Weekend jaunt
Sep. 14th, 2019 01:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
psipsyLast weekend:
Exit 298: I drove Ai on the entire length of the Skyline Drive, and part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in the daylight, due to getting a hotel room near the north entrance of the Drive the night before. That's just from one overnight stay. It's enticing to think of what could be done with a 3-day weekend.
Exit 6: That method is a departure from my usual tactic of making a day-trip of the Drive, something that would require me to be up earlier than usual in order to get TO the Drive with enough daylight to spare for one of the segments.
Exit 264: There are 4 access points to the Drive, so 3 segments. I learned that covering all 105 miles of the Drive takes at least 4 hours (more like 5), due to the 35MPH speed limit and the inevitable stops for the various attractions. Spending a full day on the Drive is easy to do because of the various attractions. It's not a freeway for the exclusive purpose of getting from Point A to Point B.
Exit 300: In the past I would get an annual pass for just the Skyline Drive, but the prices on those have gone up enough that now I just pay the extra few bucks and get the interagency pass, which gets me into all of the national parks that charge for entrance.
Exit 227: Went on a side quest to an antique store after reaching the end of the Skyline Drive. The business model of the place is such that individuals would rent stalls, bring stuff in, put price tags on them, then a buyer would take items to the checkout. Basically a big consignment store. That by itself isn't out of the ordinary, as there are places like that everywhere, except...
Exit 221: I was aware of this particular one ahead of time, and was passively interested in visiting it seeing as how I was going to be in the relative area, but as I got closer, the passive interest turned into an itch, then an urge, then a need, and I couldn't figure out why until I arrived and walked around for about 40 minutes. I found a few things of interest but not enough to get excited for, nothing that would explain that kind of fixation on being there. Then suddenly I found a substantial amount of Lego. Ok, that would do it. Of course I bought it.
Exit 99: The bricks were sold in various quantities, via clear plastic cans and a large glass jar. The glass jar has a top that's also a lamp socket, making it a Lego-filled table lamp, so to get the bricks, I had to buy the lamp. I guess I have a lamp now.
Exit 243: The total volume of this find was about 6 gallons, and it looks like it includes a lot of specialty bricks. This combination resulted in a super-presence I was able to sense once within a range of about 40 miles.
Exit 283: Found a Radio Shack that was open and operating. A rare find these days. Its survival was due to being an independent franchise, not one of the corporate stores. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Radio Shack. (I miss Baynesville Electronics even more.)
Exit 94: VA56 from the Blue Ridge Parkway to US11 is very steep and squiggly. In good weather, roads like this are fun in cars like Ai and Nozomi. And when I get to the end of it, I can mentally hear "Donut Plains" from Super Mario World.
Exit 205: This seems to be a new rubicon for me. For some reason I never seem to go any further south than here, unless I'm zooming through for an event such as AWA or when I went to a friend's wedding. Otherwise, that's about as far as I get when I have to start heading back home because I have to be at work the next day. There's also a sense of liminality at this exit, as there are a few truck stops, 1 of which is rather large. It's a good place to cool my heels after coming off VA56, get some gas or food as needed, and then switch on the afterburners for the drive back home.
Rest area: For some reason, taking a nap in Ai is more comfortable than in Nozomi. Certainly not comfortable enough to replace a proper bed for overnight. Good for a short snooze. Might be due to Ai having cloth seats vs Nozomi's leather seats.
Food/Lodging/Fuel: While comparing offerings on Priceline, one hotel had reviews that all complained about hearing road noise, because it was right next to the highway. The one I did stay at was 1/4 mile from the exit. Close enough to be convenient, far enough away for peaceful rest. I'll probably stay at this one again for future excursions.
Exit 4: I was considering a visit to the Ocean City area instead. Hurricane Dorian was going on and I decided maybe it was best to go there on a different weekend.
Exit 40: Heading east on I-66, this is about where the DC suburbs start in earnest. Someday these suburbs and the associated retail apocalypse hellscape will creep further west as they are wont to do, but for now, this is where the line is drawn in the sand, where rural ends and the chaos begins, starting slow and building to a crescendo of madness as it approaches the I-495 Thunderdome.
Exit 273: Even as far as I got into Virginia, I still found a Sheetz easily and often. The one at this exit is probably the biggest one I know about ever since I stumbled across it back in the mid '90s. It used to have a Baskin Robbins and a Wendy's but those are long gone. One memory of that Sheetz was from back in '98, when I was coming home on a larger road trip (also with Ai), and I learned the hard way that eating an ice cream cone while driving a manual-shift car in the summer is a bad combination that resulted in getting ice cream all over my shorts and legs.
Exit 38B: Columbia MD does not have a downtown, no matter what anyone says! This "city" is really a cluster of suburbs that formed around a mall then metastasized, each one run by HOAs like 3rd-world dictatorships.
Exit 36: Ai handled the trip well. Having fresh gearbox fluid made for smooth shifting.
Right before I arrived back home, the Doors' "The End" started playing on the playlist.
Exit 298: I drove Ai on the entire length of the Skyline Drive, and part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in the daylight, due to getting a hotel room near the north entrance of the Drive the night before. That's just from one overnight stay. It's enticing to think of what could be done with a 3-day weekend.
Exit 6: That method is a departure from my usual tactic of making a day-trip of the Drive, something that would require me to be up earlier than usual in order to get TO the Drive with enough daylight to spare for one of the segments.
Exit 264: There are 4 access points to the Drive, so 3 segments. I learned that covering all 105 miles of the Drive takes at least 4 hours (more like 5), due to the 35MPH speed limit and the inevitable stops for the various attractions. Spending a full day on the Drive is easy to do because of the various attractions. It's not a freeway for the exclusive purpose of getting from Point A to Point B.
Exit 300: In the past I would get an annual pass for just the Skyline Drive, but the prices on those have gone up enough that now I just pay the extra few bucks and get the interagency pass, which gets me into all of the national parks that charge for entrance.
Exit 227: Went on a side quest to an antique store after reaching the end of the Skyline Drive. The business model of the place is such that individuals would rent stalls, bring stuff in, put price tags on them, then a buyer would take items to the checkout. Basically a big consignment store. That by itself isn't out of the ordinary, as there are places like that everywhere, except...
Exit 221: I was aware of this particular one ahead of time, and was passively interested in visiting it seeing as how I was going to be in the relative area, but as I got closer, the passive interest turned into an itch, then an urge, then a need, and I couldn't figure out why until I arrived and walked around for about 40 minutes. I found a few things of interest but not enough to get excited for, nothing that would explain that kind of fixation on being there. Then suddenly I found a substantial amount of Lego. Ok, that would do it. Of course I bought it.
Exit 99: The bricks were sold in various quantities, via clear plastic cans and a large glass jar. The glass jar has a top that's also a lamp socket, making it a Lego-filled table lamp, so to get the bricks, I had to buy the lamp. I guess I have a lamp now.
Exit 243: The total volume of this find was about 6 gallons, and it looks like it includes a lot of specialty bricks. This combination resulted in a super-presence I was able to sense once within a range of about 40 miles.
Exit 283: Found a Radio Shack that was open and operating. A rare find these days. Its survival was due to being an independent franchise, not one of the corporate stores. I never thought I'd say this, but I miss Radio Shack. (I miss Baynesville Electronics even more.)
Exit 94: VA56 from the Blue Ridge Parkway to US11 is very steep and squiggly. In good weather, roads like this are fun in cars like Ai and Nozomi. And when I get to the end of it, I can mentally hear "Donut Plains" from Super Mario World.
Exit 205: This seems to be a new rubicon for me. For some reason I never seem to go any further south than here, unless I'm zooming through for an event such as AWA or when I went to a friend's wedding. Otherwise, that's about as far as I get when I have to start heading back home because I have to be at work the next day. There's also a sense of liminality at this exit, as there are a few truck stops, 1 of which is rather large. It's a good place to cool my heels after coming off VA56, get some gas or food as needed, and then switch on the afterburners for the drive back home.
Rest area: For some reason, taking a nap in Ai is more comfortable than in Nozomi. Certainly not comfortable enough to replace a proper bed for overnight. Good for a short snooze. Might be due to Ai having cloth seats vs Nozomi's leather seats.
Food/Lodging/Fuel: While comparing offerings on Priceline, one hotel had reviews that all complained about hearing road noise, because it was right next to the highway. The one I did stay at was 1/4 mile from the exit. Close enough to be convenient, far enough away for peaceful rest. I'll probably stay at this one again for future excursions.
Exit 4: I was considering a visit to the Ocean City area instead. Hurricane Dorian was going on and I decided maybe it was best to go there on a different weekend.
Exit 40: Heading east on I-66, this is about where the DC suburbs start in earnest. Someday these suburbs and the associated retail apocalypse hellscape will creep further west as they are wont to do, but for now, this is where the line is drawn in the sand, where rural ends and the chaos begins, starting slow and building to a crescendo of madness as it approaches the I-495 Thunderdome.
Exit 273: Even as far as I got into Virginia, I still found a Sheetz easily and often. The one at this exit is probably the biggest one I know about ever since I stumbled across it back in the mid '90s. It used to have a Baskin Robbins and a Wendy's but those are long gone. One memory of that Sheetz was from back in '98, when I was coming home on a larger road trip (also with Ai), and I learned the hard way that eating an ice cream cone while driving a manual-shift car in the summer is a bad combination that resulted in getting ice cream all over my shorts and legs.
Exit 38B: Columbia MD does not have a downtown, no matter what anyone says! This "city" is really a cluster of suburbs that formed around a mall then metastasized, each one run by HOAs like 3rd-world dictatorships.
Exit 36: Ai handled the trip well. Having fresh gearbox fluid made for smooth shifting.
Right before I arrived back home, the Doors' "The End" started playing on the playlist.
no subject
Date: 2019-09-15 03:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-09-16 12:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-09-16 09:33 am (UTC)Maybe the "homeless" Lego has a stronger voice because it's more desperate?
no subject
Date: 2019-09-16 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-09-15 04:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-09-16 12:44 am (UTC)