Distances....

[Fozzer]

..no....not the distance from here to Alpha Centauri.... .....

...but distances by road!

Having watch one of my favourite films (yet again!) on DVD last night...."Paris, Texas", http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087884/ and noticing that a journey was travelled by a Father and his young Son, in an old, beaten-up, Pick-up Truck, from Los Angeles, California, to Houston, Texas....

..and I'm thinking to myself...(as I do)..."That's a VERY LONG way!", bearing in mind that any journey exceeding 150 miles for me is not something I look forward to, in England!

So I googled the Distance...>>> http://www.distance-cities.com/distance ... houston-tx
.....1,548 miles by car, taking over a day to get there, assuming that nothing goes wrong!!

It follows a familiar Motorcycle route for me..."Route 66"...or the newer Interstate 10, through some amazing (desert) scenery!

At present I am following the Route by air in my Sim BAC Jet Provost...('cos I need something fast to get there!).

But its amazing, the distances needed to travel in the USA, from one place/State to another, especially by Motor Car/Truck!

Paul....deciding not to go to Alpha Centauri....too far away!... ....!

Do you travel long distances by road, by Motor Car or Truck?... ...!

[Apex]

Would drive by myself from here (Miami) to mid Georgia in the 70's to see an ex girlfriend. Did that a bunch of times. A few too many. Very rough when driving 600 miles each way by yourself, about 10 hours one way.

To Atlanta once in '72 with a friend. He insisted on driving the entire way back ("I wanna see if I can do it"). He did it, nicely, 14 hours.

Further back, in my younger and adventurous days, with some buddies, we would road trip from here (Miami), to Tallahassee, I guess maybe 500 miles one way, did that a bunch of times, by car.

Further back, van trips mid upstate a few times, to Daytona and thereabouts. Good ol' Gary's van, a real late 60's looking thing with all the trimmings.

Then again in Gary's WonderVan, to New Orleans for just a few hours, then over to North Carolina to his Dad's place. Did that only once.

Further back than that, when very young, car trips back to NY to visits the family. No Interstate in those days, took 3 days of easy driving at 50-60 mph. Pretty cool for a little kid to just look out the window and watch the East Coast go by. A real nice relaxing drive, lots of bridges in the NE to drive over. The first day was all Florida.

And ocassional trips down to Key West. That's a really spectacular drive, wow, the Atlantic (or is it the Caribbean) on one side, and the Gulf on the other, lots of ocean and bridges. But ya gotta keep sharp, it's not the safest drive.

Those were all great road trips, always sober, at least me when driving.

[Fozzer]

Fantastic read, Apex!.... ...!

Many thanks!

Having spent so many years touring California in my Flight Sims almost every day, a journey I would love to have taken, is the Route from San Francisco to Los Angeles, via Highway 1, and/or Highway 101.

Highway 1 hugs the Pacific Coast most of the way. Narrow and twisty in places!
Highway 101 is the major route from Seattle to San Diego, (together with Interstate 5), via San Francisco. Faster and straighter!

http://gocalifornia.about.com/od/cacoas ... wy-One.htm

Through some wonderful, ever-changing scenery; mountains and valleys, Pacific sea-sides,.....and Vineyards!

.......far too late now...I'm afraid!.... ...!

Paul... ...!

[CHUCK79]

When I was a kid we moved from Tennessee to Washington.....It took three days by bus.....never riding a bus again

[JP]

We drive from Cork,ireland to Holland once a year/ever 2 years.
Full time including boat travel; 14-18 hours,about 425KM I think.
It isn't that much of a drive,it's just that we usualy have to go through some often congested roads.
Funny part is,we saw a ferari stuck in traffic around london once with the license plate: f1cunt or something like that. XD

[Fozzer]

When I was a kid we moved from Tennessee to Washington.....It took three days by bus.....never riding a bus again

.... ... ... ...!

The size of the USA is enormous!

I'm pretty sure its possible to fit the whole of England just inside the State of California alone!

Four different Time Zones from East to West!...How do they cope with that?...making Telephone calls, etc!
Even the Folks across the other side of the road could be in a different Time Zone!

No wonder the Folks need(ed) monster Cars, with monster, gas-guzzling engines, to travel about in reasonable comfort!

I think twice about the distance involved in going to my local Supermarket!....(2 miles)... ...!

I wonder if the sheer size, and the distance needed to travel, prevents some folks from escaping from their present (unpleasant) location?

Anyone in the middle, ever/never visited the Atlantic/Pacific Coast (Sea-side) in their lifetime?

Paul...50 miles from the nearest Coast... ....!

[BE58D]

Try going from Napa, California to Los Angeles, California... but you're riding in the back of an ambulance with a psychiatric patient... BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

[Fozzer]

Try going from Napa, California to Los Angeles, California... but you're riding in the back of an ambulance with a psychiatric patient... BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

Sounds like a good idea BE...

All psychiatric patients should always be transferred from the Bay Area, to Los Angeles......where they belong.... ...!

Paul....Napa Valley Vineyards.... ...!

[Ang2dogs]

Back in my rebel stage, I left NYC heading to LA, on a grey hound bus, 3days four nights, but they got me there.
Did that trip 3 times and each one was anadventure. and back in them days around trip ticket was 250$.

Now I do the driving my self got me a campertruck want to drive that Dalton hwy,,,,,,,,,,, In the spring or early summer of course.

[H]

The USAF flew me from NH down to Texas for Basic Training, bussed me from Texas to Mississippi (for the Biloxi blues -- and it snowed after I got there -- enough for an evening snowball fight!!) for AF Tech School. Ending Tech, I flew home for leave; my Dad (a bit of a 'lead foot') had blown the engine in his Lincoln so I let him have my Charger and bought a Monte Carlo; driving from NH to my Nebraska duty station, the MC rode so much smoother than my Charger that I got a ticket for doing 103.1mph (in cruising mode with just the two small venturies: 350cu" 4bbl) in Indiana; I made that @1600mi trip a number of times, the shortest time @ 28 hours (Hastings, Nebraska, to Claremont, NH). My last trip, in 2003, was costly: my GMC pickup got @ 10mpg on a steep downhill and a hurricane pushing it.

[Webb]

I live in South Florida too and everything is X hours away.

If I went south I'd hit Key West in about 3 hours, north for 3 hours I'd be at Kennedy Space Center or outside of Orlando. Another few hours would get me to Jacksonville where I can hang a left and visit my relatives, and I regularly do, in Tallahassee (Boca to Tally = 500 miles).

But I could keep driving another 200 miles west to Pensacola and still be in Florida. There is a time zone change at (as any Floridian knows) Blountstown.

[Fozzer]

Of course...there's always the magic; "Route 66", from Chicago to Santa Monica, for the intrepid explorer to travel... ...!

A popular route for Motorcyclists...and Volkswagen Camper-Van owners!... ...!

2,451 miles, through some breath-taking scenery!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Route_66

I've done it a couple of times in my Flight Sims, over the years, using the Beech Baron and my maps of the route, with stop-overs at various Airfields/Airstrips each night....Of course.... its NOTHING like experiencing the wonders of the REAL journey!... ...!

The Western, and Mid-Western USA scenery always fills me with awe!

Paul... ...!

Anyone tried "Route 66" (now Interstate 10), or parts of it?.... ...!

[Webb]

Those roads are just woefully inefficient.

If I have to go more than 20 miles I take a 6 lane superhighway.

If you wanted to drive 2500 miles would you take the A10 or the Cotswold Scenic Sheep Trail?

[Fozzer]

Those roads are just woefully inefficient.

If I have to go more than 20 miles I take a 6 lane superhighway.

If you wanted to drive 2500 miles would you take the A10 or the Cotswold Scenic Sheep Trail?

I watched this series on British TV recently....>>> http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2058779/

An amazing journey, with some amazing/interesting photography, and fascinating discussions with various folks living along the route...

...many abandoned/deserted communities along the way, when the new interstate system by-passed them!.... ....!

Arizona (Monument Valley), and Nevada was wonderful!

Paul.... ...!

[expat]

Most summers, we visit relatives in North Carolina. We fly into JFK, pick up the hire car and drive south. I have to say I don't think twice about the distance. In fact we like the drive. You can take a northern route or a southern route. I drive through 6 or so different States, each with its own landscape, climate and people, it is interesting. We stop for an overnight as it is 900 miles and my body is six hours ahead of the actual time. I have driven from San Fransisco to LA several times, again the distance is not something I think about. The longest trip I and Mrs Ex-Pat have done was LA to Las Vegas and then onto San Fransisco. You see so much of the land and if you see something of interest, then pull over and have a look. I have to say, the only thing that is a bit of a pain is the speed limit in the USA. If I drive down to Munich for example, it is 400 miles. That would take all day in the USA, it takes me about 4 hours here............

Matt