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So grandson Roberto turns four this month, big party this Sunday. Of course, he expects us to be there, so Friday was a travel day. Great fun ...
Not really.
Waze was determined to take me off the interstate at every turn. I mean I understand, traffic in western Connecticut was awful, I decided to go over the Tappen Zee. Traffic there wasn't much better, but better than the GW Bridge.
It's also construction season, seems like every couple of miles on the New Jersey Turnpike had construction on it. In northern New Jersey we had a rain squall which dropped visibility to near zero in mere seconds. At 65 mph. Scary, but it lifted quickly. Not fast enough for some folks northbound on the Garden State Parkway, a three car fender bender had that side of the highway at a standstill for a few miles.
As we ventured into Delaware there was a massive storm to the west and north, saw scattered showers and lots of lightning on our trek down Route 13. Just before the Delaware bridge the wind came up and was pushing us around on the road, fortunately it quit as we crossed the bridge.
Crossing into the Annapolis area, we saw smoke billowing across the highway.
Car fire.
At a gas station.
Saw three fire trucks headed in that direction as we motored along.
A little too much adventure for one day.
An epic week, Foo Fighters last Sunday, long drive to the Old Line State, and a grandson party on Sunday. It truly doesn't get any better than this.
Well, it could if ALL of the kids and grandkids could be here. Aw, maybe next year.
Be seeing you.
Ciao!
Ah! Another typical San Francisco Bay Area commute. The city in which I live has been doing "road improvements" for most of the last year and the efforts to "improve the flow of traffic" are near fruition. In order to encourage more traffic downtown the City Council and Planners decided that taking away a lane of motor vehicle traffic to add protected bike lanes would be a Good Thing. https://www.srcity.org/ImageRepository/Document?documentID=21322
ReplyDeleteTo make that even better there are short bollards at the edge of the Bike Safety Zone - which is different than the Bike Lane - to make sure that cars can't hit the bikies.
Yep...make it harder to drive downtown really encourages traffic in the stagnating city core.
Joe, Thanks for reading, my not as yet published comment below, and providing an excellent example thereof!
Deletejuvat
Joe - More bike lanes, yes, because they do so much shopping ...
DeleteGeez.
Juvat - A most excellet example.
DeleteHave fun, Sarge, and drive safe! There’s an awful lot of Stupid out there!
ReplyDeletejuvat
Saw a lot of that yesterday.
DeleteWe used to head up to Great Barrington (Monterey, really) every Fri (left early to avoid the Hassidim rushing to get home before sunset) and back on Sun from Thanksgiving to St. Paddy's from just east of JFK using (usually) the Hutch to 684 through Westchchester to 84 and then either 7 or 8, choice made after "throwing chicken bones" (taught the kids how to read them, too). We used to fly up; 'bout an hour± (stayed out of NY; they only feed the state troopers in NYS M-Th). Then again it was winter.
ReplyDeleteThe rod network from western CT to northern NJ always seems to be clogged. We went down maybe six times during COVID and there was hardly any traffic. When things returned to normal, I realized that I was spoiled.
DeleteCar fires. Never used to hear about them very often. These days they seem to be a very frequent event. I wonder if they are traditional fires caused by leaky fuel/oil lines near the engine, or are related to the awesome wonderfulness of coal powered cars with humongous expensive batteries in them. Apparently the latter are nearly impossible to extinguish, and must be allowed to burn themselves out (in several hours) while watering them to minimize the heat and danger of spreading.
ReplyDeleteNice to see you practicing for retirement.
Let the Muse run off and do whatever she likes, she's been good to you lately.
JB
I couldnt see the type of car, wrong side of the road, traveling too fast, and there was lots of smoke. But yeah, that seems to be a frequent occurrence with the "eco-friendly" vehicles. (Which are anything but, ever see a lithium mine?)
DeleteJB, EVs are far less likely to burn than hybrids or ICE vehicles. EV fires get the 144 point, rubricated headlines because of the sensationalism, but are not as common as the press and social media make out. http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/environment-energy-coordination/climate-matters/EV-less-fire-risk#:~:text=Data%20from%20the%20National%20Transportation,fires%20for%20every%20100%2C000%20sold.
Delete"Kelly Blue Book reported on findings from a study that shows EV are actually less likely to cause or be involved in fires than gasoline-powered or hybrid vehicles.1 Data from the National Transportation Safety Board showed that EVs were involved in approximately 25 fires for every 100,000 sold. Comparatively, approximately 1,530 gasoline-powered vehicles and 3,475 hybrid vehicles were involved in fires for every 100,000 sold.
Reporting from other countries supports the assertion that EVs are less fire-prone than gas-powered vehicles.2 Data from Norway, Sweden, and Australia is consistent with findings in the U.S., showing that the prevalence of EV fires remains relatively low."
I know, I know, "BUT THEY BURN AT A GAZILLION DEGREES!" And ICE cars burn hotter than covered wagons. Firefighting technology will catch up to the relatively new hazard, and batteries seem to be moving away from Lithium Ion technology towards more stable and efficient media.
The infrastructure isn't there to support everyone having an electric car. I don't think it ever will be.
DeleteSarge, having done more than my share of travel (local and cross state) in the last few months, I cannot tell you how much I am coming to hate travel, whether by car or by airplane. Crowds, lines, traffic, accidents - it really makes for no fun when I arrive to my destination.
ReplyDeleteA homebody in my mid-50's. My father and grandfathers would be impressed by my progress.
Too many idiots out in public. We've lost all sense of courtesy and manners.
Delete