rising prices

So a discussion of rising gas prices prompted me to do a quick look at my proposed August trip. I'm headed to a meeting in San Francisco, and decided to take the week after the trip off and spend some time in Boston - actually, half a week on Block Island with JanemyJane and Neeners, and half a week in Boston. I'm already in countdown mode! But back to flights... I typed in Dulles to San Fran to Boston and back to Dulles... wowsers! The cost made me gulp. So I thought, "let's check the cost of the work trip - the roundtrip to San Fran for which I will be reimbursed..." Turns out, the cost of going to San Fran and back to DC is MORE expensive than going to Boston on the way back - I'm SAVING the government (and therefore the taxpayer) money by going on vacation! Yay, me! This calls for a Tavern night when I'm in town - or as I like to say, economy stimulus!

As an aside, I checked with my office mate, and we estimate that the cost of gas (at the pump) has gone up about 30% in the past six months - airfares, from my admittedly small sample of one, have gone up 65%. And that's before you pay the fee for checked luggage.