Photo: FLLewis/Media City G -- Gas prices at the Chevron G-M Food Mart at Buena Vista Street and Alameda Avenue in Burbank March 7, 2011

Gasoline prices are going up fast. About a week ago, I paid $3.79 per gallon for regular. Today, at the same station I shelled out $3.97 for each gallon of regular I pumped into the P.T. Cruiser. I’m starting to take note of where I see the cheapest gas.  At these prices, checking around for the best deal before you buy is worth it.

  At least I’m not paying diesel prices — which are up to $4.25 a gallon at some stations in the Media City.

Photo: FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank

Looking for bargains this Thanksgiving week? Head for the malls or shopping centers, but don’t expect to find great deals at the local gasoline pumps.  If you’re hitting the road for Thanksgiving take along some extra cash or plan on swiping your credit card a few times, because the trip is going to cost ya!

Last night, I bought almost 7 gallons of regular at the Conoco Phillips 76 station at Alameda Avenue and Victory Boulevard in Burbank for about 20 bucks. The price per gallon: $2.89 . A check of the AAA Fuel Gauge Report shows the average price in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area stands at $2.95 today. This time last year, the average here in the Southland was $2.18 per gallon, a bargain considering the pump prices now.

Statewide, the average is $2.93, according to the survey. Nationwide, the average price of regular is hovering around $2.63 a gallon: last year at this time, $1.90!  Makes you want to bail from the Golden State and move to the South or the East Coast? Not really, especially when you look at the kind of weather we’re having and compare it with temperatures in those sections of the country.

Still, I can’t get over how high gas prices are, particularly in California and in the Southland. This time last year, the prices at the pumps along Glenoaks Boulevard near Olive Avenue in Burbank were around $2.55 a gallon. At least 50 cents a gallon more than the national average at the time, but less than what motorists are paying now.

Photos from November 2008:  FLLewis/A Writer’s Groove — Burbank

It seems that whenever gas prices and the unemployment figures are jacked up, the public’s view of the economy plummets. Right now, grim reminders like fuel prices and jobless rates make it hard for the average person to buy into optimistic reports that say the recession is over.

Yet, I believe when most of us sit down to dinner with family and friends this Thursday, we will find plenty of other things to be grateful for — and for a lot of us that means sending up a prayer of thanks to a higher power.