Down to the Last Drop

...Or nearly so. And a lot of the local "pit stop" locations only catered to restrooms & maybe vending machines, or one fast food joint.

Why would this be of concern?

When I originally initialed the paperwork, once I'd finally stepped off that final Greyhound bus to begin my few weeks of vehicle renting, I was asked about an option the rental company offered which discounted a tank of gas for the customer, should the customer opt-in.

I decided with the heightened price of gas, essentially all across the country in some way or another, that since I'd be using this vehicle for longer than an extended weekend, & traveling across a state's border - twice - for a several hour's long drive, that I should make use of this option for a discounted tank of gas. The counter clerk would then add the charge of whatever it would take to refill this rental's tank to my card at a lower rate than neighbor stations were offering - once I returned the vehicle.

The way the opportunity worked was to pre-select, while initialing paperwork, that I'd want this "other" tank of gas. This special tank meant that I'd bring back the vehicle at the end of my trip - empty. I could quite literally bring the vehicle back running on fumes.

I didn't.

However, I did try. 😂

Upon leaving the state where the second marathon had been held, instead of topping off the tank (it was at three quarters full), I simply got myself on the highway & started heading on back. On the way to that second marathon, toward the end of the route, I'd needed to fill up, or run out.

This is where I did my math wrong. Well, to be honest, I didn't do any math, which is likely the even bigger problem here. Essentially I took the missing quarter tank from the wrong end in my mind. (This is the backwards way that I do math.) I had passed up several exits promoting that they had gas stations at them because, in my head, I'd be good to go.

Then I realized that I wouldn't be.

Incidentally panic did not set in immediately. Panic waited until I arrived at an exit - not promoting a lack of gas stations, which to me meant that there'd be at least one. Once I was off the highway & had driven out five miles with no sight or signage for a gas station, I hurried to turn around.

Next I found a rest stop & hoped for the best. At least I took advantage of using the restroom while I was parked. I also made sure to use my phone & look up my options while I was off the highway, not on some random, side-of-the-road property, & parked in so that I could completely focus.

What I learned was that, twenty more miles toward my destination I'd find the closest gas station. I could breathe a bit easier now. The digital notice on the dashboard had begun informing me of my "miles left till empty" countdown. The number when I turned the engine back on read forty miles to go. I might have a Bachelor of Arts degree, yet my first & second grade mathematics class quickly subtracted twenty from forty & left me with over a dozen additional miles. No, I'm not proud; it's not an accomplishment. It was just nice to know that I'd not run out of gas along a major highway in a state where I'd never been before, let alone had driven.

Upon arriving at said station & still wanting to make the most of the rental company, return-the-vehicle-empty option, I tried, to no avail, to research the size of the rental & my remaining mileage (including what I anticipated once I returned to the town where I'd be returning the vehicle, which was roughly a dozen miles). Then I glanced next to me & saw a gentleman filling a large vehicle. I decided it couldn't hurt to ask him about my how-much-gas-for-this-many-more-miles question. In short, the gentleman didn't fail me. He even mentioned that the number he gave me would be a bit of a bumper, or slightly more than I'd likely need. I thanked him & stopped pumping the gas once I reached that many gallons.

I arrived safely & without fail back to where I needed to be. And I ultimately didn't need one of these either! 😎😁

How close did I come to returning the vehicle "running on fumes"? Kind of close. I did drive around the town for a few errands before I finished closing the final zipper on my luggage bag. If memory serves me correctly, I believe the line on the dashboard had recently registered a low tank of gas when it became time to relinquish the rental keys.

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