - Love's - $2.049 And back in TN we were. I decided to go visit my mom for New Year's so on the way... 12-31-2025 - Smiths Grove KY - Buc-ee's - $2.279 An ice storm in Indianapolis caused a 4 to 5-hour delay so I was not even in Chicago when the new year arrived. Wayne
Hi All: And back to San Diego to bring my Grandson back home for school beginning the first week of January. 01-01-2026 - Pleasant Prairie, WI - BP - $2.339 01-02-2026 - Nashville, TN - Walmart - $2.059 01-03-2026 - West Memphis, AR - Love's - $2.029 And back to the < $2 per in OK and TX. 01-03-2026 - Midwest City, OK - Sam's Club - $1.849 01-04-2026 - Amarillo, TX - Buc-ee's - $1.909 From here, a top off is the std. as it is going to get expensive quick as we make our way west. 01-04-2026 - Albuquerque, NM - Costco - $2.199 01-05-2026 - Kingman, AZ - Love's - $2.599 Back in California and even one of the best prices in all of LA, Orange, and San Diego counties was this Costco in Huntington Beach. Not bad for California but nothing like OK and TX. 01-07-2026 - Huntington Beach, CA - Costco - $3.439 Wayne
Hi All: A quick run out to Santa Barbara on Monday yielded this buy in LA County on the way out and a top off on the way back to higher priced San Diego. 01-12-2026 - Huntington Beach, CA - Costco - $3.499 01-12-2026 - Signal Hill, CA - Costco - $3.479 Early next week, I am heading back to Nashville although a San Diego based neighbor passed unexpectedly last week and I will be back to San Diego to attend a funeral. Wayne
Hi All: With plans to head back to TN and beat the storm, I refueled with half a tank in order to make it to the AZ border in order to pick up fuel for close to $1.00 less per gallon in either Yuma ($2.799 at Sam's Club or Love's) on the 8, Quartzite, just past Blythe on the 10 ($2.699 at Love's), or Kingman on the 40 ($2.589 at Love’s) ... So much for those plans. 01-21-2026 - Oceanside, CA - Mohsen - $3.689 While on my way to my youngest son’s home in Ontario, CA to drop off some stuff on my way, my oldest son in TN calls and said do not bother heading out as Nashville will probably be closed for a week with the snow and in particular, the ice storm that is bearing down and will surely take out power and make streets impassable for a few days. I turned around, headed back, and am in CA for a good while longer. Time to top her off and enjoy the California sunshine. 01-23-2026 - Oceanside, CA - Mohsen - $3.689 As I type, my TN neighborhood has been without power for over 15-hours and temps are falling into low single digits before temps moving above freezing this coming Thursday. I had my son drain most all of the water from my homes system and shut off the supply last Thursday. He also turned up the thermostat to 70 so hopefully there is enough residual heat in the house to keep any lines with water in them from freezing before power is restored. Wayne
Hi All: Fuel is still expensive in California but I am also driving fewer miles nowadays too. 01-26-2026 - Huntington Beach, CA - Costco - $3.499 01-29-2026 - Norwalk, CA - Costco - $3.579 Wayne
Hi All: Not many miles accumulated in the past two weeks but prices are rising in California again! This Mohsen in Oceanside, CA was charging $3.689 on January 23. Last week it was up to $3.789, and last night, $3.969, up just over 7%. This station is still the lowest priced one within 20-miles of my present location. All the while the price of a barrel of oil has increased 3.5% from $59.34 to $61.45 during the same period. 02-06-2026 - Oceanside, CA - Mohsen - $3.789 02-15-2026 - Oceanside, CA - Mohsen - $3.969 Wayne
Hi All: I had to complete a quick run out to Thermal, CA, west of Palm Springs by a few miles, and did not quite have enough fuel to get there. That said, I added 2-gallons locally and topped off with lower fuel prices while out in the desert. 02-22-2026 - Vista, CA - Costco - $4.259 02-22-2026 - La Quinta, CA - Costco - $3.999 If I do not receive many local drives this week, I may have enough fuel to reach Yuma on the 8 or Kingman on the 40 later next week where much lower priced fuel is located when I head to Chicago starting sometime later this week. That said, oil is up 15% YTD with 4 to 5% of that due to the Iran tensions over the past two to three weeks. Nationwide retail gasoline prices at $2.937 today have moved up just 5% from the $2.796 that is was as 2025 changed into 2026. Wayne
Hi All: The last refuel in California - below $4.00 no less, before oil prices exploded and gasoline along with it during the first week of March as I was making my way across the country back to Nashville, TN. 02-26-2026 - Oceanside, CA - Mohsen - $3.949 This refuel was interesting as most of LA and the OC were punching above $4.00 at the time and I looked forward to see this Mohsen below $4.00 per and I had enough fuel to make it to it on my way back to Carlsbad. I got lucky. Wayne
Hi All: And it is time for the CA to TN trek... Before leaving the state of California, I was taking advantage of Prop22 to take 4 Roadie deliveries that grossed $85 on my way out from Carlsbad, CA to Thermal, CA just east of Palm Springs. It was enough to pay for the fuel all the way across and added 2-hours of time to the drive. This work however lead me out the 10 vs the 8 or 40 which added another 50 miles to the totals. Here we go. 03-01-2026 - Quatzite, AZ - Love's - $2.769 From here all the way across, I am looking 500 to 800-miles ahead to see where the lowest cost fuel is along the 40 and adding enough plus 1 to 2 gallons to get to the next stop as fuel prices decrease heading towards OKC. 03-02-2026 - Albuquerque, NM - Costco - $2.459 The US/Israel war against Iran is in full force and I was expecting some serious jumps in prices ahead in very short order. 03-02-2026 - Amarillo, TX - Sam's Club - $2.329 Now here is where it gets a little interesting as I had planned a stop just east of OKC at a Sam's Club. Just west of OKC, I saw a Love's - the $0.10/gal App discount is still intact, along the Interstate for a slightly lower price so I pulled in and topped off. Always, always, always top off when higher prices appear likely ahead as I was approaching AR and TN over the next 24-hours. 03-02-2026 - Hinton, OK - Love's - $2.229 03-02-2026 - Sherwood, AR, just north of Little Rock - Sam's Club - $2.299 I saw a Sam's Club in Memphis was reported at $2.319. When I arrived, the price had jumped to $2.799 just hours prior and I skipped it. Instead, there was a Costco just a few miles east still showing $2.419 and when I arrived, it was still at that price. I got lucky as they are at $2.799 tonight. 03-02-2026 - Memphis, TN - Costco - $2.419 I spent just $65 on fuel and made a little over $129 taking small jobs along my path in CA, AZ, and AR so that worked out just ok. I also had just over 3/4 of a tank when I arrived at my home in Brentwood, TN and am now able to attach to my L1 in that garage at $0.169/kWh or the equivalent of about $2.00 per gallon for any short jobs I may take while here. The local Sam's Club is offering a gallon of liquid gold for $2.769 today so even when I do refuel, it is still a lot less than anywhere in California. Especially now. I hope the Israel/US Iran War is over before I head back in a month or two and prices beyond Amarillo are back into the low $2.20 range. Fingers crossed on that one! While here, I also had one dentist appointment on the 4th and another on Monday the 9th before I drive up to see my mom North of Chicago early next week. I also hung a $190, 32" M7 4K Samsung Smart Monitor to an articulating wall mount alongside my older 55" Series 4 TCL, and brought my HP Omnibook 7 Laptop to drive them. The displays are similar to my California home - larger than the 48" OLED and (2) 27" 4K smart monitors, but not the same quality obviously. I am so glad I purchased a new Logitech Ergo 860 KB for my TN home to match my CA home setup but I miss the Logitech MX4 and Gel mousepad in CA vs the Logitech M650 and my older foam mousepad here. Wayne
