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June 14, 2008
Sidney R. Olsen: Recorder of Deeds (California Vacation 1964)
I was looking through some stuff I hadn't looked through in awhile and I came across an envelope that contained a map and a trip log of a 1964 road trip from Riverdale, Il. (a suburb of Chicago) to California and back. I think my favorite thing is that the envelope is from the desk of Sidney R. Olsen, Recorder of Deeds which gives the whole thing a Homeric quality. While the log really doesn't deliver much in way of narrative, it does give great insight into the cost of a vacation in 1964. Not surprisingly, I was struck by how cheap gas was- they spent less than $130.00 on gas for the entire trip! After I adjusted the numbers for inflation, however, it seemed like far less of a bargain- gas was still well over $2.00 a gallon in 2008 dollars and the lower cost of gas was somewhat offset by poorer gas mileage. The two week trip cost them over $2000 in 2008 dollars, 4 days of which they stayed with friends and had no expenses. Unfortunately, I don't know how many people went on the trip (there were at least two) so it's difficult to assess how the amount spent on food and lodging really compares to today's prices. Still, you can certainly see that there's not much of a difference in the purchasing power of the dollar between then and now. To see the entire trip log at full size click here.
Miles Traveled: Approx. 5,379
Gallons Of Gas: 324.5
Average MPG: 16.5
Total Amount Spent On Gasoline: $126.09 ($881.13)
Average Cost Per Gallon: $.39 ($2.73)
Average Amount Spent On Lodging Per Night: $8.00 ($55.91)
Average Amount Spent On Meals Per Day: $8.10 ($56.60)
Total Amount Spent On Trip: $296.44 ($2071.56)
Figures in parentheses are in 2008 dollars as per this inflation calculator.
Posted by nick at June 14, 2008 03:13 PM