May I take this moment to interrupt your calm with "Why doesn't navigation work properly in North(ern New) Jersey?
I complained back in 2006 when Telenav kept telling me to turn around, even though I was very close to where I needed to be.
I've been staying at a motel in Manasquan, NJ and I've been up and down the state, mostly using Apple's Maps app. It doesn't know what a jughandle is, but that's okay. I can adapt.
I took it to Little Falls on Sunday and it got me to a downtown area, and freaked out a little and I shut it off, and parked. After my meal, I went to Fairfield, and since I knew the way back to the main road, it didn't really have a problem.
A couple of times, it has stuttered because I did not do what was expected. Sorry! Sometime, I've been through the route too many times and know a better way and don't want to go down every side street to get there.
Now today, I went back to the camera store in Fairfield, and it was mostly agreeable. (Seriously, I don't use the Express lanes of the Garden State Parkway because there is no cash lane at the toll plazas on that side.)
As I was leaving, it was 4:45 p.m./16:45, and I know how difficult traffic can be. I thought to go to a certain pizza place I was missing that is in the next county, in Rutherford. It's mostly a very straight path. SR 3 east and SR 21 North. The only problem is that there doesn't seem to be a direct way to get to SR 21 going North. Usually, you have to go to the next exit, cross over, and go north, which is what I did, while the Maps app displayed "Rerouting..." and reminded me to "proceed to the route" many, many times.
After eating, it was no easier. It had picked an odd route that made no sense. Once I remembered how to get back to SR 21, it was catching up, still telling me to turn. I finally turned it off. I tried Waze, which had me down every side street possible, and instead of taking me directly to the Garden State Parkway, which was straight ahead, it wanted me to take a county road off SR 3. I quit that also.
I would have tried Google Maps, but it couldn't even find where I was.
Thank goodness my memory wasn't completely gone. I'd still be down some side street in Rutherford.
Update 2014.06.15: I was travelling to the Orlando, Florida area--to Oviedo in particular, an area where I lived for 10 years. Waze had wanted me to traipse down every side street from the Florida state line until the center of Oviedo.
When I selected my motel in Yelp and got to Maps, and asked for directions, rather than take me on a direct route to International Drive via Kirkman Road, Apple's Maps wanted me to go to a toll road further along the way, and apparently backtrack. When it finally re-routed me, it still picked an odd route, taking me into more traffic than was necessary.
Thankfully, I generally know where I'm going, so I can't be confused quite that easily, but what are they (Waze, Apple, Google) thinking?
Update 2014.07.04: I was trying to use Apple's Maps two days ago around San Jose, California. It did okay most of the time, but requested U-turns where there was a turn lane into a shopping center already. Perhaps, their information is old? I'm not sure but I didn't have the problem last August with one of the locations.
In one case, I was trying to get to Westfield Valley Fair mall, and I wasn't on the correct part of the exit, twice. I didn't understand, and it was a complex juncture, but the navigation tried to loop me around twice when the answer was much more simple--turn left, follow the road, turn left at the appropriate road, and drive straight until the mall. I found it when I followed my own path, but for some reason, navigation wanted me to avoid city streets. I've had situations where one of the navigation apps put me into freeway traffic jams to avoid those crowd city streets, which were moving fairly well.
You'd think that the maps could get around the San Francisco Bay Area with great ease and accuracy.
Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Public transportation works--we need more
The continental U.S.A. is roughly 3000 miles wide. It took me three 15 hour days to drive from Orlando, Florida to Los Angeles, California and an equal amount of time to return home. Many of the states are the size of a country elsewhere. There is a lot of what seems to be empty land. Mobile phone service is generally available but not available everywhere. Many people use satellite-based TV because cable companies aren't there, and antenna-based TV only works at short distances--shorter since digital TV arrived.
I've used public transportation on both coasts and in Japan. In Japan, you can set your watch by it. I did. In the U.S.A., you might as well throw out your watch. When the train or bus arrives, it's there, and that's all that matters.
In the midwest, where I went to school, my mum and I took the bus once. It wasn't really good or bad, but we didn't have to walk.
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I used trains and buses regularly (I likely still have my route pamphlets), and went one summer without a car. It was demanding because I worked outside the city and after dark, services are less available. What was a walk in the morning, and about 40 minutes on trains and buses, at night, took four hours on two buses, including a trip into the city and back out to the edge.
Transportation around New York City is no better, no worse. Getting around Manhattan is easy--uptown, downtown. Getting into town, you end up at Penn Station or Grand Central Station. If you're going to Long Island, you board the Long Island Railroad at Penn Station, and wait and wait and wait and fall asleep and miss your stop. I didn't fall asleep but I swear that it was the slowest train ride I had since being in rural Japan, taking a local train.
In San Jose, I used (Santa Clara) Valley Transportation Authority light rail. It was smooth and fast enough. Planners were thoughtful enough to put a connection to San Francisco through Caltrain. At this same San Jose Diridon station, you can also use the Altamont Corridor Express to Stockton, as well as points along the way. Caltrain was reasonably good, although I've seen plenty of mistakes since I used it. I'm just happy I wasn't on a train with a problem, and that the temperature was moderate.
One thing I really liked about Caltrain is that they had dedicated storage for bikes. I didn't pay too much attention to how you could lock your bike but they mounted the bike with the front wheel up. I don't know that I would use it, but it was an effective way to keep the use of cars down. Since then, they have introduced some bike-rental-sharing scheme.
When I was in the Bay Area, I didn't use my car that much but when I did, I was rarely stuck in traffic. I did not drive into San Francisco, though. On the other hand, I've driven through Manhattan, Queensborough, and Brooklyn and don't want to do that again, and that's with major public transportation. I swear I used almost every bridge and tunnel in the NYC metro area, except for the George Washington Bridge and Verazzano Straits Bridge, all in one day.
Having lived in the Orlando, Florida area for 11 years after Philadelphia, I wanted to use public transportation. There was a bus stop in front of my first apartment complex. The bus that stops there went to a mall. I did some research and the mile between my apartment and my work had zero Lynx buses, for some reason, even though there were buses on either side of the stretch. The lack of sidewalks and the high humidity made walking an unlikely adventure, as I would need to clean up after walking to work. In all those years of living there, I never found a situation where I could ride a bus. The Orlando Sentinel used the headline "FloriDUH!" after the 2000 elections and I've used the nickname ever since. What the planning people are thinking is beyond me. They're working on implementing light rail now. It looked great, but whether Lynx buses will match up with it or not is anyone's guess. They're now trying to implement SunRail, their soon-to-be light rail solution from Volusia to Osceola counties. I could only hope that they've planned to connect bus routes to the light rail stations.
While public transportation doesn't make sense in many farming communities, it makes sense for small towns and medium-sized cities. I might use public transportation now, except that I'd have to walk two miles to Main Street or the shopping centers to get a bus that probably doesn't go where I want. If they had not paved over all the trolley tracks, I wonder if the town would be very different now.
Maybe obviously, taking a mature city and implementing train or trolley service requires a lot of construction, especially with subways. The other day I saw something about BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) finally after 30, 40 years making its way to San Jose from San Francisco, along East Bay. The comments about it were rude, ranging from drugs making their way to San Jose to the horror of detours for construction. I can't imagine that people would choose to be in a car waiting in traffic, rather than sitting in a train, for the same amount of time. It is overdue, but at least, it's on the way to a finish, even though Caltrain already handles the western side of things.
I don't want to pay extra for parking or find my car damaged when I return, even in a company-owned lot. I avoided that in Philadelphia, at least, paying for parking, by taking SEPTA trains into work. At that time, $56 per month got me unlimited access to the city via trains, trolleys, and buses. $64 got me a parking space. In the San Francisco Bay Area, a $6 VTA day pass got me unlimited trips around Santa Clara county on VTA buses and light rail, and the $18 day pass got me unlimited Caltrain use between San Jose and San Francisco. Besides, you don't have to remember where you parked your train.
I know that public transportation wherever it is, is no complete fix. It is usually a huge burden on the taxpayers, even with great ridership. It costs money to power it, and unions are often disagreeable. I'm not just talking about the U.S.A. It wasn't that long ago that the German rail workers union went on strike, and they probably had a fairly good deal already. When I was riding a SEPTA bus, the drivers would often tell of how the union was going to strike many months ahead of contract negotiations--regardless of contract negotiations.
If the world has all these great minds that think about economies all the time, why is it that they can't find a good, balanced solution for transportation? If power was free (solar, wind, etc.), would public transportation be affordable? (I just remembered one serial dream I had. I was explaining to the rest of my class my idea of self-propagating electromagnetic propulsion for trains, but unfortunately, I can't remember any serious details.)
Update 2014.04.11: I'm looking to move somewhere between San Jose and Stockton, California, so that I can use the ACE trains and live cheaply, until such time as I have money for a house, should I ever choose that again. I'm not 100% sure of job prospects, but if I end up with a local retail job, I can always take the train to San Jose to visit museums and other attractions. I think I'll have to drive the car to Palo Alto to IKEA, unless I'm also going all the way to San Fran on Caltrain. Public transportation takes more research and preparation, which reminds me how I forgot to learn about San Francisco's MUNI ahead of time and ended up hurting my feet the several hours I was there walking.
Update 2014.04.20: Apparently, living out by California state road 99 and I-5, you have some options to get to the San Fran Bay Area. The ACE train is one and there is a bus from Modesto (MAX) to the BART station at Dublin/Pleasanton. Everything seems to result in a 4 hour trip, if you're going all the way to San Francisco. The Caltrain trip from San Jose to San Francisco was somewhere between 1.5 hours and 2.0 hours, depending on taking express or local trains. Obviously, the bus will take longer because it has to sit in traffic with all of the commuters who moved to the Central Valley to save money.
I also took a moment to look at getting to Los Angeles. It seems that Amtrak goes from San Fran to Stockton by bus. You leave Stockton on the train but just to Bakersfield, and then, you're on another bus to Los Angeles. I'm confused. Is the ground so unstable that they don't have passenger trains running the length of the state? My trip up the state from Barstow to San Jose by car included switching roads in Bakersfield--from SR 58 to SR 99, which led to I-5, and across the Pacheco Pass Highway to US101, which took me to San Jose. I'm sure that getting a train across the mountains could be difficult, and Pennsylvania has a "horseshoe" that PRR used and Amtrak now uses from Philly to Pittsburgh. I guess it's not so simple in California.
In Los Angeles, I know that they have some trains. I've seen the station at the far end, at Angels Stadium in Orange County. I wonder if they're used much, other than for the baseball traffic. There didn't seem to be any dedicated parking, other than that of the stadium. Perhaps, when there are no games, people use it for Park-and-Ride?
Update 2014.05.01: Central Florida's SunRail went live today. There were some minor problems, of course, and running on time couldn't be expected. There was one photo of an older couple and a man with a walker was trying to get out of the train. There was no ramp, so he put his walker on the ground that was lower than the platform, in order to get to the final step on the train. I would imagine that he then picked up his walker to put on the platform, and likely fell trying to step over the gap.
It's still amazing to me that people don't test for wheelchairs and other devices. One of my first experiences in Central Florida was when Montgomery Road was being widened from two lanes to four lanes with an additional turn lane. They added sidewalks--with light poles in the middle of them. I'm not saying that it only happens there, but Floriduh, you do it far too often. At least, they somehow all agreed to get the light rail going.
Update 2014.05.07: The people behind SunRail are getting quite a bit of experience in their first few days. While some may be experienced in other places, there is no place quite like Central Florida. I'm just thrilled that they all cooperated and got light rail into production. Someone mentioned that they were adding a third car to some of the trains today, to handle the rush. That's certainly better than living people behind in frustration, when you have extra cars available. Why not put them there in the first place? It's likely the cost of the energy to drive them. You would hope that something called SunRail would have solar panels on the top of each vehicle.
I've used public transportation on both coasts and in Japan. In Japan, you can set your watch by it. I did. In the U.S.A., you might as well throw out your watch. When the train or bus arrives, it's there, and that's all that matters.
In the midwest, where I went to school, my mum and I took the bus once. It wasn't really good or bad, but we didn't have to walk.
In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, I used trains and buses regularly (I likely still have my route pamphlets), and went one summer without a car. It was demanding because I worked outside the city and after dark, services are less available. What was a walk in the morning, and about 40 minutes on trains and buses, at night, took four hours on two buses, including a trip into the city and back out to the edge.
Transportation around New York City is no better, no worse. Getting around Manhattan is easy--uptown, downtown. Getting into town, you end up at Penn Station or Grand Central Station. If you're going to Long Island, you board the Long Island Railroad at Penn Station, and wait and wait and wait and fall asleep and miss your stop. I didn't fall asleep but I swear that it was the slowest train ride I had since being in rural Japan, taking a local train.
In San Jose, I used (Santa Clara) Valley Transportation Authority light rail. It was smooth and fast enough. Planners were thoughtful enough to put a connection to San Francisco through Caltrain. At this same San Jose Diridon station, you can also use the Altamont Corridor Express to Stockton, as well as points along the way. Caltrain was reasonably good, although I've seen plenty of mistakes since I used it. I'm just happy I wasn't on a train with a problem, and that the temperature was moderate.
One thing I really liked about Caltrain is that they had dedicated storage for bikes. I didn't pay too much attention to how you could lock your bike but they mounted the bike with the front wheel up. I don't know that I would use it, but it was an effective way to keep the use of cars down. Since then, they have introduced some bike-rental-sharing scheme.
When I was in the Bay Area, I didn't use my car that much but when I did, I was rarely stuck in traffic. I did not drive into San Francisco, though. On the other hand, I've driven through Manhattan, Queensborough, and Brooklyn and don't want to do that again, and that's with major public transportation. I swear I used almost every bridge and tunnel in the NYC metro area, except for the George Washington Bridge and Verazzano Straits Bridge, all in one day.
Having lived in the Orlando, Florida area for 11 years after Philadelphia, I wanted to use public transportation. There was a bus stop in front of my first apartment complex. The bus that stops there went to a mall. I did some research and the mile between my apartment and my work had zero Lynx buses, for some reason, even though there were buses on either side of the stretch. The lack of sidewalks and the high humidity made walking an unlikely adventure, as I would need to clean up after walking to work. In all those years of living there, I never found a situation where I could ride a bus. The Orlando Sentinel used the headline "FloriDUH!" after the 2000 elections and I've used the nickname ever since. What the planning people are thinking is beyond me. They're working on implementing light rail now. It looked great, but whether Lynx buses will match up with it or not is anyone's guess. They're now trying to implement SunRail, their soon-to-be light rail solution from Volusia to Osceola counties. I could only hope that they've planned to connect bus routes to the light rail stations.
While public transportation doesn't make sense in many farming communities, it makes sense for small towns and medium-sized cities. I might use public transportation now, except that I'd have to walk two miles to Main Street or the shopping centers to get a bus that probably doesn't go where I want. If they had not paved over all the trolley tracks, I wonder if the town would be very different now.
Maybe obviously, taking a mature city and implementing train or trolley service requires a lot of construction, especially with subways. The other day I saw something about BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) finally after 30, 40 years making its way to San Jose from San Francisco, along East Bay. The comments about it were rude, ranging from drugs making their way to San Jose to the horror of detours for construction. I can't imagine that people would choose to be in a car waiting in traffic, rather than sitting in a train, for the same amount of time. It is overdue, but at least, it's on the way to a finish, even though Caltrain already handles the western side of things.
I don't want to pay extra for parking or find my car damaged when I return, even in a company-owned lot. I avoided that in Philadelphia, at least, paying for parking, by taking SEPTA trains into work. At that time, $56 per month got me unlimited access to the city via trains, trolleys, and buses. $64 got me a parking space. In the San Francisco Bay Area, a $6 VTA day pass got me unlimited trips around Santa Clara county on VTA buses and light rail, and the $18 day pass got me unlimited Caltrain use between San Jose and San Francisco. Besides, you don't have to remember where you parked your train.
I know that public transportation wherever it is, is no complete fix. It is usually a huge burden on the taxpayers, even with great ridership. It costs money to power it, and unions are often disagreeable. I'm not just talking about the U.S.A. It wasn't that long ago that the German rail workers union went on strike, and they probably had a fairly good deal already. When I was riding a SEPTA bus, the drivers would often tell of how the union was going to strike many months ahead of contract negotiations--regardless of contract negotiations.
If the world has all these great minds that think about economies all the time, why is it that they can't find a good, balanced solution for transportation? If power was free (solar, wind, etc.), would public transportation be affordable? (I just remembered one serial dream I had. I was explaining to the rest of my class my idea of self-propagating electromagnetic propulsion for trains, but unfortunately, I can't remember any serious details.)
Update 2014.04.11: I'm looking to move somewhere between San Jose and Stockton, California, so that I can use the ACE trains and live cheaply, until such time as I have money for a house, should I ever choose that again. I'm not 100% sure of job prospects, but if I end up with a local retail job, I can always take the train to San Jose to visit museums and other attractions. I think I'll have to drive the car to Palo Alto to IKEA, unless I'm also going all the way to San Fran on Caltrain. Public transportation takes more research and preparation, which reminds me how I forgot to learn about San Francisco's MUNI ahead of time and ended up hurting my feet the several hours I was there walking.
Update 2014.04.20: Apparently, living out by California state road 99 and I-5, you have some options to get to the San Fran Bay Area. The ACE train is one and there is a bus from Modesto (MAX) to the BART station at Dublin/Pleasanton. Everything seems to result in a 4 hour trip, if you're going all the way to San Francisco. The Caltrain trip from San Jose to San Francisco was somewhere between 1.5 hours and 2.0 hours, depending on taking express or local trains. Obviously, the bus will take longer because it has to sit in traffic with all of the commuters who moved to the Central Valley to save money.
I also took a moment to look at getting to Los Angeles. It seems that Amtrak goes from San Fran to Stockton by bus. You leave Stockton on the train but just to Bakersfield, and then, you're on another bus to Los Angeles. I'm confused. Is the ground so unstable that they don't have passenger trains running the length of the state? My trip up the state from Barstow to San Jose by car included switching roads in Bakersfield--from SR 58 to SR 99, which led to I-5, and across the Pacheco Pass Highway to US101, which took me to San Jose. I'm sure that getting a train across the mountains could be difficult, and Pennsylvania has a "horseshoe" that PRR used and Amtrak now uses from Philly to Pittsburgh. I guess it's not so simple in California.
In Los Angeles, I know that they have some trains. I've seen the station at the far end, at Angels Stadium in Orange County. I wonder if they're used much, other than for the baseball traffic. There didn't seem to be any dedicated parking, other than that of the stadium. Perhaps, when there are no games, people use it for Park-and-Ride?
Update 2014.05.01: Central Florida's SunRail went live today. There were some minor problems, of course, and running on time couldn't be expected. There was one photo of an older couple and a man with a walker was trying to get out of the train. There was no ramp, so he put his walker on the ground that was lower than the platform, in order to get to the final step on the train. I would imagine that he then picked up his walker to put on the platform, and likely fell trying to step over the gap.
It's still amazing to me that people don't test for wheelchairs and other devices. One of my first experiences in Central Florida was when Montgomery Road was being widened from two lanes to four lanes with an additional turn lane. They added sidewalks--with light poles in the middle of them. I'm not saying that it only happens there, but Floriduh, you do it far too often. At least, they somehow all agreed to get the light rail going.
Update 2014.05.07: The people behind SunRail are getting quite a bit of experience in their first few days. While some may be experienced in other places, there is no place quite like Central Florida. I'm just thrilled that they all cooperated and got light rail into production. Someone mentioned that they were adding a third car to some of the trains today, to handle the rush. That's certainly better than living people behind in frustration, when you have extra cars available. Why not put them there in the first place? It's likely the cost of the energy to drive them. You would hope that something called SunRail would have solar panels on the top of each vehicle.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
TripAdvisor, Yelp: the amusing reality
I'm fairly sure I had a connection to TripAdvisor much sooner than Yelp. They had a map where you could add places where you've been and places where you wanted to go. You could add it to any social media web site you used.
When I started to write reviews on Yelp, I never thought of putting them on TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor always seemed a bit snooty and unrealistic, plus Yelp had businesses other than hotels, restaurants, and landmarks.
If I'm on a trip, my car might need service, unexpectedly. Where do I go? Who is good? TripAdvisor won't tell you. Here, Angie's List might help, but it won't tell you about a motel or restaurant, and you have to pay for a membership.
Now, the thing about any review is whether you can trust the person or not. Currently, I have 50 reviews on TripAdvisor and 525 reviews on Yelp. I have zero reviews on Angie's List and probably won't--I didn't join. They may not advertise but why pay when you could still get false reviews?
I review places I've been and services I've used. It doesn't mean anything to me to see a review of a place that says "I'm a fan!" or "Good beer!". Did you have good service? Did you wait long? Was the food agreeable? Was the place dirty or messy?
I got an e-mail from TripAdvisor today saying that a photo was rejected. It seems that every photo I took at that restaurant was rejected. It's dark inside so it wouldn't be easy to get, but having 5 exterior photos doesn't help people know how it is inside the place. At least, they didn't delete my review. Since I was sick after 1 taco, I figured they'd get rid of that. How useful are professional, staged photographs? Is your experience anything like that?
Besides that, they don't like screenshots of WiFi speeds. When you go to a motel or hotel where they feature an internet connection, wouldn't it be helpful to know the likely speed you're going to get, especially if you need to get work done?
This explains why I like Yelp. Sure, you have to weed through iffy reviews, but you have to do that elsewhere, also. No site where a person's opinion can be written is 100% safe from fabrication.
This is my next point. I wrote an account of my experiences with Isaac's Moving service around Philadelphia, first from Audubon to Bensalem and then, Bensalem to Altamonte Springs, FL.
The move from Audubon went brilliantly with two very caring people. It was so good that I wanted to have the company move me to Florida over a big name interstate mover. In the end, Isaac's told me that I had more than I showed the estimator and that's why they needed more money at the destination. In fact, I'd thrown away most of my furniture and had almost nothing big at that point. At the time, it was a rather typical tactic of small movers to provide this "extra service" when you really needed your things. No government (federal or state) had any rules or regulations concerning consumer belongings, so the contract was everything. Such tactics were shown on national news reports, but of course, no one could do anything about it. Thankfully, PODS arrived on the scene.
A few weeks ago, someone from Isaac's decided to comment on my review of their services. Without knowing exactly where or when my move took place, he fabricated a wonderful story about the heroic movers and how they weren't going to receive their money, even after several discounts, because I was indigent and desperate.
I was completely amused that someone would attempt to come up with such a story, when there were so many 1 star reviews. Besides, when I left Bensalem, I had 3 weeks of unused vacation pay, and my new employer in Florida was paying for my move. In any case, I didn't respond to the comment because that would have removed it from public view. I should probably quote it and incorporate it into my review just in case that they decide to delete it.
I find it strange that some people go to great lengths to have people write reviews for them, rather than fix their business. In this case, attacking my credibility should probably hurt me but with 524 (make that 685 total, as of 2013.12.09) other reviews, I think people can tell who I am and why they can trust what I write.
Update 2013.12.09: This weekend, someone from Isaac's made another comment on my review. It seems substantially the same. I find it difficult to believe that they would place so much emphasis on dis-crediting my review. Surely, if they don't think that reviews on Yelp are worthwhile, why fight them? Why tell people to look at Angie's List (people can't lie there?) or the Better Business Bureau, if there is nothing to fear, and I'm just a hopeless storyteller?
When I started to write reviews on Yelp, I never thought of putting them on TripAdvisor. TripAdvisor always seemed a bit snooty and unrealistic, plus Yelp had businesses other than hotels, restaurants, and landmarks.
If I'm on a trip, my car might need service, unexpectedly. Where do I go? Who is good? TripAdvisor won't tell you. Here, Angie's List might help, but it won't tell you about a motel or restaurant, and you have to pay for a membership.
Now, the thing about any review is whether you can trust the person or not. Currently, I have 50 reviews on TripAdvisor and 525 reviews on Yelp. I have zero reviews on Angie's List and probably won't--I didn't join. They may not advertise but why pay when you could still get false reviews?
I review places I've been and services I've used. It doesn't mean anything to me to see a review of a place that says "I'm a fan!" or "Good beer!". Did you have good service? Did you wait long? Was the food agreeable? Was the place dirty or messy?
I got an e-mail from TripAdvisor today saying that a photo was rejected. It seems that every photo I took at that restaurant was rejected. It's dark inside so it wouldn't be easy to get, but having 5 exterior photos doesn't help people know how it is inside the place. At least, they didn't delete my review. Since I was sick after 1 taco, I figured they'd get rid of that. How useful are professional, staged photographs? Is your experience anything like that?
Besides that, they don't like screenshots of WiFi speeds. When you go to a motel or hotel where they feature an internet connection, wouldn't it be helpful to know the likely speed you're going to get, especially if you need to get work done?
This explains why I like Yelp. Sure, you have to weed through iffy reviews, but you have to do that elsewhere, also. No site where a person's opinion can be written is 100% safe from fabrication.
This is my next point. I wrote an account of my experiences with Isaac's Moving service around Philadelphia, first from Audubon to Bensalem and then, Bensalem to Altamonte Springs, FL.
The move from Audubon went brilliantly with two very caring people. It was so good that I wanted to have the company move me to Florida over a big name interstate mover. In the end, Isaac's told me that I had more than I showed the estimator and that's why they needed more money at the destination. In fact, I'd thrown away most of my furniture and had almost nothing big at that point. At the time, it was a rather typical tactic of small movers to provide this "extra service" when you really needed your things. No government (federal or state) had any rules or regulations concerning consumer belongings, so the contract was everything. Such tactics were shown on national news reports, but of course, no one could do anything about it. Thankfully, PODS arrived on the scene.
A few weeks ago, someone from Isaac's decided to comment on my review of their services. Without knowing exactly where or when my move took place, he fabricated a wonderful story about the heroic movers and how they weren't going to receive their money, even after several discounts, because I was indigent and desperate.
I was completely amused that someone would attempt to come up with such a story, when there were so many 1 star reviews. Besides, when I left Bensalem, I had 3 weeks of unused vacation pay, and my new employer in Florida was paying for my move. In any case, I didn't respond to the comment because that would have removed it from public view. I should probably quote it and incorporate it into my review just in case that they decide to delete it.
I find it strange that some people go to great lengths to have people write reviews for them, rather than fix their business. In this case, attacking my credibility should probably hurt me but with 524 (make that 685 total, as of 2013.12.09) other reviews, I think people can tell who I am and why they can trust what I write.
Update 2013.12.09: This weekend, someone from Isaac's made another comment on my review. It seems substantially the same. I find it difficult to believe that they would place so much emphasis on dis-crediting my review. Surely, if they don't think that reviews on Yelp are worthwhile, why fight them? Why tell people to look at Angie's List (people can't lie there?) or the Better Business Bureau, if there is nothing to fear, and I'm just a hopeless storyteller?
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Volkswagen service
I'm on my fourth VW, a 1999 Golf GLS with just over 140,000 miles. It's been through the wringer, so to speak. I spent over 30 visits because the power window regulator clips failed and the window would not close. I have a new hatch in the back because of someone's carelessness when she ran into my car at a stop light. Inside, things just fell apart. Recently, the sunroof drains clogged and water was exiting through the door trim. The center armrest door fell apart. It continues.
On the 12th of November, I had the car serviced. I was late for a major service, which was at 120,000 miles. Many things needed to be handled. When I made the appointment, I had requested that the forward side marker light be repaired, as it had been hanging. King's VW of Loveland, Ohio missed the hanging light in their several walk-around inspections, but they noticed the missing radio antenna--a huge safety risk.
When the survey arrived and I completed it, the manager replied at how that side marker light had been repaired--as if they'd done exactly as they should have. If they had, it would have been repaired on my initial visit, instead of focusing on the missing radio antenna. I actually travel past another VW dealer to go there because the closer one is not as highly rated. If haphazard care is what you get, why not go to the closer one, unless they really don't care about anything?
On the 17th of November, I was with friends in the Orlando, Florida area. As I was leaving their house, the low beam headlight on the driver's side was out. One of those had died about the same time four years earlier. Unfortunately, there is one that is easy to replace and the other requires removing things to get to it. (Volkswagen must think like GM or Ford.)
I really didn't want to mess too much, and I went to an Advance Auto Parts, thinking that their people might know immediately or be able to help me. "We don't do that!" I was told in a most rude tone. They replace wiper blades and batteries but not headlight bulbs. Okay, fine, but rudeness, really?
I went down the road to David Maus VW. They were new in 2008 when I was leaving the area. I had been dealing with Aristocrat VW from buying the car through service for it. At one point, they replaced their entire service department and they were no longer trustworthy. However, David Maus dealerships were an unknown. He was on tv telling people "whatever it takes" and I thought that he was just another one who couldn't be trusted.
So, I walked into the service department a few minutes early on Sunday morning. The service advisor was quite pleasant, and patient as I explained things. He quoted $59.95 for the bulb and labor. If it was on the easy side, that was overpriced. I also mentioned that my radio antenna was falling apart and I needed a replacement. He would ask parts about that.
Quite a while later, he told me that they were close to finishing and the radio antenna would be $79.95 (I expected $39.99 - $49.99) and they didn't have it in stock. He suggested eBay. That sounded better. I had bought a universal kit for $9.99 and I couldn't fit the pieces together. I am able to do IKEA or other do-it-yourself furniture but I'm not mechanically-inclined.
On checkout, he said that he went "to the back" and found "old antennas" and replaced mine for free. I'm sure I thanked him, but my cynicism kicked in and I thought that it was some sort of gimmick to get my trust. It was certainly better than Jimmy Bryan Mazda breaking something on my car so I'd have to return.
In the end, it worked out quite nicely because the radio antenna balanced the bulb being on the easy side. If it wasn't, then, I really do owe the dealership some loyalty but they'd have that already for not being rude, and doing a good job.
Strangely, I got a call the next morning from a salesperson. I say strangely because I was about 1000 miles from home. Do people keep their car titles with them? If I was buying a car locally, it would make sense. I would go home, retrieve it and make progress in the sale. I suppose I could just abandon my car 1000 miles from home, or give it to strangers. In any case, I thought that it was amusing that they would attempt a sale from someone visiting the state.
Thinking back to my first two VWs, I used to get a lot of smart ass remarks from the dealerships. Al Holbert, who raced Audi cars, had a Porsche/Audi/VW dealership in Warrington, PA. I took my 1986 VW GTI there at around 30,000 miles for brake work. It needed the two front brake rotors replaced. I asked politely "What makes that happen?" and the service advisor answered "your foot". He had a long day? I had a long day! If VW was doing surveys at that point, he'd get the opposite of a "Truly Exceptional". I'd never had a car that needed rotors replaced at 30,000 miles. That was exceptional.
You'd think if you were paying exceptionally high prices for service--the rates were often the same no matter the manufacturer--that you'd be getting people working between you and the mechanics who knew how to not infuritate customers. Sure, Porsche hourly rates were nothing compared to Rolls-Royce but my car was about 25 % the price of the nearest Porsche model.
I'm guessing I'll be at a Subaru or Mazda dealer once I decide where I'm going to live next. I can't just buy a car any longer. There are no 50 state cars now, unless diesel cars fit that.
Update 2013.01.27: So, I just had the strangest experience this week. The car was overheating in 17 degrees Fahrenheit weather. I drove the car too far trying to get it home. I was going to put water in it, but the water bottles I kept in the car were frozen solid. The next morning, I had the car towed to Expert Tire, since 60 miles to a VW dealership was inconvenient. They pulled things apart and found a distribution point that had cracked. Why it was plastic is beyond me. Given the state of extremes in weather and coolant temperatures, I thought the parts would be made of metal. They received a replacement part, which wasn't correct, and later that day received the correct part since they could send it back and match it. The pressure test revealed no other issues. I had the oil changed due to the extraordinary heat--all those adverts about engine heat breaking down oil got to me.
I ended up with a rental car from Hertz--not recommended too much--and have definitely decided against a Toyota Corolla. My arms aren't long but the door was designed for someone with excessively short arms, as the controls and door handle were several inches back of what seemed natural. What's more, I'm half-Japanese, so the car should fit me fairly well.
I've been considering a new car more and more, especially since my mum's house sold and I have the cash. A reasonably local, highly-rated Subaru dealer has some Impreza Sport models at a reasonable price. I also found a couple of 2012 VW Golf TDI leftovers at the dealership that does my service. The discounts put them at almost acceptable prices. They're all over $20,000--a line I'd never crossed in the past. I also wanted to look at Mazda 3, but given the dealerships wanting to charge extra or play games, I'm not likely to bother. Plus, I want a car I can keep in California and the diesels are ULEV II-compliant, and that's huge. Will they last 14 years as my current Golf is approaching that age? Will they be as shabby? I'm concerned. The Subaru Impreza is a more reliable choice, but will it have an emotional resonance?
Update 2013.07.17: I bought the VW Golf TDI and I've even been through the 10,000 mile service. Since there wasn't anything really wrong with the car, it went smoothly and it was inexpensive for them and at no cost to me. There is another service at 20,000 miles and I'm only about 4000 miles from that now. I might have to have that done while I'm on a trip somewhere else.
Update 2014.11.14: I'm over 40,000 miles now, and it's been relatively fine, except for a botched 20,000 mile service (pinched the fuel filter--didn't reimburse me for the fuel) when I was on the road back in August 2013.
Now that I'm living in Northern California, I'm happy to have found a great service department within 15 miles or so. There are three VW dealers within that distance, but only one is great. They mentioned that they have customers from the San Francisco Bay Area. That seems impressive. You would think that they'd have great dealerships in a large metropolitan area but this one is in a small city of 200,000 people.
On the 12th of November, I had the car serviced. I was late for a major service, which was at 120,000 miles. Many things needed to be handled. When I made the appointment, I had requested that the forward side marker light be repaired, as it had been hanging. King's VW of Loveland, Ohio missed the hanging light in their several walk-around inspections, but they noticed the missing radio antenna--a huge safety risk.
When the survey arrived and I completed it, the manager replied at how that side marker light had been repaired--as if they'd done exactly as they should have. If they had, it would have been repaired on my initial visit, instead of focusing on the missing radio antenna. I actually travel past another VW dealer to go there because the closer one is not as highly rated. If haphazard care is what you get, why not go to the closer one, unless they really don't care about anything?
On the 17th of November, I was with friends in the Orlando, Florida area. As I was leaving their house, the low beam headlight on the driver's side was out. One of those had died about the same time four years earlier. Unfortunately, there is one that is easy to replace and the other requires removing things to get to it. (Volkswagen must think like GM or Ford.)
I really didn't want to mess too much, and I went to an Advance Auto Parts, thinking that their people might know immediately or be able to help me. "We don't do that!" I was told in a most rude tone. They replace wiper blades and batteries but not headlight bulbs. Okay, fine, but rudeness, really?
I went down the road to David Maus VW. They were new in 2008 when I was leaving the area. I had been dealing with Aristocrat VW from buying the car through service for it. At one point, they replaced their entire service department and they were no longer trustworthy. However, David Maus dealerships were an unknown. He was on tv telling people "whatever it takes" and I thought that he was just another one who couldn't be trusted.
So, I walked into the service department a few minutes early on Sunday morning. The service advisor was quite pleasant, and patient as I explained things. He quoted $59.95 for the bulb and labor. If it was on the easy side, that was overpriced. I also mentioned that my radio antenna was falling apart and I needed a replacement. He would ask parts about that.
Quite a while later, he told me that they were close to finishing and the radio antenna would be $79.95 (I expected $39.99 - $49.99) and they didn't have it in stock. He suggested eBay. That sounded better. I had bought a universal kit for $9.99 and I couldn't fit the pieces together. I am able to do IKEA or other do-it-yourself furniture but I'm not mechanically-inclined.
On checkout, he said that he went "to the back" and found "old antennas" and replaced mine for free. I'm sure I thanked him, but my cynicism kicked in and I thought that it was some sort of gimmick to get my trust. It was certainly better than Jimmy Bryan Mazda breaking something on my car so I'd have to return.
In the end, it worked out quite nicely because the radio antenna balanced the bulb being on the easy side. If it wasn't, then, I really do owe the dealership some loyalty but they'd have that already for not being rude, and doing a good job.
Strangely, I got a call the next morning from a salesperson. I say strangely because I was about 1000 miles from home. Do people keep their car titles with them? If I was buying a car locally, it would make sense. I would go home, retrieve it and make progress in the sale. I suppose I could just abandon my car 1000 miles from home, or give it to strangers. In any case, I thought that it was amusing that they would attempt a sale from someone visiting the state.
Thinking back to my first two VWs, I used to get a lot of smart ass remarks from the dealerships. Al Holbert, who raced Audi cars, had a Porsche/Audi/VW dealership in Warrington, PA. I took my 1986 VW GTI there at around 30,000 miles for brake work. It needed the two front brake rotors replaced. I asked politely "What makes that happen?" and the service advisor answered "your foot". He had a long day? I had a long day! If VW was doing surveys at that point, he'd get the opposite of a "Truly Exceptional". I'd never had a car that needed rotors replaced at 30,000 miles. That was exceptional.
You'd think if you were paying exceptionally high prices for service--the rates were often the same no matter the manufacturer--that you'd be getting people working between you and the mechanics who knew how to not infuritate customers. Sure, Porsche hourly rates were nothing compared to Rolls-Royce but my car was about 25 % the price of the nearest Porsche model.
I'm guessing I'll be at a Subaru or Mazda dealer once I decide where I'm going to live next. I can't just buy a car any longer. There are no 50 state cars now, unless diesel cars fit that.
Update 2013.01.27: So, I just had the strangest experience this week. The car was overheating in 17 degrees Fahrenheit weather. I drove the car too far trying to get it home. I was going to put water in it, but the water bottles I kept in the car were frozen solid. The next morning, I had the car towed to Expert Tire, since 60 miles to a VW dealership was inconvenient. They pulled things apart and found a distribution point that had cracked. Why it was plastic is beyond me. Given the state of extremes in weather and coolant temperatures, I thought the parts would be made of metal. They received a replacement part, which wasn't correct, and later that day received the correct part since they could send it back and match it. The pressure test revealed no other issues. I had the oil changed due to the extraordinary heat--all those adverts about engine heat breaking down oil got to me.
I ended up with a rental car from Hertz--not recommended too much--and have definitely decided against a Toyota Corolla. My arms aren't long but the door was designed for someone with excessively short arms, as the controls and door handle were several inches back of what seemed natural. What's more, I'm half-Japanese, so the car should fit me fairly well.
I've been considering a new car more and more, especially since my mum's house sold and I have the cash. A reasonably local, highly-rated Subaru dealer has some Impreza Sport models at a reasonable price. I also found a couple of 2012 VW Golf TDI leftovers at the dealership that does my service. The discounts put them at almost acceptable prices. They're all over $20,000--a line I'd never crossed in the past. I also wanted to look at Mazda 3, but given the dealerships wanting to charge extra or play games, I'm not likely to bother. Plus, I want a car I can keep in California and the diesels are ULEV II-compliant, and that's huge. Will they last 14 years as my current Golf is approaching that age? Will they be as shabby? I'm concerned. The Subaru Impreza is a more reliable choice, but will it have an emotional resonance?
Update 2013.07.17: I bought the VW Golf TDI and I've even been through the 10,000 mile service. Since there wasn't anything really wrong with the car, it went smoothly and it was inexpensive for them and at no cost to me. There is another service at 20,000 miles and I'm only about 4000 miles from that now. I might have to have that done while I'm on a trip somewhere else.
Update 2014.11.14: I'm over 40,000 miles now, and it's been relatively fine, except for a botched 20,000 mile service (pinched the fuel filter--didn't reimburse me for the fuel) when I was on the road back in August 2013.
Now that I'm living in Northern California, I'm happy to have found a great service department within 15 miles or so. There are three VW dealers within that distance, but only one is great. They mentioned that they have customers from the San Francisco Bay Area. That seems impressive. You would think that they'd have great dealerships in a large metropolitan area but this one is in a small city of 200,000 people.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Waze is cutesy mapping and navigation
Crowdsourcing is something fairly new. It requires everyday people to help supply information. Waze, the maps and navigation utility app, uses crowdsourcing to get the job done.
Since I've been on a trip from Eastern Indiana to the Orlando, Florida area, I thought I'd try the app on iOS. A lot of people raved about it before Apple brought their new maps to iOS, and since then, the suggestions have become a call to arms, virtually.
So, here I was on a trip I estimated at about 1000 miles one way. I've driven it probably 12 times and lived in the Orlando area for 11 years, so there was hardly a chance of being truly lost, and that's a good time to try something new.
I was somewhat amused by the marshmallow like character with the teething device to show a newbie. There are many different levels of users.
As I drove from my town to Hamilton, OH a couple of times, and then, to Cincinnati, it was somewhat helpful. Of course, the maps will allow you to see the roads ahead, so you can make wiser decisions about lane changes before you try to cross 3 lanes full of traffic to make your turn on time.
I noticed a couple of problems:
Driving from Cincinnati, OH on the trip to Chattanooga, TN, I didn't notice much of a problem. You can warn of objects on the road, on the side of the road, and also warn of police. Considering shredded tires and cars slightly off to the side, this can be advantageous, especially in pouring rain and darkness. I've noticed that the police are sometime not where it says that they are, so maybe the police are using the app too?
Most of my experience from Chattanooga to Orlando, FL was similar until I left I-75. I had not lived in the area for four years, and I wasn't sure that the tolls hadn't increased a great deal. Remembering that they didn't take bills over $20, I decided to go toll free, even at a longer ride.
When I tried the navigation, just outside Orlando near Ocoee, it gave me two options: use Florida's Turnpike or use Florida's Turnpike. I didn't investigate further for the same reason. It never gave me an option to take a local road, and I couldn't just tap "No tolls" or "Local roads only" because there was no such option. You can go into settings and choose to not use toll roads. That will work fine in Florida but getting across Pennsylvania is tough without the PA Turnpike.
I asked a question in the forums, especially after I ended up taking the toll road partway and it was directing me toward an exit that was marked electronic tolls only. The first answer I got was rude, like "It's not an auto pilot. You need to use your brain." That's a great first impression. (My second impression of him was worse.) I've been using navigation apps for 6 years and someone (who was an area Waze manager), tells me I'm an idiot for expecting an app not to give me ridiculous information. I guess because it's free, I should give it more latitude? Telenav gave me bad advice and I had to ignore it also, since I was going in the correct direction. (Why does Telenav always start by telling me to "turn around"?) In any case, had I no clue about Florida's Turnpike, I might have trusted the app. Instead, I took an exit I knew to be safe.
If this is all about the people, and there are so many smartasses using the app, I think there isn't much reason to expect real help.
I was interested but now, seeing that it's cute and amateur-ish, I'm inclined to just use Telenav again, regardless of their issues. There are other alternatives also like Garmin, TomTom (suppliers of maps/map components to Telenav and Apple), and since yesterday, Nokia's Navteq mapping solution Here. Eventually, Apple's data-conscious maps will work just fine. Google's maps are still available through a browser, if I want to be at the wrong block on the wrong side of the road, wondering why the road name doesn't match.
I've tried Nokia's Here and it's not here yet. I can't access my contacts and that makes it more difficult. Obviously, nothing is great.
Update 2014.12.05: I've used Waze from coast to coast and it is good enough, especially after it was acquired by Google. It has become better in searching for businesses, for navigation. Reporting problems has become more useful. I'm amused that it asks me if there is a slowdown when I'm at a stop light that is red.
Since I've been on a trip from Eastern Indiana to the Orlando, Florida area, I thought I'd try the app on iOS. A lot of people raved about it before Apple brought their new maps to iOS, and since then, the suggestions have become a call to arms, virtually.
So, here I was on a trip I estimated at about 1000 miles one way. I've driven it probably 12 times and lived in the Orlando area for 11 years, so there was hardly a chance of being truly lost, and that's a good time to try something new.
I was somewhat amused by the marshmallow like character with the teething device to show a newbie. There are many different levels of users.
As I drove from my town to Hamilton, OH a couple of times, and then, to Cincinnati, it was somewhat helpful. Of course, the maps will allow you to see the roads ahead, so you can make wiser decisions about lane changes before you try to cross 3 lanes full of traffic to make your turn on time.
I noticed a couple of problems:
- At an intersection, it will sometime ask you if you're in traffic, when you're stopped at a red light "We detected a slowdown. Are you in traffic?" They need a red light button to tap.
- It often changes the orientation 90 degrees and then, to 180 degrees from your actual orientation, showing you headed from whence you came. Of course, it flips you back when you start to move. It's rather dis-orienting.
Driving from Cincinnati, OH on the trip to Chattanooga, TN, I didn't notice much of a problem. You can warn of objects on the road, on the side of the road, and also warn of police. Considering shredded tires and cars slightly off to the side, this can be advantageous, especially in pouring rain and darkness. I've noticed that the police are sometime not where it says that they are, so maybe the police are using the app too?
Most of my experience from Chattanooga to Orlando, FL was similar until I left I-75. I had not lived in the area for four years, and I wasn't sure that the tolls hadn't increased a great deal. Remembering that they didn't take bills over $20, I decided to go toll free, even at a longer ride.
When I tried the navigation, just outside Orlando near Ocoee, it gave me two options: use Florida's Turnpike or use Florida's Turnpike. I didn't investigate further for the same reason. It never gave me an option to take a local road, and I couldn't just tap "No tolls" or "Local roads only" because there was no such option. You can go into settings and choose to not use toll roads. That will work fine in Florida but getting across Pennsylvania is tough without the PA Turnpike.
I asked a question in the forums, especially after I ended up taking the toll road partway and it was directing me toward an exit that was marked electronic tolls only. The first answer I got was rude, like "It's not an auto pilot. You need to use your brain." That's a great first impression. (My second impression of him was worse.) I've been using navigation apps for 6 years and someone (who was an area Waze manager), tells me I'm an idiot for expecting an app not to give me ridiculous information. I guess because it's free, I should give it more latitude? Telenav gave me bad advice and I had to ignore it also, since I was going in the correct direction. (Why does Telenav always start by telling me to "turn around"?) In any case, had I no clue about Florida's Turnpike, I might have trusted the app. Instead, I took an exit I knew to be safe.
If this is all about the people, and there are so many smartasses using the app, I think there isn't much reason to expect real help.
I was interested but now, seeing that it's cute and amateur-ish, I'm inclined to just use Telenav again, regardless of their issues. There are other alternatives also like Garmin, TomTom (suppliers of maps/map components to Telenav and Apple), and since yesterday, Nokia's Navteq mapping solution Here. Eventually, Apple's data-conscious maps will work just fine. Google's maps are still available through a browser, if I want to be at the wrong block on the wrong side of the road, wondering why the road name doesn't match.
I've tried Nokia's Here and it's not here yet. I can't access my contacts and that makes it more difficult. Obviously, nothing is great.
Update 2014.12.05: I've used Waze from coast to coast and it is good enough, especially after it was acquired by Google. It has become better in searching for businesses, for navigation. Reporting problems has become more useful. I'm amused that it asks me if there is a slowdown when I'm at a stop light that is red.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Holy shhh...WiMAX!
Having just written about 4G or faux G this week, it's interesting to see WiMAX work well here in the Orlando, FL area.
I ran a test at speedtest.net last night and got over 10 Mbps (I've even recorded over 13.5 Mbps). This is exceptionally good considering that I'm inside a motel room and the 3G connection is fluctuating between 3G and 1xRTT. 10 Mbps is also faster than I've seen from Verizon LTE, by about 4.8 Mbps. What Verizon has here, I really don't know. Sprint apparently doesn't have LTE here, as that would have connected. I may find it somewhere else in the metropolitan area. Hmm...Oviedo, FL certainly doesn't have access to WiMAX--it barely has 3G service in my friends' house.
It's great to see a download that would take hours, take just minutes instead.
I must say that it's great (sarcasm) to be home where the service barely works at all--and Sprint doesn't think there is a problem.
I ran a test at speedtest.net last night and got over 10 Mbps (I've even recorded over 13.5 Mbps). This is exceptionally good considering that I'm inside a motel room and the 3G connection is fluctuating between 3G and 1xRTT. 10 Mbps is also faster than I've seen from Verizon LTE, by about 4.8 Mbps. What Verizon has here, I really don't know. Sprint apparently doesn't have LTE here, as that would have connected. I may find it somewhere else in the metropolitan area. Hmm...Oviedo, FL certainly doesn't have access to WiMAX--it barely has 3G service in my friends' house.
It's great to see a download that would take hours, take just minutes instead.
I must say that it's great (sarcasm) to be home where the service barely works at all--and Sprint doesn't think there is a problem.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
...from sea to shining sea...
I've seen a lot of the U.S.A. and I've enjoyed it. I've been to maybe 40 of the states in some way, at some time, and I've travelled through many as an adult.
Who knew that driving coast-to-coast could be so exhilarating, as well as tiring? I drove three, 15 hour days from Central Florida to Los Angeles, California in 2005 and 2006. Somewhere around 2800 miles one way is an awesome journey. I would stop on either side of Texas along I-10 because Texas in itself was a 15 hour ride. Imagine the effort to get to the west coast when the settlers were moving that way. They did not have roads, but they might have had trails.
I suspect a lot of people never travel far from their home state, unless they're going to Disney parks or Universal parks or maybe even Sea World. My first year in the U.S.A., we travelled from the San Francisco bay area to Indiana for Christmas with my adoptive mum's family. We did this in a 1960 VW Beetle over U.S. 40, I believe, since there were no interstate highways at the time. Imagine the Rocky Mountains in the winter, especially in a car with very little power. It was actually the best car when there was bad weather. My adoptive parents used to talk about all the big cars that slid off the road, while they were able to continue.
I would think that a car ride would be better than plane travel, especially after all the new restrictions and security checks. I just want to be able to stop to photograph something or stop to get ice cream--when I want. Yes, the price of gasoline is high, but so is the price of jet fuel and because of that, a plane ticket. Of course, I won't be driving to Hawaii any time soon. When I first travelled from Japan to the U.S.A., it was on a ship. I was sandwiched between some Toyota cars and Sony transistor radios. Okay, so I'm joking about that last part, slightly. I learned to walk aboard ship, which is probably why I tend to be more steady on a subway train that on concrete.
In the next week or two, I'm heading to Philadelphia and then, to Central Florida. I'm not sure whether I'm getting away or just trying to resolve the past. The food in Philly is great, and the sunshine in Central Florida is great. I can say that I enjoy Philadelphia because the people are genuine. You know where you stand with people without question. They don't like you--they tell you. Here, and in most of the country, I think you find out because three other people know about what that person said.
People in other parts of the country can say bad about Philly, New York, and New Jersey but being open with people is less stressful than keeping it all inside you. Besides, the food gets a lot of the passion because of it, most likely. Tell me where there is better (American) Italian food than in that area? There isn't any.
The whole country is full of great things to see and do. I'm not talking about the world's biggest ball of twine, but there are so many great people who have done and are doing great things all over the country. You don't even have to look at dams or steer a raft on the rapids of a river. Meeting people along the way can be an adventure. Not everyone is like those people on television or in the movies--even the people in Southern California.
Who knew that driving coast-to-coast could be so exhilarating, as well as tiring? I drove three, 15 hour days from Central Florida to Los Angeles, California in 2005 and 2006. Somewhere around 2800 miles one way is an awesome journey. I would stop on either side of Texas along I-10 because Texas in itself was a 15 hour ride. Imagine the effort to get to the west coast when the settlers were moving that way. They did not have roads, but they might have had trails.
I suspect a lot of people never travel far from their home state, unless they're going to Disney parks or Universal parks or maybe even Sea World. My first year in the U.S.A., we travelled from the San Francisco bay area to Indiana for Christmas with my adoptive mum's family. We did this in a 1960 VW Beetle over U.S. 40, I believe, since there were no interstate highways at the time. Imagine the Rocky Mountains in the winter, especially in a car with very little power. It was actually the best car when there was bad weather. My adoptive parents used to talk about all the big cars that slid off the road, while they were able to continue.
I would think that a car ride would be better than plane travel, especially after all the new restrictions and security checks. I just want to be able to stop to photograph something or stop to get ice cream--when I want. Yes, the price of gasoline is high, but so is the price of jet fuel and because of that, a plane ticket. Of course, I won't be driving to Hawaii any time soon. When I first travelled from Japan to the U.S.A., it was on a ship. I was sandwiched between some Toyota cars and Sony transistor radios. Okay, so I'm joking about that last part, slightly. I learned to walk aboard ship, which is probably why I tend to be more steady on a subway train that on concrete.
In the next week or two, I'm heading to Philadelphia and then, to Central Florida. I'm not sure whether I'm getting away or just trying to resolve the past. The food in Philly is great, and the sunshine in Central Florida is great. I can say that I enjoy Philadelphia because the people are genuine. You know where you stand with people without question. They don't like you--they tell you. Here, and in most of the country, I think you find out because three other people know about what that person said.
People in other parts of the country can say bad about Philly, New York, and New Jersey but being open with people is less stressful than keeping it all inside you. Besides, the food gets a lot of the passion because of it, most likely. Tell me where there is better (American) Italian food than in that area? There isn't any.
The whole country is full of great things to see and do. I'm not talking about the world's biggest ball of twine, but there are so many great people who have done and are doing great things all over the country. You don't even have to look at dams or steer a raft on the rapids of a river. Meeting people along the way can be an adventure. Not everyone is like those people on television or in the movies--even the people in Southern California.
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