Category: Travel

I have never in my life been through such a screwed up city. I thought LA freeways were screwed up.

Houston takes the prize!

Part of the freeway instruction is painted on the roadway. OK I can deal with that. So you start following the indicators on the freeway, picture this you’re in a new town with crazy traffic and you’re being led through the absolute middle of the city. Then the markings stop and there’s no signage that says anything convenient or useful like I-10 This way!

Needless to say, I ended up lost. The navigation system was confused and having a hard time locking on satellites due to the overpasses. After a while I just turned the nav off then looked at the city map and chose a direction. I figured if I could just get the hell out of the madness of the city I could correct and get back to the I-10. That technique worked but I ended up in Pasadena and had to pay a 2.00 toll to get back to the 10, on the eastern side of the city

I was taking the I-10 you know, the freeway that connects the West Coast to the East Coast? A main thoroughfare…

Those people really need to make some signage that directs travelers around their insanity it would probably help their traffic woes just by keeping travelers out of the city.

But wait, there was an accident too, that plus the Texans propensity to never, ever, break the speed limit, even to avoid an accident or let someone change lanes meant that I lost 2.5 hours to the craziness.

While a Texan won’t break the speed limit, they’ll roll through a stop sign or a red light without any thought. They’ll cut 18 wheelers off with less than 1/2 a car length and expect the 18 wheeler to be able to stop.

By the time I got to Beaumont I’d finally calmed down.

Had another unique experience in Louisiana. There was an accident or something and I was stuck on a bridge over a swamp for about an hour. I watched the wildlife in the cypresses and actually didn’t mind the delay too much.

 

I blasted through New Mexico without stopping. Then I entered Texas. GOD what a long drive.

Nothing much to report. I stopped at a neat rest station and took a couple of photos.

One bright spot was that the Speed Limit was 80, which meant most people were doing 90 or 100. I finally packed it in in San Antonio. Got my first good nights sleep in four days.

Now on to Houston.

Got a late start, really late!

Made it to Tucson, AZ.

Haven’t really slept well for the past two nights, so I thought this was a good stopping point.

A short time after I crossed the AZ border things looked a lot greener. Guess it was the Colorado river helping to green things up a bit. Some of the desert wildflowers were blooming alongside the roadway and at sunset it was really pretty.

Mind you, I didn’t think to take a picture, Ooops!

I’m here in a nice hotel, well nice may be an overstatement. Clean would be a better descriptor. A “nice” hotel would be The Four Seasons.

Hey, a guy has to have standards!

My car loves long runs like this. I’m getting around 30 mpg plus or minus. The car hasn’t liked the tank of gas I got in Blythe. I’d have been better off buying in Redlands. I’d have easily made it to Phoenix and the prices are better.

The first part of the trip I was getting 30 mpg, After the fill up in Blythe it’s down to 28.

I’ll fill up tomorrow morning and see what happens. I’m guessing I’ll get between 26 (rated) and 29. Not bad for a “Gas Guzzler”

I’m a hell of a lot more efficient than the motorhomes and toy haulers.

Why am I taking this trip? Family issues.

I had to leave my dive gear behind because the weather is such a mess.

I’m kinda bummed about that. I was hoping to play with the manatees in Crystal River and maybe get in some diving off of Anna Maria Island. It was a favorite swimming / snorkeling spot as a kid and I always wished I could stay under water longer.

I just couldn’t fit everything for an extended stay, cold weather gear either for my stay in FL or when I return to CA, and my diving stuff.

Note to self, Need to find a smaller more compact dive bag.

The bag I have would have worked if it were two inches shorter.  The way it had to fit in the trunk dictated where so much else went that, in the end I couldn’t make it work.

Maybe another trip when the weather isn’t running quite the gamut it is now.

88˚ F through California and Arizona. 1/2 of Texas will be in the 80s and 90s, then I can look forward to frost advisories and potential ice in Georgia and Florida?

Say WHAT?

So I packed the essentials,

Foul weather rain gear,  Down Jacket, snow boots, Ice AX, sled, sled dogs, shorts & flip flops. No, not really, But that’s what it seemed like.

Humm. I think I’ve watched “The Day After Tomorrow” once too often.

Time to sleep

I snapped a couple of photos at 80 MPH. Hey if folks can text while driving I can snap a couple of photos. But they haven’t showed up on my computer yet. I’ll add them when they’re accessible.

Believe me there were a lot of folks texting and driving today.

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By the way, and this is really cool.

I’m using my iPhone hotspot with a T-Mobile LTE connection to create and post this entry. You know what’s scary? This LTE connection is darn near as fast as my DSL modem at home.

OK I’m impressed!