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Like.. pants made out of carp?
Imagine Lulu in fish pants.
Carpe denim?
I'll tell you this for free: driving through Arkansas and Tennessee is a damned sight more pleasant than driving through West Texas.
What are the differences?
I'll tell you this for free: driving through Arkansas and Tennessee is a damned sight more pleasant than driving through West Texas.What are the differences?
Geographic.
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Mountains and hills, likely. Never been to Texas, and rarely in Arkansas, but Tennessee has plenty of beautiful mountains and hills.I'll tell you this for free: driving through Arkansas and Tennessee is a damned sight more pleasant than driving through West Texas.What are the differences?
The drive from Dallas to El Paso is a long, hot drive with no trees or scenery other than barren wasteland and oil fields.
The drive from Dallas to Nashville (and then north on 65) is nothing but forests and hills and the occasional hawk or deer.
We arrived in Ashland late yesterday afternoon. It was 102 F. For them, another near-record-setting weekend. For us, another typical day in Ashland. It’s terrifying the kind of weather we bring to these poor folks.
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Carpe denim?Like.. pants made out of carp?
Imagine Lulu in fish pants.
BigNorseWolf gets cookies.
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It’s probably the introvert in me, but on my last day of vacation, I love to get up early, pack up, and race home so I can spend the late afternoon and evening “decompressing”. The rest of the group, even Impus Minor (who’s usually like me), wants to spend a leisurely morning and afternoon in Ashland, then drive home tonight.
If it were 77, I’d happily join them. At 87, I’d think, “That’s pretty warm, but tolerable.” At today’s predicted high of 97, I’m wondering why we're venturing into direct sunlight at all…
Mountains and hills, likely. Never been to Texas, and rarely in Arkansas, but Tennessee has plenty of beautiful mountains and hills.I'll tell you this for free: driving through Arkansas and Tennessee is a damned sight more pleasant than driving through West Texas.What are the differences?The drive from Dallas to El Paso is a long, hot drive with no trees or scenery other than barren wasteland and oil fields.
The drive from Dallas to Nashville (and then north on 65) is nothing but forests and hills and the occasional hawk or deer.
Sounds nice, actually.
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So here’s a question: Anyone know why Washington state does its bizarre speed traps the way it does?
As you’re driving along, Google Maps cheerfully announces, “Speed trap ahead!” It’s shown on the map. As you approach, you typically see 2 Washington state troopers idling in their cars with the lights going. Unless you’re driving completely obliviously, you can’t get caught.
Obviously, the point is to slow traffic rather than to write tickets, and I appreciate that gesture at preventative rather than punitive enforcement. But it seems like an awfully expensive approach: In California, even one of those cheap portable, “Your current speed is x mph,” signs does a surprisingly good job of slowing traffic. Do you really need two on-duty officers every 2-3 miles for a stretch of 20 miles? Seems like an awfully expensive approach.
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Oh, and remind me to post about Oregon drivers once I have a real keyboard. Once you’re away from I-5, they’re the most lawful, polite, competent drivers I’ve ever encountered. For a (mostly) lawful somewhat obsessive-compulsive, it was a joy to drive there. Set cruise control at exactly the speed limit and everyone is happy with you. Signal and you’ll be let in. Even if you screw up and have to cross 2 lanes, they let you through and nobody honks. Lane precedence is obeyed. Full stops at Stop signs are a thing.
Hi thinks it’s the 1:1 ratio between dispensaries and Starbucks that does it. I suspect that Oregon puts ALL of its bad drivers on I-5 at once to make sure no one ever wants to drive in Oregon, making the rest of the highways downright pleasant.
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So its the Anti Jersey?
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So its the Anti Jersey?
Definitely anti-California. I've never driven in Jersey, but both Boston and Chicago are supposed to be terrible, and Boston rated, "A bit better than California," while Chicago rated, "I feel terrible for bullying such timid drivers."
New York and Jersey are at least as infamous as California, so one day I'll compare. But seriously: lane changes in heavy traffic in California have devolved into, "Who has the nicer car, and therefore more to lose?"
It's an eternal game of chicken. And I drive a beat-up 16-year-old Prius.
"That man? He has nothing to lose. Let him in.'
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So its the Anti Jersey?Definitely anti-California. I've never driven in Jersey, but both Boston and Chicago are supposed to be terrible, and Boston rated, "A bit better than California," while Chicago rated, "I feel terrible for bullying such timid drivers."
New York and Jersey are at least as infamous as California, so one day I'll compare. But seriously: lane changes in heavy traffic in California have devolved into, "Who has the nicer car, and therefore more to lose?"
It's an eternal game of chicken. And I drive a beat-up 16-year-old Prius.
"That man? He has nothing to lose. Let him in.'
Washington is the same way. On surface streets in town. Get on the interstate or some country roads and all bets are off. But the surface streets are filled with stoners too afraid to go over 30 in a 35 mph zone.
If anyone ever says that moving 150 pound coping units into place around the edge of a swimming pool by themselves is easy they're lying.
Unless it's me.
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Well, I coloured in several different cells on several different Excel sheets, so don't talk to me about physically demanding labour.
I also saw an ad for a 'psychedelic festival', which I thought I might quite like, but the sort of psychedelic music they were on about was just crap techno with digeridoo or Tibetan monk samples on top, and you'd also have to put up with both 'cacao rituals', 'grief rituals', and probably compulsory Hot Ghost Yoga as well. No thanks.
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This morning, we did the four-hour "Grand Avenue" tour at Mammoth Caves.
When I was booking the tour tickets online, I looked at tge fact that they listed a four-miles-in-four-hours as "strenuous" and thought, "Give me a Spocking break."
I run. I hike. I swim. This pace can't possibly be considered "strenuous".
Unless you read the full description, which mentions the 1,411 stairs. It's a lot of up and down in the semi-dark on slippery ground.
Was it amazing?
Yes, it was abso-Spocking-lutely amazing. We had a good guide who waw full of stories about the geology and history of the caves. The formations were beautiful.
And I am exhausted.
We're not going to hit our stopping place until 1130 tonight. And we have 11 more hours to go tomorrow to reach Lake Champlain.
Woohoo.
Because I will be attaching 150 pound slabs of stone to the edge of a swimming pool tomorrow I decided to get something I've never gotten before (growing up abjectly poor and all). A beach towel.
I figure if I plan on falling in I won't actually fall in.
Plus, you know, it's always good to have a towel on you.
...Oregon driver stuff...Washington is the same way. On surface streets in town. Get on the interstate or some country roads and all bets are off. But the surface streets are filled with stoners too afraid to go over 30 in a 35 mph zone.
I'm afraid it's been Californicated since you were there. The change in attitude is palpable immediately after you cross the border, even on the coastal highways.
California can infect anywhere. Which is why I'm trying not to leave to anywhere other Californians go.
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We made it to Cleveland.
Whee.
I get to sleep in a real bed for six hours.
Oh, come on!
That game is on sale too?!
*sigh*
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Why I love working outside this time of the year.
In the last week I've seen 3 baby deer and 5 baby wild turkeys.
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New York has the nicest looking highway rest stops I've ever seen, in sort of a Disneyland-meets-New England kind of way.
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Why I love working outside this time of the year.
In the last week I've seen 3 baby deer and 5 baby wild turkeys.
And literally five minutes after posting this a mother deer and twin fawns walked past me ten feet away.
Oh, come on!
That game is on sale too?!
*sigh*
Seeing as to how this is directly after lm's post, I must assume that they are related. Therefore, the game of "lisamarlene gets to sleep in a real bed in Cleveland for 6 hours" is on sale.
I expect that Freehold would appreciate a link.
Hey, if a story about a guy watching someone sleep can become a multimillion dollar success, why can't a game?
New York has the nicest looking highway rest stops I've ever seen, in sort of a Disneyland-meets-New England kind of way.
I take pride in our rest stops.
That said, I hope you don't end up in a bad one that looks like a place where serial killers hang out.
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Hmm... My day might get interesting. Both GothBard and Impus Major volunteered to pick me up from the airport after I dropped off the car. I texted both of them and got no response. I may just be exploring our wonderful public transportation system in a bit.
Ah, well, I can first text Impus Minor to find out what's going on.
EDIT: And Impus Minor comes through! Gotta get that boy his license!
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Whenever I tell car rental company nightmare stories (and I have many), I like to finish off on an upbeat note by telling everyone about the rental company in Ireland that was silly enough to rent a car to an American who had already admitted he was going to drive it around the Ring of Kerry, then didn't bat an eye when it came back with a cracked windshield and a missing hubcap, said, "Ah, it's pretty much what we expect," and didn't charge me a dime.
The Oakland Airport Avis may manage to make that same list:
(1) For the first time in YEARS, I reserved a minivan, and received exactly the car I asked for. It didn't matter that the car sucked; it mattered that I got exactly what I wanted. And when I arrived to pick it up there was a line of about 60 people. They managed the entire line in just over an hour, which was no small feat considering the number of people who had to spend time yelling at the counterpeople for having the audacity to make them wait at all.
(2) The minivan had only 18 miles on it when I got it. I added another 2026 at no charge. On the way home, a rock cracked the windshield. Being (mostly) Lawful I pointed it out to the return guy. He looked at it, shrugged, said, "Meh. Just a chip," and OK'ed the return anyway. No charge.
It's sad that in this day and age giving me the car I ordered when I ordered it and then "meh"ing away incidental damage is "great" service, but I'm happy.
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It's always fun to read over the rental agreement you sign when you get a car. They put in so many unenforceable clauses that you wonder whether they had a lawyer actually check it before they put it in writing:
- They can have any necessary repairs done on your dime. Fair enough.
- If you have insurance, they can deal with your insurance company directly. Fair enough.
- They can charge you for loss of use of the vehicle while it's being repaired. Fair enough... EXCEPT, "Regardless of fleet status." In other words, even if no one wanted to rent the car, we can still charge you for loss of use. I'd fight that one in court, and likely win. You can't penalize people for lost income on income you didn't lose, no matter what you write on a piece of paper, and I didn't agree to punitive damages.
- Instead of repairing the vehicle, they can sell it and charge you the difference between the new car price and the sale price they get. I call B.S. If this were enforceable, rental companies would be financially incentivized to sell every car any renter ever damaged. Nope.
I was just smirking as I read it go from "reasonable" to "painful, but probably legal" to "you really didn't think about this, did you?"
Keeping all the paperwork in case they come back at me for the cracked windshield, but I think once the guy checked it an and accepted it, they were on the hook for the damage. I pointed it out, he ignored it. His bad.
We'll see.
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New York has the nicest looking highway rest stops I've ever seen, in sort of a Disneyland-meets-New England kind of way.
I always feel kind of spoiled traveling elsewhere , where you have to actually leave the highway and hope that the place you want to eat at didn't close at 7? What is this the dark ages?
Sure the gas costs more , but can you put a price on NOT being ax murdered?
(People forget new york city is only a very small part of the state, and is way. way. WAY down at the bottom. You hit the bear mountain bridge you start to get some banjoey areas. You pass Albany its banjos all the way to canada)
New York has the nicest looking highway rest stops I've ever seen, in sort of a Disneyland-meets-New England kind of way.
I always feel kind of spoiled traveling elsewhere , where you have to actually leave the highway and hope that the place you want to eat at didn't close at 7? What is this the dark ages?
Sure the gas costs more , but can you put a price on NOT being ax murdered?
(People forget new york city is only a very small part of the state, and is way. way. WAY down at the bottom. You hit the bear mountain bridge you start to get some banjoey areas. You pass Albany its banjos all the way to canada)
Yes, and we briefly (only about an hour) got lost in some of it.
But all along highway 8 was beautiful.And the multiple snowmobile crossing signs reminded me of home.
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For a lot of new york roads (once you leave the throughway system), as my professor from the midwest put it
"They just paved over the cow paths and called it a road"
To put in the highways, they didn't so much put in a road as tacked a sign to the existing roads
Which were just paved over cow paths.
So a VERY annoying feature is a Road taking a sharp Right while you keep going straight.
Nighty.
I should go to sleep.
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I always feel kind of spoiled traveling elsewhere , where you have to actually leave the highway and hope that the place you want to eat at didn't close at 7? What is this the dark ages?
It was bizarre driving up the Oregon coast, pulling into a decent-sized city (nearly 10,000 people) at 8:30 at night and finding out that there were only two places open for seating that late, and they both closed at 9:30 pm. Is it any wonder so many people end up at Denny’s?
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A big white-tail buck wandered into my campsite while I was making coffee this morning, and then my Coleman stove made a clanking noise and he jumped and ran away.
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Must be a tea drinker
New York has the nicest looking highway rest stops I've ever seen, in sort of a Disneyland-meets-New England kind of way.
I always feel kind of spoiled traveling elsewhere , where you have to actually leave the highway and hope that the place you want to eat at didn't close at 7? What is this the dark ages?
Going to cons is often an issue for this very reason, especially before Uber eats and the like.
Must be a tea drinker
I don't have a white tail though. It may be why I was in the area, however.
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Must be a tea drinker
Raises glass of tea.