41–50 of 53 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I can't say I remember a building in Western Europe where traffic signs were mounted on buildings. In cities it's either on or at the edge of sidewalks.
I'm talking about names of streets, not traffic signs.
> It’s ironic that nearly a century later, after decades of relying on road maps and atlases, so many drivers have gone back to turn-by-turn directions as their preferred navigational aid. If only Siri could flag the landmarks and throw out some trivia along the way. Yes! This is exactly what I would love. Be able to tell Google "tell me about interesting things within two miles of my route" and then have it start to…
For long road trips, finding cheap gas and most of the other things often wanted - good WiFi, decent coffee, a reasonably clean restroom, food of adequate quality and speed - and all at a single point along one's planned route can be more challenging.
Approaches include using chain truck stops (Fying J, Pilot, Loves, etc.), or stopping at both state-sponsored rest areas in states that have them, and stopping for gas (or electric!) refueling elsewhere.
There used to be guide book for African American travelers called the green book. It helped them know places they could use the bathroom, eat, and lodge. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Boo...
Even in Canada today you can still see instances of this. Fairly disgusting, to put it mildly. I found this out when we employed the one person of color in the community as a gas station attendant, the reverse situation sketched in the wikipedia article linked. Large customers would contact me and pointedly demand we fire the person or they'd cease doing business (this was fine with me, the nearest alternative was a…
Drop the surprise. Canada is populated by people. People in Canada are just as assholish, racist and disgusting as people anywhere else in the world.
This means that when we say something like "let's go from Panama City to Charlotte", we must plan the entire route beforehand, much in the style of these books. And it's definitely necessary to have a navigator to point out the turns correctly; it is still difficult to navigate on, e.g., tiny backwoods Alabama roads. The directions end up being quite long; when I saw that there were only 40 directions from Fort Morgan to Denver, I thought that was fewer than what we usually get in our ~140 mile days!
What makes these trips really interesting is that we have to go through towns that are not served by the interstate system (and in some cases do not even have U.S. routes going through them). This, combined with the fact that we often come to a stop to fix something, means that we meet a lot of interesting people and discover interesting parts of the country that none of us knew existed.
We also stop at old bridges and take pictures in front of them:
http://ratml.org/misc_img/saluda_bridge.jpg
Anyway I know this comment is quite long at this point, but, I highly recommend road-tripping like this to anyone and everyone! I have learned more about the rural Southeast in three weeks of roadtripping like this than in ten years of living here.
My friends and I actually road trip like this! We drive a 1930 Model A from town to town, and because of its maximum speed (about 50-60mph), we can't take interstates or main roads. Well, we could, but it's better to avoid it. This means that when we say something like "let's go from Panama City to Charlotte", we must plan the entire route beforehand, much in the style of these books. And it's definitely necessary to…
My friends and I actually road trip like this! We drive a 1930 Model A from town to town, and because of its maximum speed (about 50-60mph), we can't take interstates or main roads. Well, we could, but it's better to avoid it. This means that when we say something like "let's go from Panama City to Charlotte", we must plan the entire route beforehand, much in the style of these books. And it's definitely necessary to…
It warms my heart to see proof that such people as yourself still exist.
For me it is very enlightening to realize that the technology sphere in which I live is actually only a very small part of the world!
My friends and I actually road trip like this! We drive a 1930 Model A from town to town, and because of its maximum speed (about 50-60mph), we can't take interstates or main roads. Well, we could, but it's better to avoid it. This means that when we say something like "let's go from Panama City to Charlotte", we must plan the entire route beforehand, much in the style of these books. And it's definitely necessary to…
its interesting how so many things come full circle. like how turn by turn directions faded out of style and came back with GPS
There used to be guide book for African American travelers called the green book. It helped them know places they could use the bathroom, eat, and lodge. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Boo...
Back in the seventies anytime I took a trip out of state my Dad would get me a AAA trip book. Each page had a short section of the highway and in a yellow marker it would show exits, towns etc. You'd flip the pages over every 40 miles and people referred to them as flip books. I found them to be quite useful but now they seem kind of quaint. It would show gas stations and motels at the exits. Every year they'd publis…
Map reading skills was the beginning of a love of super-geography (as my professor called it, "the whyfore of where.")
Plus, a map was the first use of different letter sizes, colors, etc.. that I can remember.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where in Canada was this? I could possibly see it in Northern Ontario, they were eagle eyed watching a black friend of mine there. In the cities or southern Ontario I'd be very surprised to witness open racism.
Northern Ontario, spot on. But even in the cities I've seen plenty of it, just more clever variations.
I had heard from people about 10 years older than me that they got flak for interracial marriage. It seemed absolutely alien to me at the time.
