On The Road Again

So I just wrapped up the 2024 Fall Foliage/Northeast College Tour with the kids…it was epic! And like most of our journeys, invaluable memories were made. Robyn loved every minute of it and Jacob just wanted to be rid of us by Day 4.

Outside of the sites on the campuses at Brown University, Yale University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Downtown D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston and all the beautiful changing leaves along the route to each of the places, what stood out most to me were the road encounters.

I was the main driver for our 1,089 miles to our base destination in Providence, R.I. and back. I allowed Robyn to drive a boring portion of the way there along I-95 and on the way back during daylight hours. I knew she wasn’t quite ready for the New Jersey turnpike with it’s no left turns or the crowded New York Thruway. Boy was I right, at moments I didn’t feel like I was ready with 30 years of driving under my belt. I saw some things I never want to see again! The kids missed many of the what could have been “life altering” events because they were napping as I steered the ship.

I don’t mind driving, day or night. Over long trips I prefer night driving because there tends to be less people on the road and traffic usually flows quicker. The truckers rule the road at night and I don’t have a problem with that.

The 18-wheeler drivers know where they are going and don’t mind getting there, if you know what I mean. So I tend to find a truck moving steadily and safely and keep their pace until a bathroom or rest break is needed. That worked out well until the New York State Thruway when stuff started blowing up.

The northern roadways and parkways are looking a lot like the south with construction at every turn. Once on the Thruway, stuff starting changing. The roads got narrower and construction more frequent with little warning of lane closures.

I would be tailing a truck, at a safe distance, then notice the truck changing lanes suddenly because our lane was closing with no indicator other then the barrells in the middle of the lane that just appeared without warning—no lane closure signs, no LED arrows urging us to get over, just nothing.

After almost hitting a barrel, I had to recalibrate my mind. Not long after that I found myself dodging an 18-wheeler stationed in the middle of a three lane highway with its hazards on, just sitting there. Wow. I thought it was customary for a vehicle, even a big truck, to work it’s way to the shoulder. But that was New York.

It got better rolling through Connecticut. I liked that portion of the drive with it’s scenic views, I think I could live there.