Overcast, dark and chilly this Thursday morning on California’s north coast, a natural stage set for fairly-heavy rain due sometime this afternoon — according to the NWS, we could get more than half-an-inch before tomorrow.
Supposedly, the rain-front is expected to be quiet through the weekend, with the next go around forecast for next Tuesday, if not sooner, of course.

And this morning for the first time in months, I paid a visit to the gas station. I sold my Jeep Comanche last January, and this past weekend I finally got my ‘new‘ ride — a 1996 Honda Accord — on the road, and earlier today, my introductory fuel stop.

An opportune time as prices are diving again, according to the AAA, ‘“…pump prices are expected to move lower to close out the year, barring any unanticipated outages or supply disruptions.”‘

Cheapest I’ve seen prices in a long time. My local/favorite Union 76 station this morning is currently at $2.79 a gallon for regular, of which, I pumped in 7.45 gallons. Although the Jeep had been somewhat of a gas hog, the Honda should run a month before refueling — we’ll wait and see.
The pump prices appear a few pennies cheaper in Eureka, about 10 miles south, but California’s vary from part to part. Up here in the north, the average be about $2.74, with the state as a whole coming in at about $2.84 a gallon for regular.
We’re in the high-life right now.

Nationwide, though, the AAA numbers are down there — via UPI: ‘The motor club reports a national average retail price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at $2.14 for Tuesday, down about 0.6 percent from Monday and 5.5 percent lower than this time last month. AAA says the trend is moving toward $2 per gallon for a national average before the end of the year, which would be the first time retail prices moved that low since 2009.’

The source material, oil, is apparently working its way out of the ‘black gold’ category and has been awhile — from The Week: ‘This morning international benchmark Brent crude oil stood at $44.50 a barrel in London – a low price even by recent standards and one that renders much oil production unprofitable. But it still represents an increase on Wednesday afternoon’s price.’

Less aggravating, though, not having to visit a gas station…

(Illustration above found here).