See the USA, in your Pontiac
Hey, they're all owned by GM anyway.
As I hinted before, last weekend I went out to Bethlehem, PA to visit Tamara. I split the drive out over two days because I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into. Mostly, it was a pretty easy drive. There was some awful construction in and around Indianapolis, but that was the worst of it.
The scenery on the trip became gradual more hilly and tree covered as I made my way east. Peaking in the little sliver of West Virginia that sticks up between Ohio and Pennsylvania. Just as you enter W. Virginia on I-470 you cross a bridge between two foothills and drive through a very picturesque little town on the shore of the river and up into the hills. I would have stopped to take a picture, but the exit ramp had about a 70 degree downward slope.
Things got interesting on the PA Turnpike, which is a very unique road. It has these things that the locals call 'curves' and 'ups and downs', the net result of which is that you have to use your steering wheel, even when you're not getting onto a different road! This was a very strange revelation for someone who has done almost all of his driving in the Midwest. The tunnels were also pretty cool, we don't have much call for those here. The last thing that threw me off was that there was no slower speed limit for trucks, they go just as fast as (if not much faster than) everyone else.
One other note about driving in PA (at least around Allentown and Bethlehem) there is a, seemingly accepted, practice involving left turns that would get most Pennsylnians killed out here. If you're at a stop light and the person opposite you is waiting to turn left, they will try to beat you off of the line. Meaning that as soon as the light turns green, they will floor it to try to make their turn before you enter the intersection. Now, as you probably realize, their cars aren't any faster than yours, and since they are, turning it takes them longer to clear the intersection, so you end up having to wait for them. I was not at all impressed with this practice and I couldn't believe that the locals put up with it. But it's pretty easy to get away with since they don't have front mounted license plates, you can't identify them easily.
Tamara's working at a very wealthy, small, religious college. The 'dorm' she was staying in was like a condo. I still can't imagine college kids coming out of the things on their way to class.
She's finally coming home next weekend.
-Tim
As I hinted before, last weekend I went out to Bethlehem, PA to visit Tamara. I split the drive out over two days because I wasn't really sure what I was getting myself into. Mostly, it was a pretty easy drive. There was some awful construction in and around Indianapolis, but that was the worst of it.
The scenery on the trip became gradual more hilly and tree covered as I made my way east. Peaking in the little sliver of West Virginia that sticks up between Ohio and Pennsylvania. Just as you enter W. Virginia on I-470 you cross a bridge between two foothills and drive through a very picturesque little town on the shore of the river and up into the hills. I would have stopped to take a picture, but the exit ramp had about a 70 degree downward slope.
Things got interesting on the PA Turnpike, which is a very unique road. It has these things that the locals call 'curves' and 'ups and downs', the net result of which is that you have to use your steering wheel, even when you're not getting onto a different road! This was a very strange revelation for someone who has done almost all of his driving in the Midwest. The tunnels were also pretty cool, we don't have much call for those here. The last thing that threw me off was that there was no slower speed limit for trucks, they go just as fast as (if not much faster than) everyone else.
One other note about driving in PA (at least around Allentown and Bethlehem) there is a, seemingly accepted, practice involving left turns that would get most Pennsylnians killed out here. If you're at a stop light and the person opposite you is waiting to turn left, they will try to beat you off of the line. Meaning that as soon as the light turns green, they will floor it to try to make their turn before you enter the intersection. Now, as you probably realize, their cars aren't any faster than yours, and since they are, turning it takes them longer to clear the intersection, so you end up having to wait for them. I was not at all impressed with this practice and I couldn't believe that the locals put up with it. But it's pretty easy to get away with since they don't have front mounted license plates, you can't identify them easily.
Tamara's working at a very wealthy, small, religious college. The 'dorm' she was staying in was like a condo. I still can't imagine college kids coming out of the things on their way to class.
She's finally coming home next weekend.
-Tim
posted by tjmcardl | 3:34 PM
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