Down to one bar on the Prius' fuel display, and driving west on National Boulevard on the outskirts of Palms/Cheviot Hills, the mission was to secure cheap(er) gas.
Having already passed the crowded United station at Castle Heights featuring regular gas for $3.99/gallon (12/28/22), my intended destination was the familiar Mar Vista/West L.A.-outskirts SK Gasoline station at National and Sawtelle.
But wait a minute! Off to the left, past the Vons shopping center, was a newly renamed SK station priced at $3.99/gallon cash-or-credit, none of its pumps in use. Turned left under the 10 fwy, hung a U-ie at Exposition and Hughes, and backtracked to SK. Maybe not-so-coincidentally, both SKs, operated by Sinaco Oil Corp., are former highway-robbery 76 stations.
Related amenities on the triangle-shaped property are an auto-repair shop and smog-test facility. SK might have a small food mart, but I didn't check. The nearby center comprises various useful businesses, many in food service.
Closer to my stomping grounds than the other SK station, future visits could include shopping at Vons, ergo making L.A. life that much more efficient, thus a happier new year, kick-started by an all-too-rare FTR.
So what, right? read more