One Hell Of A Road Trip

I think I might get a Mercedes G Wagon for my next car. Apparently they can really rack up the miles, at least the one in this video that Stretch sent did - some 500,000 miles...



Man, ain't that something? I'd be happy just to do a trip like that in North America, honestly. While Gunther really did rack up some impressive-as-hell pictures from the thousands of awesome locations, he went places I don't think I'd ever dream of going. While the trip to Australia only cost money (and, I would assume, shipping a G-wagon from Europe to Australia probably costs more than my truck is worth), going places like North Korea, Iraq, and Cuba is not high on my list of things to do.

Again, though, a full-on North America trip might just be possible, assuming I could find friends in Washington state and Maine to hold onto my guns when I hit the Canadian border. I could see taking a decade to criss-cross the USA and another to hit Canada. Heck, at a decade, that's 5 states a year (on average; you could do New England in a year, easy, that allows a little extra time for the boat trip to Hawaii...). Some of the larger states might require more time - I'd wager you could spend a full year in Texas, easy - but that'd be the fun of it.

And heck yeah, I'd want to meet up with as many people as possible along the way...

That is all.

Fitting...

Heh. I figure by the time this posts, we'll have picked up Dennis, caught a quick lunch, and be started on the remainder of our trek to Pittsburgh. Seems like the perfect time for Priest:



Yeah, that'll do until I hit Steelerville...

That is all.

*Actually* Going to the NRA Convention...

Let's see. By the time this posts, I should have picked up Weer'd Beard and have started west. In a few hours, we'll be meeting up with Dennis of Dragon Leatherworks and continuing west to Pittsburgh. Google maps puts the entire trip at 601 miles, giving an estimated time-of-travel of 10½ hours. Figure another hour with stops, we should be pulling into town with just about enough time to drop off our bags to make Unc's shindig...

And y'all will love this. I'm renting a car, considering that gas is $4/gallon and the Dodge Earthf**ker gets about 12-14 MPG on the open highway (15 if I take it easy, but with a 345 HP Hemi, that ain't gonna happen). I chose the "intermediate" class, which consists of Corollas and Sentras and such, cars that all get 30 MPG highway or better. In the "Comments" section, I wrote down that I did not want a hatchback - a 1200 miles journey requires multiple stops, and I'd rather folks not see all the suitcases in the back.

So what does Hertz give me? One of these:

(Mazda 5)

THEY. GAVE. ME. A. FREAKIN'. MINIVAN.

Yeah, yeah, I know, it's a 5-door hatchback, not a minivan; blah blah blah. It has twin sliding doors and seating for six. It's a minivan. On the plus side, I can run a nice side business shuttling people to and from the hotel and convention center...

Me, a minivan, and a 1200 mile road trip with Weer'd Beard - this is gonna be EPIC.

That is all.

Headin' Home...

Well, as all good things must do, our vacation here in DC is coming to an end. In typical Washington style, though, there's a twist - even though we specifically gave our availability for a White House tour as "any time Monday through Friday", we got the good news that we had a tour today at 11. Now, we're not about to pass up the chance to tour the White House, so we'll be getting a later start on the ride home than expected...

Look for a recap of the trip early next week, including a full recap of last night's get-together with DC-area bloggers - including a special guest!

That is all.

Dear Virginia Highway Department

WTF?

No, really. What the holy hell is going on in Virginia? We had dinner with the charming and insanely nice OldNFO last night (thank you, good sir, for the fine dining and excellent company!), and upon leaving the restaurant, were directed to our way home via GPS to the first leg of our trip, getting on a state highway.

Except that the ramp they wanted us to go up was no longer a highway entrance, it was an exit.

Yes, you heard that right. They change the direction of a ramp off the highway depending on the time of day. Apparently at certain times it lets people off the highway, at other times it lets people on the highway. I've been all over the US and never seen something like this, probably because it's f**king retarded. Sure, for the locals that know the ins-and-outs I'm sure it works, but for anyone turning around off the highway, or stopping off for a bite to eat, or anyone not intimately familiar with the area it turns a quick stop off the highway into a highly annoying detour.

And it gets better - we find an alternate route, travel ~ 15 miles on a secondary road to I-95 - to find the on-ramp to I-95 closed. Not because of an accident. Not because of road work. Apparently this is more of the VA DOT's traffic control - prevent access to a major highway at 9:00 at night so that... um... I'm trying to think why this is a good idea. Oh, wait, it's not - especially because it routed us off the secondary highway through a congested commercial zone where we promptly got right on I-95. If the design was supposed to keep us off the highway, it failed miserably.

It did manage to make me turn bright crimson with rage, though, and think of several hundred creative things I'd like to do to the filthy sadist responsible...

That is all.

Final DC Bleg...

Okay. We've got our hotels narrowed down to a choice of two:

1. Sleep Inn & Suites, Laurel MD. Advantages are that it's the less expensive of the two hotels, is brand new as of 2010, and is slightly closer (roughly 15 miles from DC). Disadvantages are that it's next to a race track and that it seems more geared towards Baltimore than DC.

2. Country Inn & Suites, Manassas VA. Advantages of this hotel are that it's pretty close to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, it's a suite rather than a standard hotel room, and it's in VA. Disadvantages are that it's further from DC (35 miles) and more expensive.

---

The price difference is really the least of the issues; we're primarily concerned with the area around the hotel and the difficulty of getting into DC. We're arriving Sunday evening and leaving Saturday morning, and planning on at least three, possibly four days out of the week in DC. Getting into (and out of) DC is another significant concern - if the traffic pattern is such that the 15 miles into Laurel MD takes an hour and a half, whereas the 35 miles from Manassas only takes 45 minutes, then the difference in distance isn't an issue.

Another question, of course, is how does this affect a NoVA/SoMD blog meet one night? I know I've got friends in MD as well as VA, some I've met and some I am hoping to meet. Getting out for a dinner/evening of adult beverages is a possibility; an entire day at the range not so much. The two locations don't appear to be much more than an hour apart, so that shouldn't make too much difference in any meeting up with folks.

Basically, I want to make sure we're not looking at a questionable area and/or one that's going to be difficult to get to DC from every day. The bulk of our time is going to be spent in DC in the museums and monuments and such, so the hotel is really a secondary consideration; however as always, safety and convenience are important. I'd hate to have to spend evenings in the hotel room with the couch up against the door in the wrong area; I'd also hate to spend two hours in traffic in and out of DC each day. If both hotels are in a good locations that don't take forever to get into DC, then it comes down to personal preference (and we all like the suite I think...)

To my MD/VA peeps: Which of these two hotels would be your choice?

That is all.

Homeward Bound...

By the time this posts, I should be in my truck headed towards home (with a quick stop at Dunkin' Donuts first). It's been a great weekend, but it's time to get back to my family and the rest of what passes for my life. I've got ~ 11 hours of road time ahead, with the promise of my family waiting for me at the other end. While the occasional extended "dadcation" (thanks Marko) is a much-anticipated event, there is nothing better than getting back home to see those people I miss the most.

Miles, please pass quickly - I'm on my way, home sweet home*

That is all.

*Heh, yes, now that will be stuck in your head now...