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The day dawned sunny and bright, warm but with very little humidity. It appeared to be an auspicious start to the day.
Then we hit Delaware. Everyone and his brother was on the road. Everyone seemed to be driving almost randomly, no turn signals, abrupt lane changes, and a seeming desire to involve themselves, and everyone around them in a collision.
Finally got into southern New Jersey, smooth sailing, made good time. First rest area I wanted to stop at was overrun with people with apparently no idea why they had stopped there. So I refueled and quickly moved on.
At the appropriate time (that is, when Nature called) I stopped at a recently refurbished rest area. Parking lot was nicely not full. Inside it appears that as since time immemorial the restrooms were to the left of the entrance, someone saw fit to move them to the opposite side.
At this rest area it seemed the predominant culture was from the Indian subcontinent. Teeming masses and what have you. Did my bidness then fled precipitously.
Then we hit the northern New Jersey - New York metropolitan area. The stuff of nightmares. That photo of the northbound lanes at the George Washington Bridge, look empty compared to what today was.
To make matters worse, there were a number of entrepreneurs wandering in traffic! Between lanes! Selling something which looked suspiciously like Navy bug juice. They made the traffic situation much more "interesting." I daresay that many of those interpid salespeople had naught a word of English among them.
Just guessing.
Western Connecticut has ever been terrible and packed with insane drivers. Today was no exception, but compared to the GW? Walk in the bloody park it was.
Next time I might fly.
The horror ...
But we did make it home in one piece.
So we've got that going for us ...
The way things have devolved on the roads during the last almost five years have got me thinking if I should be dressing like the Road Warrior each time I get behind the wheel........and that's for local trips not on the Interstates. Good to read you survived Sarge.
ReplyDeleteShoulder pads with feathers would work. Especially around Newark!
DeleteOn trips of around 5 day duration, unless in state, I fly and rent a car. It’s no longer worth the aggravation or effort
ReplyDeleteFor me it depends on the distance as to whether I fly or not. I may be revising that distance variable downwards!
DeletePraise the Lord for safe travels.
ReplyDeleteAmen!
Deletejust got me to wonderin':
ReplyDeletehow many of those other drivers have a valid license, insurance, are able to understand/read/translate the "Rules of the Road"?
Good question. The rules of the road part, not even the citizens seem to grasp those.
DeleteGlad you made it home successfully Sarge. And yes, driving is becoming just as abysmal as flying.
ReplyDeletePeople have lost all sense of civility in the metro areas.
DeleteSarge, unfortunately it's not just the metro areas. With the large influx of refugees into Texas (No, not only the illegals, but the legal refugees along with the refugees from, oh say, California), they seem to be bringing their driving (lack thereof) skills with them. In our little burg, it's become routine to pause for the first 5-10 seconds after the light turns green to allow that last guy to accelerate in the last 100 yards prior and drive through the intersection. I've had to slam on the brakes several times as I start to enter the intersection. Fecal Craniums!
DeleteTurn signals, we don need no steenkin turn signals. Nor do we need to check our mirrors to see if someone is already in that lane.
Speed limit? In a no passing zone, it's 20 MPH below what the sign says. When approaching a passing lane, use those 20 MPH like a withdrawal from the bank and accelerate to the sign plus 20, You can always pay it back at the next no passing zone.
And this is a small town. I can't imagine what it's like in the larger cities. Luckily, we rarely go to them, although visiting the kids/grandkids in College Station requires transiting Austin. Fortunately, we don't have to use the N/S freeway which observation as we pass over it indicates there are only 2 speeds authorized, dead stop and ~80MPH. That having been said, I do feel my BP going up as I hit Dripping Springs and it doesn't go back down until Bastrop. Or Vice Versa if traveling East to West.
To the newly arrived, remember, you moved here because you didn't like the way things were in your old domicile. Fair enough. however, DO NOT turn your new home into a replica of your old one!
End Rant.
juvat
People fleeing the mess they themselves made, only to repeat it all over again. Unbelieveable.
DeleteOdd man out here. Gimme my vehicle so I am master of my own course and schedule. Yup, idiots to share the road with, but there are always options. Not so with the serial gropers and totally random relationship between schedules and actual performance in the airline industry. Have avoided flights of any kind (except fancy) since 2013.
ReplyDeleteAs a retired person I have the time to enjoy the options I chose, and occasionally regret not taking different routes or times. But, I have not regretted staying on terra firma.
In any case, it is always good to arrive at one's destination.
JB
I get that, but for visits to California, driving is not an option.
DeleteI'm old enough that a long drive (like across the country) would take me longer than it used to and it is cheaper to fly but there are times I miss a long road trip.
DeleteI'll do it to Maryland, but anything over 500 miles? I'd fly, as painful as that can be at times.
DeleteI drove a colleague from So. Cal on the Cross Bronx expressway. Same kind of traffic except this time the vendors were selling cell phones. He was quite impressed . He then noticed the burned out cars on the shoulder and wanted to know if we were still in the USA.
ReplyDeleteThe Cross Bronx Expressway, a phrase guaranteed to make me break out in a cold sweat.
DeleteWell. That must have been fun.
ReplyDeleteI think using a handheld power compactor in a minefield might have been more fun than that.
And in the summer heat, too. Bleh.
It was horrible going south, much less hot on the return trip. Not to mention the wonder of automoble air conditioning. Don't leave home without it.
DeleteYoutube has auto A/C repairs covered in the quest to "don't leave home without it"!
DeleteGood to know.
DeleteI've never seen people selling stuff to cars in traffic ... From where I'm sitting I'd write that off to the massive influx to our cities these last 3 years but that is just my reaction to (reading about) something different.
ReplyDeleteFirst time I've seen it and I've been doing that trip since 2009. I think you're on to something Rob.
DeleteYou are seeing the change that some group has been working hard at...
DeleteYup.
DeleteIt happens a lot in the LA basin.
DeleteFor some it's the only "job" they're qualified for.
DeleteWhen we moved from Concord MA to Philadelphia my little sister was in braces and almost ready to move to retainers. Mom to Sis to a new orthodontist in Philly and of course everything was done wrong so he had to remove everything and start over from scratch. My parents nodded politely and never darkened his door again. So, sis continued her treatments in MA. I had just gotten my drivers license so I got drafted to be primary driver taking Mom and Sis from Philly to Concord every 6 weeks or so. I've lost count of how many times I've crossed the Tappan Zee bridge and driving the New Jersey and Connecticut turnpikes. That experience made driving in LA traffic for 12 years much easier to handle.
ReplyDeleteIt is good training for driving in even loonier places!
DeleteStrikes me that a proper ship could take you from your usual Points A and B safely and in more comfort. Might I suggest: https://classic-yachts.com/en/product/1947-classic-commuter-yacht-50/
ReplyDeleteAnd at only 280,000 Euro, she's a steal.
DeleteGrowing up in the Dakotas and Montana, with family vacations to Minnesota and western Wisconsin, I really miss road trips. Traffic has become insane. Two years ago I saw a dude do an Immelman with his car (he then crashed and burned, nose down onto a higher roadway.) He got some assists from several overpasses. I don't even like riding with my wife, who is becoming a tail-gater (at least by my standards. Of course I think almost everyone is a tailgater.
ReplyDeleteFlying ...frequently SSSS for no reason I've ever found. Seemed to mostly disappear when I turned 72.
Driving is becoming more and more of a nightmare.
DeleteWe finally arrived in central Connecticut last Tuesday after spending a week driving from California, pulling a trailer for the first time in my life. Oh the things I have seen. Shudders, and tries to stop thinking about them.
ReplyDeleteThis too shall pass. (One hopes!)
DeleteHappily home from 550 miles in Montana, Idaho and Utah. Beautiful scenery, great people, decent drivers for the most part, relatively light traffic with only a couple construction zones. Stopped for a picnic at one of the places Lewis & Clark camped in August 1805, shortly after they got horses from Sacajawea's relatives, needed for trips across the Rockies when they could no longer paddle up the Missouri due to the Great Falls. History feels different when you are on the actual locations. But, if someone rather look out the window from 30,000 feet up, with no earthly idea of where they are, I won't stop you.
ReplyDeleteJB
550 is doable by car. If you're sightseeing that's the only way to go.
DeleteAdding to the pleasure of the trip was listening to a good audio book. A cooler with non-alcoholic beverages and snacks was within easy reach. Stop and get out and stretch a bit every couple of hours. On this trip we saw deer and antelope, buffaloes, and a bald eagle. And lots of motorcyclists heading to/from Sturgis. Speed limit legal at 80 mph about 90% of the trip, and a comfortable and safe cruising speed. And, being able to haul "stuff" to and from a destination without TSA hassles or baggage fees is almost a necessity. It's nice to have choices, and be happy with what you choose.
DeleteJB
Again, if the plan is to see the sights. Takes far too long to drive some places.
DeleteWhen I go somewhere I like to see the sights on the way, one of the reasons it takes longer. When I fly it's like I'm working and the going is because I have to.
DeleteExcept Hawaii. The H-1 Interstate doesn't make it to California...
I am not a big sightseer, drives my wife crazy. If I want to see something I go there specifically to see that. To me it's the destination, not the journey. A personal failing perhaps, but there it is.
DeleteIt's hard to slow down and take that turn to see the worlds largest ball of postage stamps (in Nebraska) but it is enjoyable. I do realize that it's not for everyone but there is a lot of stuff to see out there!
DeleteThen again, these days I can't drive as long as I used to.
There is a lot to see out there, unfortunately, much of it doesn't interest me.
DeleteThe first time I pulled a trailer, thankfully, was up in the mountains, not another car around and my Hubby there for backup. I refuse to drive in heavy traffic and won't even consider driving on the highway. I take the frontage road ...
ReplyDeleteVery wise!
Delete