The $3.70 barrier has now been broken in all three towns ...

Hampton -- Hess, $3.69.
HFalls -- Citgo, $3.69.
Seabrook
- north of 107 -- Xtra, Prime, $3.65.
- south of 107 -- Irving, $3.69.

I love wearing contacts ... when I have a choice.

I lost my glasses case, with glasses inside, on the beach yesterday. (Those are the ones -- there, in my profile photo.) Not sure if it was down on the low-tide sand, in which case they're long lost at sea, or if it was after I moved up to higher ground to avoid the incoming tide. Ticks me off, 'cause when I moved upstairs I noticed I'd dropped my cell phone. You'd think I'd have noticed a black glasses case. And when I was up above, I was lying on the blanket for a while -- if the case was at that level, can't figure out why I didn't notice it.

Be that as it may, the case, and the glasses, are gone.

I do have a backup pair that predated my Bifocal Era by many years, so they're no good for reading but would suffice for allowing me to watch TV late at night IF ONLY I COULD FIND THEM. AGAIN. They also disappeared when my previous primary pair of glasses broke a few years ago. Hmmmm. It's like they know something. They turned up unexpectedly when I was moving last year, and of course I can't remember either where I found them or where I put them. My search continues, although it's kind of a pain to dig out buried containers where they might be hidden. Can't believe I didn't immediately put them either in my headboard or in my car's glovebox, but they're in neither location.

So in the meantime, I'm stuck with wearing contacts for longer than I should, and all I want to do is claw my eyes out. It's like being claustrophic and unable to get out.

I went back this morning to the spot where I was on the beach yesterday and had no luck. I called all the official places that have lost & founds with no luck, and placed lost ads on craigslist and in the local paper (it starts running tomorrow). In my search this morning I found a metal-detector scavenger guy scouring the vicinity and he said he hadn't hit on it, but that the metal detector was sensitive enough that it should hit on the hinges in the glasses if it gets near them, so I got him on my side. I've done all I can think of to do, short of getting up early every morning in hopes they've washed up on shore.

Anyone wanna pay for me to have Lasik?

Sorry for missing yesterday, especially when we reached another milestone -- cracked $3.70 in Seabrook! I had a minor crisis to deal with. Crisis is not over, but life must go on.

Today's lows, at least, are the same as yesterday's:

Hampton -- $3.73 at Hess.

HFalls -- $3.75 at Citgo.

Seabrook
- North of Route 107 -- $3.69 at Xtra Mart and Prime.
- South of Route 107 -- $3.71 at Irving.

Gah!! Was too tired to post after I got home this morning, then went and slept all day.

Portsmouth -- lowest I saw was $3.77 at Samuel's Mini-Mart.

North Hampton -- $3.73 at L&J, Irving and Mobil.

Hampton -- $3.73 at Hess.

Hampton Falls -- $3.75 at Citgo.

Seabrook -- $3.73 at the usual, Xtra Mart, Prime and Richdale.

Portsmouth -- Lowest on my route through here today still in the $3.80s -- lowest seen, $3.84 on the Bypass. (In Greenland, Buck Horn, $3.83.)

North Hampton -- L&J, Irving and Mobil, $3.73.

Hampton -- Hess, $3.73.

Seabrook -- Xtra Mart, Prime, RichDALE (NOT Richford's, d'oh!), all $3.73.

Seabrook -- $3.73  at Xtra, Prime, Richford's; under $3.80 throughout on Route 1.

HFalls -- $3.75 at Citgo.

Hampton -- $3.73 at Hess, below $3.80 at all except Mobil On the Run.

Oh my, I have the vapors! Only one station in Seabrook raised its prices after discount day. Xtra Mart and Prime remain at $3.73 north of the Route 107 intersection, joined today by Richford's to the south. Irving also remains at yesterday's $3.75.

The Citgo on the causeway in HFalls has cracked $3.80 -- today it's at $3.79.

Hess in Hampton is down to $3.77, while up the road apiece to the north, Mobil is at $3.79. Meanwhile, the Mobil On the Run at the southern end was lower, but still up there at $3.84.

Commiserated with another filler-upper while fueling up at the Xtra Mart last night. It was a happier conversation than the one I had a few weeks ago with a passing pedestrian back when prices were teetering on the edge of $4. Seems this gas crisis is uniting people in ways never imagined.

It's discount day, and we've fallen through the $3.80 floor!

Seabrook -- north of Route 107
Our favorites, Xtra Mart and Prime, remain the lowest in my travels at $3.73 today.

Seabrook -- south of Route 107
Wanna give props to Irving, which isn't far behind at $3.75.

Hampton
Hess remains the town's lowest at $3.81. But at either end of Route 1, the Mobils are closing in -- both are at $3.85.

Know what? Forgot to look at the Citgo in Hampton Falls on my way through.

Everything looks status quo.

Because I haven't yet ranged very far from home today, I'll stretch out this early edition of the report, which focuses on Seabrook, into the northern and southern segments. I expect to snag Hampton, too, but not until later this evening, 8-ish. You're on your own until then.

North of Route 107 intersection
Xtra Mart and Prime continue to be the standardbearers for the town as a whole; they've come down today to $3.81.

South of Route 107 intersection
Pretty sure Monday is still discount gas day in this part of town, which might explain the $3.83 at Irving and Getty. But does the reason really matter?

Hey, you know what would be a good way to get around to do this little project? MY NEW BIKE. But not today ... it's a better day for a beach walk. Plus, I still haven't bought a helmet, and Route 1 scares me.

---------------------------

Today's winner is North Hampton, where L&J had the cheapest I saw driving home this morning at $3.81. Which sucked for me, 'cause I saw $3.83 at Samuel's Mini-Mart in Portsmouth, at the intersection with Elwyn Road, and filled up there, certain that I wouldn't find anything lower. Also saw that price at the Irving in NoHa. Elsewhere, $3.85 remains the lowest price in Hampton (Hess) and Seabrook (Xtra Mart and Prime). But prices at a lot of places along Route 1 between still appear to be falling, and it isn't even discount gas day!

Remind me sometime to tell you guys about the stupidest thing I ever did for free gas. But please, make sure I'm drunk first.

Thanks to the weekend job, I was a bit farther north this morning. Didn't catch ALL of Portsmouth 'cause I varied my route home from the graveyard shift in hopes of catching a good price at the Buck Horn truck stop in Greenland (however, it was only kind of middling at $3.93 for regular), but saw $3.88 up on the Bypass (south- and northbound sides). South of Ocean Road on Route 1, the lowest was in North Hampton, where the Irving and the Mobil were both at $3.85. Sun glare prevented me from seeing the Hess sign on my way through Hampton, but others in the vicinity were at $3.89 and $3.91. Sorry -- tired -- fading -- need sleep. Will check around Seabrook later and report back.

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UPDATE 9:30 p.m.

Sorry so late -- had a good long sleep, though, thanks. But I finally got out this evening to check Seabrook prices, and the lowest remains $3.85 at Xtra Mart and Prime.

That title geography-specific enough?

OK, happened to be out and about a bit today *before* sunset, for a change. The news continues to be good, or at least better -- Xtra Mart and Prime in Seabrook continue to offer regular at $3.85, joined today by Hess in Hampton. All are on Route 1. Additionally, other stations continue to lower their prices. I saw several more in the $3.89 range than yesterday. The highest I saw was $3.97, at the Mobil/On the Run in Hampton.

Today I debut a new feature here, coinciding with the fact that I noticed a sudden drop in gas prices at a couple of locations. Each day, or whenever I have occasion to range more than a couple of miles from home, I'll post the lowest gas price I've seen and its location.

May not be much help to you, since prices and the locations of the lowest prices are ever-shifting, but I'll feel like I'm providing a service to society in these troubled economic times, and really, isn't it all about making ME feel good?

So to start: Yesterday I found $3.85 gas on Route 1 in Seabrook, north of the Route 107 intersection, at the Xtra Mart and slightly farther north at Prime, that little kiosk at the entrance to the plaza where the Ames used to be. That was a full 10 cents or more less than last week. Heck, most places had edged back under $4. I got as far north as the Hess in Hampton, and it was down to ... what was it? $3.94, I think.

But the two places I mentioned above have been consistently the lowest this week, even factoring in the weekly discount gas days.

HTH.