something else - rental cars.
This summer we are returning to cape may NJ. there is a campground in north cape may near the courthouse that we bring our class C to. last trip was summer 2019. we drove out, and rented a car there from the enterprise. my points tally shows I have 218 points meaning that is what I paid before taxes and fees (1 point per rental dollar). it came to about 250ish total for the week, and the wife gets a deal thru her work so we got a free 2 class upgrade which enterprise bumped it up even further to a dodge charger (not the rip snortin one).
so we are gong back this year, lots of blue restrictions in place so it will be DIFFERENT, but we want to get my 13 year old out there as he missed the last trip. I booked at the same rental place, EARLIER than last trip. my base rental is $550 for the same week with no discounts or upgrades available - no perks at all.
I asked some buds in the industry why a) there is only 1 location in S NJ now (well 2, but same company and b) why so pricey.
it seems last year when nobody was doing nutting or going nowhere, car companies use complex formulas on the rental performance of every car once it dips or hits a certain number of miles, off to auction it goes. the used car market is HOT so...rental companies have almost no stock. hertz, avis and budget all pulled out of southern nj except the airport in atlantic city, which is almost a 100 mile round trip of futility - no cars there EITHER
the bigger luxo cars are still in stock as the rich were still moving around last summer , but not us peons. so eco, compact, sub compact, small, midsize (these terms are about as loosely defined as I ever saw) are in short supply and high demand, hence they are renting for what they can get.
net its just over 300 extra this trip, plus the daily gas increases - it was $2.10 a gallon in 2019, its over $3.20 for same now, but july 10???, same stations and climbing 2-3 cents a day.
Moreys piers, where we love the lazy river in the waterpark is saying 50% occupancy, they have gates at the boardwalk (watch the tram car please) and you must wear a mask. Will someone tell me what doof thot up the idea to wear a mask in a water park...where it gets wet....you cannot breathe...you die. and why the restrictions in the first place when everyone is in a damn bleach solution?????
So we also looked at cancelling the campground res, and getting a wildwood hotel. since I am a low rent PA boy, I am no stranger to wildwood and have history in many properties, for the same 8 days they start at $1700, up to $2800, 2 double beds for the 3 of us, no kitchen. meaning all meals are out. in the camper, we head down to 'hooked up' or the 'lobster house' and get some fresh sea critter at which point I make my shrimp and scallop aglio olio with totally fresh garlic and a homemade lemon infused oilive oil nomm nommm nommmmm. but anyways, costs skyrocket compared to the $600 campground and the ability to pick and choose dinners out (for those familiar, I miss the lobster shack off the boardwalk, but we always hit curly fries, bubbas and of course uncle bills) so so far, this vacation is already over $500 more on paper without food choices. the campground is locked in, the car is locked in, I serviced the camper yesterday, gas is a problem, the powers that be say nearly every day that they feel $4-5 a gallon by summer would be ideal (for whom?) so we are buying every morsel at giant eagle to get gas points but thats only 30 gallons (paid 10 cents a gallon last cash in)...the ole girl drinks 50 gallons at a time thru an 8mpg straw (saw 9 once tho) - she aint got the legs for cook forest to cape may on one tank each way...
sidebar: could be time to ditch the class C for one of the 17-20ft <5KGVW boutique campers everyone makes to be towed the new pickup: midsize cuvs with about 3.5 v6 litres and 5000lb tow rating, BUT, try and find one right now....heck I could sell my 28 year old camper TODAY for about twice what I would have in 2019. But I could not replace it, and camper making companies report a 12-18 month backlog!
what else can they possibly break?
