mojo
10-16-2002, 05:16 PM
aight, i'm finally in a frame of mind to report on the drive itself across the country. like the grand canyon, it's a thing i would recommend you do on your own. it wasn't that expensive, either. gas was roughly $300 or less for me (i got 30 mpg in the bmw, loaded with all my worldly possessions). i got a hotel room once, although i should have twice (showering can be a necessity :P...although you can get showers in non-hotel places as i did find out). but i slept mostly in rest areas off the freeway. it was safe, as i picked areas already populated with truckers and stuff that tend to watch for each other parked in a locked car in the light, etc.
thanks to the wonders of my sleep disorders, i was able to make the trip in 3 days (3 long days, not 3 short ones). if you count my full day layover in ohio, it was 4. but since i wasnt driving toward my destination, i didn't count it. i also drove mostly at night, as there was no real traffic between, say, 11p and 5a in most of the country.
everything was beautiful for the most part. arizona was very scenic, with the grand canyon and the open desert. new mexico was my favorite, with the open desert...and i swear i could see every star in the sky at night (that's where i'd want to drive through all over again). albequerque was a beatiful city, all lit up at night, coming down the hill. it smelled nice, the freeways were done well architecturally. i couldn't tell you much about texas really, as i just drove through the panhandle. oklahoma seemed very much like the western movies, with (home, home on) the range and such. missouri was...well, it was great, with the rock formations and caves and stuff. i have no idea why people complain about it there, aside from things being remote. illinois was like...woah...civilization again. indiana was like, even more civilization and plenty of stuff to confuse you. ohio was a little more remote than indiana, but also very beautiful. i didn't make it up to michigan (sorry whitak), but northern ohio reminded me somewhat of when i did live in michigan, as far as the freeways go. now, pennsylvania was...well, it's just freakin huge. it took me all day to get through this damned state. what's with that?
aaanyways, then there are the people. the few people i met from arizona were aight. one dude prolonged my trip through there by giving me bad directions to the grand canyon. i'm all "hey, it looks like this freeway goes straight there on my map." he's all "nah, you take this other out of the way freeway straight there...that other one doesnt go near it." of course i gave him the wrong number freeway, but it was a similar number as one that went straight there. i believe i even saw it when i got there...and it looked a lot like an hour potentially saved to me. now, correct me if i'm wrong, but if i ask directions from someone that lives in a certain area, and i say "hey, it looks like freeway xyz goes to my destination"...and they know good and well that it's freeway xzz instead...that it's perfectly fine to correct me and say it's xzz instead of making me take freeway abc which is clearly a longer route? call me crazy, but i didn't dig taking the long way. but other than that, arizona was still beautiful. and people there seem to be able to drive.
now, new mexico seemed to have people that could drive, too. i don't recall seeing a lot of them, so that just increases the percentage, i'm sure. it came and went, for which i'm sad. if nm had a beach, i'd consider moving there.
one thing i gotta say about texas: respect. i have a huge amount of respect for a lot of texans. i'm still on the fence about whether that has a lot to do with the gunracks in the back windows of their trucks or not. maybe it's a subconscious thing. maybe it's conscious. maybe it doesn't matter, cuz that's a friggin gun in the back window, and i'll just watch my step.
oklahoma. they can drive, but they gotta watch for when the wind kicks up. i saw some lady almost drive off the road in a high-wind area. i followed her as far as i could just in case.
missouri was kinda fun. people were kinda laid back. they were intent on getting places. it rained, so they were hustling a bit, but in a laid back way. and they were friendly.
illinois was my first encounter with a bunch of people that seemed intent on getting each other off the road. maybe it was a bad day there or something, but everyone was tailgating, people were unsure about their turns. i wasn't too sure about that drive at all. it had nice scenery, but some of those drivers had no business behind the wheel of a car. that state could stand to have excellent public transportation.
indiana seemed kinda the same as far as the drivers, but then i noticed that it's not the drivers but the poor markings of the signs and streets that was just plain confusing. i found myself appearing to drive poorly just because it took so long to get situated on the road and sure of going the right way. maybe it's just because i couldn't get used to it that i got lost there a few times, but judging by the hesitance of the locals, it looked like i wasn't alone. it was almost like it was april fools' day, and as a joke, someone went around and switched all the signs around to get everyone lost and stuff. sure, it was amusing, but i had a timetable to keep.
ohio was the end of the insanity. if you were on your way to cleveland, it said so. speed limits were posted. after my trip to my friend's house, i just took the turnpike out. it was a nice little community of a turnpike tho. i felt safe at the rest areas, and there's lots of stuff available for travelers.
pennsylvania was just like...well, it looks big on the map...then it looks bigger during the drive. i was like, "good lord, have i really been driving this long?" then of course the turnpike toll was almost $20. i hope someone's pocket is well-lined with my money that, as a taxpayer, makes me wonder why the toll doesn't just pay for the road and go away, as opposed to providing revenue for the state. sure, i saved a few hours drive, but did i have an option that wouldn't get me lost? bill gates would be proud.
oh, but pennsylvanians can mostly drive. i have no idea how the "california stop" got that name. this move was obviously invented here, as well as perfected. maybe california added something to it, but i fail to see it after witnessing the obvious finesse with which it's executed here. oh, and they do drive pretty slow here. even in non-rush-hour traffic situations, i routinely pass cars, although i know less about where i'm going at this point than they do. but hey, maybe as a californian i just drive fast? that seems to be a stereotype that just may be true.
thanks to the wonders of my sleep disorders, i was able to make the trip in 3 days (3 long days, not 3 short ones). if you count my full day layover in ohio, it was 4. but since i wasnt driving toward my destination, i didn't count it. i also drove mostly at night, as there was no real traffic between, say, 11p and 5a in most of the country.
everything was beautiful for the most part. arizona was very scenic, with the grand canyon and the open desert. new mexico was my favorite, with the open desert...and i swear i could see every star in the sky at night (that's where i'd want to drive through all over again). albequerque was a beatiful city, all lit up at night, coming down the hill. it smelled nice, the freeways were done well architecturally. i couldn't tell you much about texas really, as i just drove through the panhandle. oklahoma seemed very much like the western movies, with (home, home on) the range and such. missouri was...well, it was great, with the rock formations and caves and stuff. i have no idea why people complain about it there, aside from things being remote. illinois was like...woah...civilization again. indiana was like, even more civilization and plenty of stuff to confuse you. ohio was a little more remote than indiana, but also very beautiful. i didn't make it up to michigan (sorry whitak), but northern ohio reminded me somewhat of when i did live in michigan, as far as the freeways go. now, pennsylvania was...well, it's just freakin huge. it took me all day to get through this damned state. what's with that?
aaanyways, then there are the people. the few people i met from arizona were aight. one dude prolonged my trip through there by giving me bad directions to the grand canyon. i'm all "hey, it looks like this freeway goes straight there on my map." he's all "nah, you take this other out of the way freeway straight there...that other one doesnt go near it." of course i gave him the wrong number freeway, but it was a similar number as one that went straight there. i believe i even saw it when i got there...and it looked a lot like an hour potentially saved to me. now, correct me if i'm wrong, but if i ask directions from someone that lives in a certain area, and i say "hey, it looks like freeway xyz goes to my destination"...and they know good and well that it's freeway xzz instead...that it's perfectly fine to correct me and say it's xzz instead of making me take freeway abc which is clearly a longer route? call me crazy, but i didn't dig taking the long way. but other than that, arizona was still beautiful. and people there seem to be able to drive.
now, new mexico seemed to have people that could drive, too. i don't recall seeing a lot of them, so that just increases the percentage, i'm sure. it came and went, for which i'm sad. if nm had a beach, i'd consider moving there.
one thing i gotta say about texas: respect. i have a huge amount of respect for a lot of texans. i'm still on the fence about whether that has a lot to do with the gunracks in the back windows of their trucks or not. maybe it's a subconscious thing. maybe it's conscious. maybe it doesn't matter, cuz that's a friggin gun in the back window, and i'll just watch my step.
oklahoma. they can drive, but they gotta watch for when the wind kicks up. i saw some lady almost drive off the road in a high-wind area. i followed her as far as i could just in case.
missouri was kinda fun. people were kinda laid back. they were intent on getting places. it rained, so they were hustling a bit, but in a laid back way. and they were friendly.
illinois was my first encounter with a bunch of people that seemed intent on getting each other off the road. maybe it was a bad day there or something, but everyone was tailgating, people were unsure about their turns. i wasn't too sure about that drive at all. it had nice scenery, but some of those drivers had no business behind the wheel of a car. that state could stand to have excellent public transportation.
indiana seemed kinda the same as far as the drivers, but then i noticed that it's not the drivers but the poor markings of the signs and streets that was just plain confusing. i found myself appearing to drive poorly just because it took so long to get situated on the road and sure of going the right way. maybe it's just because i couldn't get used to it that i got lost there a few times, but judging by the hesitance of the locals, it looked like i wasn't alone. it was almost like it was april fools' day, and as a joke, someone went around and switched all the signs around to get everyone lost and stuff. sure, it was amusing, but i had a timetable to keep.
ohio was the end of the insanity. if you were on your way to cleveland, it said so. speed limits were posted. after my trip to my friend's house, i just took the turnpike out. it was a nice little community of a turnpike tho. i felt safe at the rest areas, and there's lots of stuff available for travelers.
pennsylvania was just like...well, it looks big on the map...then it looks bigger during the drive. i was like, "good lord, have i really been driving this long?" then of course the turnpike toll was almost $20. i hope someone's pocket is well-lined with my money that, as a taxpayer, makes me wonder why the toll doesn't just pay for the road and go away, as opposed to providing revenue for the state. sure, i saved a few hours drive, but did i have an option that wouldn't get me lost? bill gates would be proud.
oh, but pennsylvanians can mostly drive. i have no idea how the "california stop" got that name. this move was obviously invented here, as well as perfected. maybe california added something to it, but i fail to see it after witnessing the obvious finesse with which it's executed here. oh, and they do drive pretty slow here. even in non-rush-hour traffic situations, i routinely pass cars, although i know less about where i'm going at this point than they do. but hey, maybe as a californian i just drive fast? that seems to be a stereotype that just may be true.