Erica wrote:
I just looked it up, and from Albuquerque to my town is 1,728 miles, or 26 hours of driving straight. It is just driving I-40 the entire time, though! North Carolina itself is a bit larger than all of England. (I'm located very near the capital city of NC, Raleigh.)
A five hour drive is nothing to sneeze at, but it's not unheard of.
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
My sister and I were considering doing the 9-hour drive to Florida. (We still haven't made that trip. Mostly we want to go to Harry Potter World but why go to Orlando and
not go to Disney World?)
Erica,
For some reason, when I was estimating mileage, I guessed the Raleigh area. We have been through there many times especially when we go by Quantico, Virginia or my cousin's in Norfolk, VA. We usually end up spending the night in Greensboro, NC.
Otherwise between our home in Maine and Albuquerque, we often pick up 81 in Tennessee and take that up through Pennsylvania and New York, etc.
It is about 3500 miles one way between our two houses (Albuquerque, New Mexico and near Bangor, Maine) and takes us from 8-10 days depending if we spend an extra night or two somewhere. (For those who are into mysteries, Bangor, Maine is the home of author, Stephen King. He is a really great guy and can find him in Burger King in his high school jacket.
gwd,
Yes, OH agrees that we avoid LA at all costs.
When OH lived and worked in San Diego, he would drive all night to visit his sister in Tucson. But, he was a federal special agent driving a federal (police undercover) vehicle and would go about 100mph to get there. (Long before I met him.) Also, back in the 1980s, it was nothing to drive between Camp Pendleton and San Diego. Last time we were together and visited, it took much longer and they even had traffic reports on the weekends.
The way we go to N. California is through Flagstaff, Arizona and Barstow, California and then usually a night in Gilroy so as to avoid the San Jose traffic especially during rush hour. And this is since Sandy came to us. Before then, it was more like two nights.
You are right about the distances and times between the Western US and Eastern US. I-95 has all these tolls and speed limits are low. In the west, I-40 is 75 mph speed limit but most do 80.
And from living in Israel, I know that gasoline or petrol is much more expensive in UK, Europe, and Israel.
But, there can be a huge difference from state to state within the US. California and Illinois are among the highest. Maine adds so many taxes that they are not cheap, either. It is really interesting when we drive cross country.
I have been to the UK a couple of times, mainly London. Although back in 1968, when I was in high school and traveled with my parents and family, we did take the train to a part of Wales. It was quite interesting. Also, later as an adult, took a tour to Stratford on Avon. Interestingly, all those years that I lived in Israel, I never got to the UK nor Europe. I was there for five years before visiting family in California.
Israel is so small, that it is an easy day drive to almost any part of the country. My friend there can never sit at home in the Galilee. One night in Tel Aviv, another in Jerusalem. And I just found out that they brought their dog with them when they moved back to Israel in the early 1990s.
Anyway, Judy, I don't remember hearing your story about taking off your clothes and jumping into a lake.
Diane
Sandy, Chihuahua mix b. 12/20/09