Drove back from Mom’s house yesterday. There was a bit of snow on the ground, but the interstates were dry and in pretty good shape. The GPS in the car directed us to take a southern route that saved us about $10 in tolls over the PA turnpike route. We didn’t ask it to do that – it’s just the route that we were asked to take.
Some observations:
Traffic was remarkably well-behaved until we hit Baltimore, where we ran into the left-lane obstacle patrol. We had six straight hours of driving, all about at the speed limit (+/- 5 mph) and then we met them. Ohio, PA, W. Va drivers seemed to understand – drive on the right, pass on the left. I hate to pass cars on the right side, but from Baltimore on, it was a necessity. Most of those truly clueless left lane bandits were talking on their cell phones as I passed them on the right. I’m thinking that they must have been federal government employees on their way home…..
Another annoying thing was the drivers that ignored the large backup in one lane and zoomed down the other soon-to-be-closed lane at top speed only to merge at the last minute. Hey, everyone that read the signs and moved over in anticipation of the lane closure had to slam brakes thanks to your lousy cut-in-at-the-last-second driving. We’ve all seen these guys. I hope that you’re not one of them. Every time that we saw a sign like the one on the right, we were likely to see some of this really bad behavior. Admittedly, I did ride in the closed lane once or twice (at the speed of the merged lane) just to hold back that traffic. Hope that I p*ssed them off.
We drove about 500 miles only one day after a major snow storm. Kudos to the state governments. They did a stellar job in clearing the roadways. Except for some salty spray thrown up by tires ahead of us, the snowstorm did not affect our journey at all.
I am impressed by our new Nissan Versa. We did 8 hours of driving with just two short breaks. The driving position was comfortable and the mileage was awesome – I expected to sacrifice some comfort for economy, but it wasn’t necessary. The little car did a stellar job. On other trips, I have found myself moving the seat back or the seat position after a while, trying to get comfortable. It just wasn’t necessary in this car.
After about four hours, a dog on your lap starts to be a problem – whether you are driving or not. Fortunately, there was another lap in the car.
I believe that there should be an easy way to tell that obnoxious lady in the GPS box that you’re taking a fuel/restroom/snack break. “Recalculating route…. Make a legal U turn at the next intersection….Recalculating route…” Oh well, you have to take the good with the bad. That’s our Magellan GPS there on the right. We have had it for a little over a year, and it’s been a great help. However, it’s still nice to have an atlas in the car – just to check on things. When we were sent south, instead of north to the PA turnpike, it would have been nice to check on the route instead of blindly obeying the nice lady in the box.
My son cleared a spot for our car and a path to the kitchen door, making our arrival much easier than it might have been. Thanks, pal.
In the mail today we received some photos from my daughter, Melody. Thanks, sweetheart!
Hey, guess what? It looks like the health care bill is going to pass the senate on Christmas eve. We don’t want this bill. It promises less care at more cost and creates a whole new entitlement system that the government can’t afford. We’re getting it rammed down our throats anyway. The only way it’s passing is because the senate leaders have bought individual votes with our tax money.
We’re going to need this health care legislation – it’s making me sick already.
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