Posts Tagged ‘driving’

Road trippin’

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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Wow, it has been two tiring days on the road!  Philosopher and I set out on Thursday, ready for a coastal trip up to Northern California.  We made pit stops at the Getty Villa, Ojai, Santa Barbara, and Solvang before finding a campground in Santa Maria to settle in for the night.  The sleep was sporadic and interrupted by cars driving by, brisk air (it was in the low-mid 50s all night), and of course the uncomfortably firm ground.  Every time I tried to stretch out straight, I would find my blanket was covering my feet and it was way too to have them out.  So, reluctantly, I would pull them back in and curl up in a ball under my body pillow.

When getting things out of the car, I had accidentally locked my keys in the trunk (first time that happened to me!), so in the morning I called up AAA to break into my car for me.  It was really interesting to see their method, using an inflatable balloon pouch and a thick metal rod.  I didn’t quite imagine it being that way based on descriptions I’ve heard using clothes hangers, but hey, whatever works!  With access to all our stuff again, Philosopher and I were able to prepare for the long day ahead.

Day two consisted of a lot of winding roads, driving up and down mountains, and in and out of cloud/marine layer coverage.  I feel at once windblown and sunshone (yeah, yeah, not a term but what would you say?).  This time went from Santa Maria to Pismo Beach to San Luis Obispo, then out to the coast again to drive along the 1.  We took some time at Carmel-by-the-Sea to enjoy the town and beach, then continued on to Santa Cruz and finally San Jose.  While waiting for dinner at BJ’s and looking for another campground, we decided to go for more traditional lodging.  After all, we weren’t having much luck finding a place and it’s been a long two days without proper rest, so I don’t mind rewarding myself with a nice bed and shower.

Luckily, I was able to find the Larkspur Landing Hotel in Campbell, which was offering a really reasonable rate.  There’s free wifi, breakfast, cookies, and a business center, fitness center, and laundry room.  What’s most valuable is a warm and cozy bed, as well as a hot shower!  There’s no need to suffer and doing the whole camping thing another night was turning out to be too much trouble.  I can finally charge up my phone again and start tomorrow afresh.  By dinnertime, we will be meeting up with Panda and I’m really excited for that.  🙂

Carmegeddon

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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All day, Angelenos have been bracing themselves for the 405 shutdown, which has been dubbed “Carmageddon” due to the potential for massive gridlock across the city as traffic diverts elsewhere.  As it is, the 405 is known for terrible traffic conditions, so we were really unsure of what would happen when a 10-mile stretch of the northbound side (approximately from the 10 freeway to the 101 freeway) and a 4-mile stretch of the southbound side was closed for the weekend.  Anyone trying to get over into the San Fernando Valley would have to find an alternate route, ranging from PCH along the coast to the 101/170 or 5 further inland.

We’ve been hearing warnings for over a month, with traffic condition signs flashing: “405 Closed 10 to 101, July 16-17 Expect Big Delays”  It’s been over the news and I’ve heard that even people in Norcal up to the Oregon border were notified!  Caltrans sure worked hard to make sure that as many people knew as possible so locals could plan to stay in and visitors could schedule around the weekend.  As we got closer, we were even told about an app called Waze that could provide us with GPS routes based on traffic conditions to help us get around the congestion.

So Friday afternoon, people started leaving work (wishing each other a Happy Carmegeddon), hoping to get home before the craziness.  Many even stayed at home that day so they wouldn’t have to deal with or contribute to the evening traffic.  By the time I was getting out around 6, the freeways looked clear.  They never looked like at on a weekday!  I was originally going to wait until 8 or 9 to head home so I could avoid the commuter’s clog, but since it looked so good I packed up and left around 6:30.

It was the most amazing commute I ever had.  Even with normal free-flowing traffic, there are still a lot of cars on the road, but this time it was so much more empty.  I only saw one car using the carpool lane, and that wasn’t for lack of carpoolers!  They just didn’t need it.  The only time I really had to slow down was up by the Getty Center, where there had been a crash that needed to get moved over so we could squeeze by.

Thanks to Carmegeddon for freeing up the roads before the closure.  It made my life a lot easier that night!  We’ll see how the rest of the weekend pans out.  I’m steering clear until Sunday night.

In training

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , , ,
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I saw this training bus one morning on my way to work and couldn’t help but admire its simplicity. None of the noisy ads we’re used to seeing

training bus with no markings driving around los angeles

It's a beautiful color, one of my favorite, I'd say.

Speed trap

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , ,
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Today on my drive home, I saw a car get pulled over about a mile behind me.  It made me think about how often I see cars pulled over at the Magic Mountain exit of the 5 North.  From the moment you get over the hump into the Santa Clarita Valley, the 5 becomes a fast ride.  It’s hard not to get carried away with all the speeding cars around you and I always have to be extra careful that I don’t drive too fast.  I wonder if I passed that very same highway patrol who caught that car I saw in my rearview mirror.  I assume that I had, and of course didn’t even notice.  Good thing I was driving the speed limit, unlike a lot of my neighbors on the road.

Just as I was thinking about all the cops I’d seen along Magic Mountain Parkway or Tourney road, I turned off the exit to that very spot and lo and behold, there were two cop cars there.  This time it was just because of an SUV that had to be towed, but usually it’s because someone got caught along the speed trap the 5 becomes at that point.  From Stevenson Ranch all the way up to Castaic, it’s a huge stretch of light traffic (most of the time) and motorists get too reckless.

I remember my dad telling me about another small speed trap area – that part of Magic Mountain Pkwy leading into Valencia.  The road is wide, there isn’t much around you, and you got used to freeway speeds, so when you get there, it’s easy to get back up to 60 or more.  There’s plenty of space on the shoulder to allow a cop to lie in wait and while I haven’t seen anyone pulled over, I do catch myself going over the 50 MPH sometimes.  It’s harder to recognize how fast you’re going when the road is so wide and empty.  You don’t have that much around you to gauge your speed either.  It definitely takes some vigilance to stay within the limit.

Incapacitated or incompetent?

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , ,
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I couldn’t tell – did this guy just not care about how poorly he drove or was he too high too notice? And what did the other person/people in the car think?! Just gotta love LA drivers. -___-

This went on along the 405 South from the Getty to the 10! Unbelievable.

bad driver from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Worst intersection

laelene Posted in photo blog,Tags: , , ,
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There were so many cameras it was ridiculous. I swear they’ve got a dozen at least.

intersection with dozens of cameras set up to catch red light violations

Seriously? You need THAT many cameras at ONE intersection? Must be quite the troubled spot!

Drenched

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , , ,
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It’s been a really wet season for many months now and I don’t think a single month has gone by since late fall where we didn’t get a rainstorm.  Today’s was particularly hard and driving on the I-5 was pretty crazy!  The worst of it was worse than anything I remember experiencing in New York.

pouring rain from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

low visibility from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Steam cloud

laelene Posted in video blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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Hey, what’s all that steam gushing out from the mountain?

getty steaming from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Vehicular expression

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , ,
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I think it’s really interesting how a car-obsessed nation chooses to use vehicles as a form of personal expression.  From the basics like model and color of the car to the ornamentation that is added to it, Americans really get into their cars.  And, in a sense, they really exercise their freedom to express themselves in more ways than one.  Oftentimes it can get pretty personal and revealing.  It’s at once fascinating and bizarre (yet completely accepted in mainstream culture).

Take bumper stickers, license plate frames, and other stick-ons, for example.  They express political views, personal life details, a certain sense of humor, or a way of life (among other things).  I see cars with bumper stickers supporting the candidate they’re voting for or advocating world peace.  I see cars with license plate frames joking about how they’re a spoiled princess or proudly declaring that they’re the world’s best mom/dad/grandma/grandpa.  I see cars with plastic stick-on stick figures outlining each member of the family – parents, children, and pets alike.  Then there are the dedications to a loved one lost.  It’s amazing the variety of things you can put on the back of your car for all to see.

Of course there’s also the license plate itself.  Everyone has to identify the state in which they reside, but many go beyond that and get fun backgrounds and custom characters.  In California, there is space for 7 letters or symbols and it’s amusing all the things people come up with.  I’ll have to compile some pictures sometime.  Most of these often take a bit of interpretation, since a lot of the letters have to be missing to fit the parameters.

Now let’s not forget the interiors as well.  Do you have a tassel dangling from your rear view mirror?  Or maybe a scented dolphin to freshen up the air?  Oh, and what about that flaming steering wheel cover you use and the Hello Kitty head rest covers?  Right… that’s not weird.  I never really understood people who had to cover up the insides of their cars, unless the steering wheel cover was a grippy one because the original got worn so smooth it became slippery.  Still, plenty of people adorn their seats with their odd taste in cartoon characters or cute little animals.  Let’s not even delve into the tissue box in the back with a pastel yellow cover and flowers sewn on top.  Really?  The Kleenex box designs just didn’t cut it for you?  It’s not like the box will get cold, you know…

Yeah.  Americans LOVE their cars and use it as the ultimate form of self expression.  Whoever knew that revealing these random details about your personality and preferences to complete strangers you’ll never even speak to would be such a popular phenomenon?  I learn a lot about the people driving in the traffic around me just with a glimpse of their car.  Truly amazing, and perhaps sometimes TMI.

Thanksgiving traffic nightmare!

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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Ok, I get it, people (especially Americans) love their holidays.  But really, do you have to clog my commute on the rare occasion I get off of work early?  It would have been great getting off work today at 3 except for the fact that I had to drive for three and a half hours to get home!  Seriously?!?!  I mean, I was grateful when my morning commute was only an hour (compared to the typical 1.5-2 hrs), but that was MORE than made up for at night when I still didn’t manage to get home before the sun set.

I fully went through two bags of Veggie Straws & Chips, a huge bottle of water (from my KOR ONE hydration vessel), and my handy dandy tea mug.  And that was still with an hour and a half to go.  By that time I had to urinate so bad that I couldn’t bear to pull out my final “bottle” of water (it was in an anti-bottle, actually) to drink.  I was crawling at about 2-3 MPH for a good 3-5 miles as the 405 merged into the 5.  It was absolute insanity!  Why can’t people commute to their families tomorrow during the day, when I’m not exhausted from work and driving?

I’m definitely going to rest as much as I can this long weekend after that ordeal!

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