By William M. Dowd
BENNINGTON, VT. — With a couple of major holidays coming up, the usual warnings about increased gasoline prices for motor travel have been issued. This year, however, the dire predictions are direr than ever.
We’re hearing reports of per-gallon sticker shock in the $3.30 range around here, but that’s tardy reporting. Plenty of enterprising station owners already have flirted with, or actually hit, that level, so $3.35 or more won’t be a major surprise.
That’s why I made sure I filled up on my usual Mobil gas at a “mere” $3.08/9 on the east side of the Vermont/New York border before heading home from an overnight getaway in Manchester. I’m a thorough believer in supporting local businesses in the Capital Region, but I’m not stupid. At a 20-cent or more per gallon saving, the Green Mountain State gets to see the color of my money until the madness ends.
I’m not alone. As the pump attendant — yes, shock of shocks, this guy actually filled my tank and washed the windshield and rear window, all at no extra charge just like in the days of my youth — told me, “One family who lives just on the other side of the border in New York comes here every week in their biggest vehicle loaded with 5- and 10-gallon gas cans. They fill up and use that gas in all their other vehicles during the week.”
Keep an eye on Route 7 east through Troy and the Rensselaer County countryside. That’s the best way to Vermont from the Capital Region and I have the feeling the always-busy road is going to see an uptick in traffic now that the economics of driving there make sense.
(Posted 11/16/07)
William M. Dowd is a Capital Region writer and photographer who specializes in food, drink and destinations at Dowd’s Guides