Membership has it’s privileges. $3.97 a gallon for unleaded vs. $4.20 or more at a regular gas station. Plus, with the membership requirements you aren’t standing in line for 30-60 mins. Today they had both regular and premium in stock.
Granted, Mel and I don’t shop there very often but the savings per gallon on the gas alone makes it a no-brainer.
Monday morning recap:
Lovely week it will be.
I‘m obviously not a football coach. I’ve never actually played organized football beyond some backyard games as a kid. However, watching the Gator’s line up on 4th and 1 with ~45 seconds left on the game clock, knowing we only needed another ~10 yards for an easy field goal, I knew Tebow was taking the ball. In fact, the entire stadium, the announcers, and the Ole Miss defensive line knew Tebow was getting the ball.
Yea almost. Quarter tank left and I can’t find a gas station here in the metro Atlanta area that has stock. Apparently gas is flowing into the city but everybody is trying to keep topped-off so any stock that makes it to a station is gone within a couple hours. I estimate I’ve got another 2 days of gas left for my commute and then I’m in trouble.
Ironically, I’ve been telling myself all summer not to let my tank get below half during hurricane season because anytime the Gulf gets hit, Atlanta goes bonkers and people panic causing even more trouble with gas supplies. But Mel and I spent the weekend in Ellijay so I was going to fill back up when I hit town but got caught behind the weekend rush. Now I’m screwed if I can’t catch a gas station between today and Friday.
This is why it pays to own a house and property kids. I’m not some natural disaster noob but living in a loft downtown doesn’t give me many options when it comes to stockpiling critical emergency supplies … like a couple 5 gallon jerry-cans worth of gas.
Should be a fun couple of days.
Update: After driving around Cobb county for 30 minutes yesterday evening I finally found a Shell Station that had regular unleaded. 20 mins later and I had a full tank. I’m estimating 1 in 10 stations are sold out daily only 1 in 10 stations have gas on a daily basis. We haven’t reached panic levels yet but you can tell people are starting to get edgy.
Saturday 9/20/08
Trip: 5.2 miles
Elevation: 3400ft (max) 2890ft (min) ~800ft (total accent)
Time: 3h 15m
Temperature: 80 F
Wind: Light breeze
Conditions: Clear, no precipitation, low humidity
Pack Weight: ~30lbs (overnight lodge hike)
Pics
Summary:
After our stay at The Len Foote Hike Inn Friday night, we decided as a group to avoid a backtrack and take the Hike Inn Trail another quarter mile north. It dead-ends into the Appalachian Approach Trail. You have two options at this point – hike north another 3-4 miles to the top of Springer Mountain (and the official start of the Appalachian Trail) or hike south back down the hill towards Amacalola Falls and the parking lot.
Friday 9/19/08
Trip: ~5 miles
Elevation: 3050ft (max) 2990ft (min) ~750ft (total accent)
Time: 3h 20m
Temperature: 80 F
Wind: Light breeze
Conditions: Clear skies, no precipitation, low humidity
Pack Weight: ~30lbs (overnight lodge hike)
Summary:
The Len Foote Hike Inn is only accessible via a 5 mile hike up Springer Mountain. After checking in with the Amicalola Ranger station, you park at the top of the falls and pick up the trail head on the opposite side of the parking lot. 200 yards or so off the start, the trail splits – taking the right fork leads up the Inn, the left fork will eventually spit you out on top of Springer Mountain (which is also the official start of the Appalachian Trail).