Category: Travel

question eight

driving08

Blue car is westbound talking/texting on the cell phone and hovering over the yellow line when the black car appears eastbound:

a-blue car should cradle the phone with her shoulder in order to keep talking and stand her ground on the yellow line
b-driver of the blue car should put down the cell phone and get back in her own lane
c-the driver should not change phone habits and should cross further into the oncoming traffic lane and force the black car out of the lane (often resulting in being in the shoulder) (part “c” was only coincidentally labeled “c”)

question nine

driving09

Pedestrians are crossing the street when the red car from the west and the purple car from the north are approaching:

a-the purple car and the red car should both stop at the stop signs and wait for the pedestrians to finish crossing the street, then proceed, in turn through the intersection
b-Red car should roll through the intersection before the pedestrians have a chance to get all the way across, and the purple car should stop at the stop sign and wait for the intersection to clear
c-the red car should wave the purple car on faster through the intersection in hopes that both cars will make it through the intersection before the pedestrians finish crossing the street

question ten

driving10

Three cars approach the intersection, a green car from the west, a dark blue car from the south, and a lighter blue car from the north (in that order); the darker blue car is turning left:

a-the green car should wave on the dark blue car because it is on the right and the lighter blue car is going straight so it should go ahead and go through the intersection so the dark blue car can turn left, and then the green car may proceed
b-the darker blue car should go first because it is to the right of the other cars in the intersection, then the green car, then the lighter blue car
c-the green car should go first because it arrived first, the dark blue car second and the lighter blue car third

question eleven

driving11

Traveling on a street with the speed limit posted many times at 30 mph and a car comes up behind going very fast (on our street people often 45 mph or more):

a-the red car should slow down to the speed limit, as should the black car
b-the red car should honk the horn and flash its lights while gesturing angrily
c-the black car should slow down to 25 mph and hope that the oncoming traffic keeps up and force the red car to slow down

How much of a nerd am I?

As many of you know, I have been on the road A LOT lately.  As I travel I try to keep my mind busy.

I started by playing the alphabet game.  you know you have to find words that start with each letter of the alphabet, in order.  This game started just before Columbia, Missouri; over 100 miles and more than two hours later it ended.  I will never play in that state again!  Who am I kidding, I will probably play it, and get just as frustrated too. Here are the words:
Authorized  Broyhill  Coil  Dining  Exit  Fedex  Ground  Hilton  Inn  Just  Kitchen  Limit  Marriott  Nostalgia  Omaha  Pier  Qualifying  Restaurant  Subaru  The  Used  Vandiver  Waffle  Xit  Yahweh’s  Zone

X was an exit sign missing the E.  Z was from Auto Zone, there are apparently no “No Passing Zone” signs in the state of Missouri, and we found Auto Zone in Hannibal as we were fixing to get on the bridge back to Illinois.  Q was actually easy to find.  I, J, T, U, and X all tool a long time to find also.  Y was easy.

Then for fear of not finding letters again, I decided instead of playing the alphabet game again, I would see how many license plates I could read.  here are all the license plates I could read from the time we got off the bridge into Illinois until we took the turn into Macomb:
YA4 W3K     H37 3428     391 7005     QP 20-11     MA4 V3V     39 283 L     BARB 680     HIO 3108     98 099 R

Yes, there were only nine distinct cars traveling the same direction as us that I saw.  So you can imagine how boring that game was for me.  I think I saw all those in the first 25 minutes of playing.  I decided to write down all the numbers I saw along the road.  Yes, I know it may be only interesting to myself.  Here goes:
336  65  55  4  45  336  65  55  4  1  61  336  61  1/2  61  336  4  61  50  61  001  0084  336  61  65  55  4  61  4  5  2353  9.00  61  336  65  55  2500  336  61  1/2  61  61  61  336  65  55  4  1500  1  99  3  71  4  2700  336  65  4  55  2735  13.00  336  336  1613  14.00  336  1600  912  336  65  55  4  1750  1820  3000  55  93  20  926  55  4  3.00  250  55  4  315  100  91  94  94  94  94  336  94  65  55  1706  445  336  94  65  55  4  555  643  595  650  65  55  61  69  61  69  9.15  40  336  911   4  4  55  1300  2000  1300  1350  136  94  1400  136  94  136  94  50  136  94  336  136  63  42  2015  65  136  336  18  23  2146  2200  63  42  2300  65  2.5  55  2350  217  357  0850  2450  150  55  375  1/2  1/2  55  5  5  174  5  1500  136  336  3600  2880  136  336  65  65  55  050  .58  55  1/4  61  61  1.09  136  336  55  55  1.6  55  225  1544  309  836  55  136  136  336  136  336  336  9 65  55  4  350  350  3.65  450  3  7  336  65  55  4  8  336  8  336  65  55 4  700  750  750  750  850  1500  50  136  10  45  45  20000 950  45  45  1000  45  309  837  45  4001  3136  837  45  1009  571  660  680  7575  837  4191  837  1625  1607  9642  30  1319  1301  1219  1025  1007  30  30  30  1  2  6694  836

If you add it all up it equals 160621.82.

27 times I saw 336.  26 times I saw 55.  17 times I saw 65 and 4.  16 times I saw 61.  13 times I saw 136.  Ten times I saw 94.  Eight times I saw 45.  Four times I saw 837, 30, 5, and 1/2.  Three times I saw 1500, 750, 50, and 1.  Two times I saw 1300, 850, 836, 350, 309, 69, 63, 42, 8, and 3.  Only once for the rest of the numbers.

There you go, the crazy world that is mine.

How do the rest of you pass your time on long car rides/trips?