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tephraAnd it's going to take forever to catch up on everything, even if I did have email and skimmed LJ/GJ/IJ/JF while I was gone.
Well it took 18 hours to make the drive this time, not the best of trips this year. I got a good start (for me) on the road at 8:20am (which, considering there is only one bathroom and my brother leaves for work at 5:50am and Mom leaves at 6:30, isn't that bad) and while I did forget something it wasn't important.
The problem started after I got into New York, the first toll booth for the Thruway (Canaan for those that know the area) had an "emergency" and would be "closed for some time" after I had already passed the last exit before the toll. So I sat and waited for about an hour, at which point the lack of restroom was becoming an issue. So I checked the map and decided to cross the median and head back to catch the exit for route 22 from the eastbound side... and missed it somehow. :P So back into Massachusetts I went, stopped at the service plaza and then took the first exit off the 'pike (route 20 north) which was fortunately a zero toll (as the first five exits on the Masspike are). I then drove route 20 back into New York and caught interstate 90 westbound in Albany. The sad fact is that four hours into my trip, when I would normally be about an hour past Albany, I was still in Massachusetts.
Other than that most of the drive was uneventful.
At one point in New York I was hit with a strong scent of fried chicken, in an area with nothing but farms (made a nice change from manure, that's for sure!) and I can only surmise that one of the cars I passed was running biodiesel made from the fryer grease of the local KFC. The scent was so strong I craved fried chicken for the next fifty miles.
Both border crossings were quick and painless, only two cars ahead of me both times.
About 10 kilometers before the bridge back into the US the Jeep informed me that I had a "rear lamp failure" so I need to see what burned out. At least I hope it was just one bulb burning out like the time it said "brake lamp failure" and not a major issue. I just had the shocks replaced all around so I'd like it to be a simple, cheap, fix.
Michigan treated me to quite an impressive light show while I was driving on 69 and 475. The rain must have been stored up somewhere because it was like trying to drive in a waterfall for the short stretch of 75 before the first northbound rest area. I stopped there and waited for it to lighten up because it was basically impossible to drive in.
I did continue on after about 15 minutes, though it was still a bitch to drive in it was only "raining at night on an unlit highway" and not "OMFG, did I drive into Niagara Falls?"
When I started to have problems keeping my eyes open around midnight I stopped with the intent of napping while the rain passed by. This of course meant that when I returned from the restroom the rain had stopped completely. So I opened the windows and let the cool, damp air keep me awake as I booked it that last 150 miles home.
By the time I got home (2am) I settled on just brining in the stuff I had in the cooler, called the folks to say "home and safe", petted the cats, bathroom, PJs, bed.
Speaking of cats, mine must comfort/boredom eat, the younger ones are a pair of butterballs.
Well it took 18 hours to make the drive this time, not the best of trips this year. I got a good start (for me) on the road at 8:20am (which, considering there is only one bathroom and my brother leaves for work at 5:50am and Mom leaves at 6:30, isn't that bad) and while I did forget something it wasn't important.
The problem started after I got into New York, the first toll booth for the Thruway (Canaan for those that know the area) had an "emergency" and would be "closed for some time" after I had already passed the last exit before the toll. So I sat and waited for about an hour, at which point the lack of restroom was becoming an issue. So I checked the map and decided to cross the median and head back to catch the exit for route 22 from the eastbound side... and missed it somehow. :P So back into Massachusetts I went, stopped at the service plaza and then took the first exit off the 'pike (route 20 north) which was fortunately a zero toll (as the first five exits on the Masspike are). I then drove route 20 back into New York and caught interstate 90 westbound in Albany. The sad fact is that four hours into my trip, when I would normally be about an hour past Albany, I was still in Massachusetts.
Other than that most of the drive was uneventful.
At one point in New York I was hit with a strong scent of fried chicken, in an area with nothing but farms (made a nice change from manure, that's for sure!) and I can only surmise that one of the cars I passed was running biodiesel made from the fryer grease of the local KFC. The scent was so strong I craved fried chicken for the next fifty miles.
Both border crossings were quick and painless, only two cars ahead of me both times.
About 10 kilometers before the bridge back into the US the Jeep informed me that I had a "rear lamp failure" so I need to see what burned out. At least I hope it was just one bulb burning out like the time it said "brake lamp failure" and not a major issue. I just had the shocks replaced all around so I'd like it to be a simple, cheap, fix.
Michigan treated me to quite an impressive light show while I was driving on 69 and 475. The rain must have been stored up somewhere because it was like trying to drive in a waterfall for the short stretch of 75 before the first northbound rest area. I stopped there and waited for it to lighten up because it was basically impossible to drive in.
I did continue on after about 15 minutes, though it was still a bitch to drive in it was only "raining at night on an unlit highway" and not "OMFG, did I drive into Niagara Falls?"
When I started to have problems keeping my eyes open around midnight I stopped with the intent of napping while the rain passed by. This of course meant that when I returned from the restroom the rain had stopped completely. So I opened the windows and let the cool, damp air keep me awake as I booked it that last 150 miles home.
By the time I got home (2am) I settled on just brining in the stuff I had in the cooler, called the folks to say "home and safe", petted the cats, bathroom, PJs, bed.
Speaking of cats, mine must comfort/boredom eat, the younger ones are a pair of butterballs.
