the Way of the Turtle

WHY I HATE DRIVING THE NJ HIGHWAYS... AND ONE HECK OF A DOWNPOUR!
Saturday, July 28, 2012

My TomTom XL340 (sadly updated and then discontinued by TomTom... hopefully map updates will continue to be available for a good long time!) is usually spot-on in its travel time predictions, even adjusting them on the fly when I drive a bit faster than it expects for a particular area. So when I left Camp Ockanickon after the races today, I was looking forward to 3 hr 45 min of driving (plus probably an extra 15-20 minutes of stops along the way.) Ordinarily I'd stop at some parks to see the sights, but not today, since (1) I was pretty fried from 3-4 hours of sleep followed by a tough course under hot, humid conditions, (2) driving down directly from Rochester meant my trail guides were all still in Albany, and (3) it was raining on and off. I have to admit, after being away for 9 days, I was also looking forward to being home again, even if it means having to put up with my noisy neighbors (who have two volume settings - LOUD and LOUD!)

Of course, I foolishly forgot to account for the NJ Turnpike/Garden State Parkway effect... I don't know why, but for some reason it is a fairly common occurence for traffic to go from full speed ahead to a dead stop on those two highways, followed by periods of crawling along at 5-10 mph. Last year I remember recalling this as I sat on the road, not moving... and today reminded me again. Fortunately most of the other drivers had their windows up, so it's unlikely many folks heard my occcasional outbursts of "I hate this %*&@#*!! road!" By the time I'd reached northern NJ, the GPS had extended the travel time by 30-40 minutes. Gah.

And then the real storm kicked in... first with some lightning and light rain, and then with a downpour that turned the highway into a river and dropped visibility down to a hundred feet or so. Fortunately everyone saw the writing on the wall and traffic slowed to about half speed. When I stopped for gas at the last service area on the GSP, I bailed on stopping to use the bathroom and grab a drink or snack - even with my rain jacket my shorts would have been drenched in moments. Happily I drove out of the worst of it as I exited onto the NYS Thruway, and the rest of the drive was by-the-numbers... but altogether it was 90 minutes later than the GPS originally predicted before I pulled up in front of the house and yes, was greeted by the sound of my neighbors blasting music on their van stereo while they sat on the porch enjoying the evening.

Regardless of the complaining, it's good to be home again.

JMH