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Road Trip!

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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,684
    edited November 2015
    Michaell said:

    What we got today you'd probably consider a dusting.

    Haha! No, eight+ inches is still a decent amount. We don't tend to get huge dumps (other than this past September, where we actually did). Rather, it just accumulates little by little over the months. I only scoffed because winter set in a good month ago now, so what's the big deal if you get some snow here and there? ;)

    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 262,197
    xwesx said:

    Michaell said:

    What we got today you'd probably consider a dusting.

    Haha! No, eight+ inches is still a decent amount. We don't tend to get huge dumps (other than this past September, where we actually did). Rather, it just accumulates little by little over the months. I only scoffed because winter set in a good month ago now, so what's the big deal if you get some snow here and there? ;)

    Fortunately, the snow melts pretty quickly around here. Was sunny this afternoon and a plow finally came down our street around 8 tonight. I got out and ran a few errands - once I got out of my neighborhood, the roads were in pretty decent shape for my FWD hatchback.

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  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    On the road again - still nice and dry:

    image

    Alps shining in all their glory:

    image

    Mont Blanc Tunnel, most expensive toll road I have experienced:

    image
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,723
    Fintail,
    You were probably better being where you were than in the PNW yesterday, although maybe the really bad stuff was east of where you usually are.
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • slorenzenslorenzen Member Posts: 694
    explorerx4 said:

    Fintail,
    You were probably better being where you were than in the PNW yesterday, although maybe the really bad stuff was east of where you usually are.

    Yeah, my daughter in law called last night from Spokane. She and my son and grandson were hunkered in the basement of their home while 80-90 mph winds roared outside.

    Today is a beautiful blue-sky day with just light winds.

    Daughter in law texted that they were 2mph shy of hurricane...
  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 262,197
    slorenzen said:

    explorerx4 said:

    Fintail,
    You were probably better being where you were than in the PNW yesterday, although maybe the really bad stuff was east of where you usually are.

    Yeah, my daughter in law called last night from Spokane. She and my son and grandson were hunkered in the basement of their home while 80-90 mph winds roared outside.

    Today is a beautiful blue-sky day with just light winds.

    Daughter in law texted that they were 2mph shy of hurricane...
    I have a HS friend who also lives in Spokane ... amazing the wind speeds that went through yesterday.

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  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,684
    In the Columbia Basin area, 45-50 mph winds really aren't uncommon. But, I never experienced anything on the order of 90mph in the fifteen years I spent there!
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited November 2015
    Sounds like people were windsurfing the Gorge at Hood River and buying all the little sails they could find. 64 mpg gusts.
  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,709
    Whoa...two friends of Mrs.iluvmysephia1 and I are temporarily homeless in Coeur d'Alene, ID, after 70 mph winds knocked trees on to their apt. and mobile home. :s

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    I remember some decent windstorms in Moses Lake, one that came with snowfall and made some pretty cool big drifts.

    No driving today, but some things seen via using a road:

    The Synchrocyclotron from 1957 at CERN:

    image

    And a nice day on the lake - clouds streaming in from the apparent direction of the Jura hint at changes to come:

    image
  • explorerx4explorerx4 Member Posts: 20,723
    I looked up what a Synchrocyclotron is, but reading it gave me a headache.
    2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    This sums up my day - rain, traffic, little cars, GPS that once again took me into a city center when I wasn't going to that city center.

    image
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,684
    edited November 2015
    fintail said:

    This sums up my day - rain, traffic, little cars, GPS that once again took me into a city center when I wasn't going to that city center.

    It may not be the highlight of your trip, but you're sure bringing the rest of us some enjoyment via your frequent updates! Make the most of the time you have left over there! :)
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Should remind you of cruising around Seattle at least, lol.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Indeed, I felt at home today - constant rain, crawling traffic, timid slow drivers - this is what I thought I had escaped.

    Only a little time left, back home beginning of the week. Right in time for a long weekend :)
  • carboy21carboy21 Member Posts: 760
    edited November 2015
    It is a unique experience to see all the cars from brands never seen in the USA like Peugeot, Renault, Citroen, Vauxhall, Skoda, Seat, VW:) , Opel, Fiat , Dacia , Alfa Romeo ........
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    The tie-ins are interesting. PSA Peugeot Citroen is still pretty unique though I guess they have (or had) a relationship with Mitsubishi and Dongfeng. You could say that all the rest are "just" VWs, GMs, "Renault-Nissans" or FCAs.
  • carboy21carboy21 Member Posts: 760
    stever said:

    The tie-ins are interesting. PSA Peugeot Citroen is still pretty unique though I guess they have (or had) a relationship with Mitsubishi and Dongfeng. You could say that all the rest are "just" VWs, GMs, "Renault-Nissans" or FCAs.

    Agreed but the all the different flavors are fun even if made by just three major automakers :smile: )
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited November 2015
    You'd think with all the globalization of platforms and parts bin sharing, we would get some of the more fun ones. I'd loved to have had the chance to test drive an Espace back in the late 90s.
  • carboy21carboy21 Member Posts: 760
    edited November 2015
    When I was working in UK, Renault Clio was the hottest cult car among young lovers because of its very famous 'Papa & Nicole' adverts staring a young guy coming in Clio to elope with his girlfriend and the girls father catches them sneaking but forgives him when he sees that he has a Clio :smile:

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=jDe9rvQRHEI&list=PL0KIzbnLyQv_LqKHja3HOe44327AtfY5K
  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    fintail said:

    I remember some decent windstorms in Moses Lake, one that came with snowfall and made some pretty cool big drifts.

    No driving today, but some things seen via using a road:

    The Synchrocyclotron from 1957 at CERN:

    image

    And a nice day on the lake - clouds streaming in from the apparent direction of the Jura hint at changes to come:

    image

    G'day

    Geneva is a gorgeous city, isn't it. I had some work there years ago and spent a couple of weeks staying in a very flash hotel, right by the lake. To say the rooms were large would be doing it a dis-service - the bathroom was larger than my living room at home and total floor area, probably the same as my home in England!

    As a break, I took a lake tour on that steamer in your photo and admired the fountain. Absolutely exquisite. Inevitably, brought home far too many bags of chocolates for the kids, leading to Angus's first two word phrase, "More Choc!". One way to teach your kids to speak!

    Cheers

    Graham

  • grahampetersgrahampeters Member Posts: 1,786
    carboy21 said:

    When I was working in UK, Renault Clio was the hottest cult car among young lovers because of its very famous 'Papa & Nicole' adverts staring a young guy coming in Clio to elope with his girlfriend and the girls father catches them sneaking but forgives him when he sees that he has a Clio :smile:

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=jDe9rvQRHEI&list=PL0KIzbnLyQv_LqKHja3HOe44327AtfY5K

    G'day

    Likewise, we spent the 1990s in Britain and I had two inherited Renaults in that time. The Clio ads were very cheeky and as you say, tempted young lovers. Judy still does a very good imitation of "Papa?"... "Nicole?" for my entertainment.

    Cheers

    Graham
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    I was pleasantly surprised by it. Not as cold and dull as Zurich. I am generally not a Francophile, and I wondered how I would like Geneva as it is ground zero for all of the sketchy NGO and crooked diplomatic corps stuff - but it had a vibrancy to it I had not seen in prior trips to Switzerland. Breathtakingly expensive, but I got a decent hotel deal and lucked out in the weather, so it was cool.

    I raided the Lindt outlet store at the factory in Kilchberg on my trip north :)
    grahampeters said:


    G'day

    Geneva is a gorgeous city, isn't it. I had some work there years ago and spent a couple of weeks staying in a very flash hotel, right by the lake. To say the rooms were large would be doing it a dis-service - the bathroom was larger than my living room at home and total floor area, probably the same as my home in England!

    As a break, I took a lake tour on that steamer in your photo and admired the fountain. Absolutely exquisite. Inevitably, brought home far too many bags of chocolates for the kids, leading to Angus's first two word phrase, "More Choc!". One way to teach your kids to speak!

    Cheers

    Graham

  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    This sums up my day:

    image

    A very German street scene:

    image
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    I thought you'd like all the vanlets/high roof wagons here. The French have a bunch of them, and VW and Opel have a ton too. They always seem to be the ones merging onto an unrestricted Autobahn at 70 kmh :)
    stever said:

    You'd think with all the globalization of platforms and parts bin sharing, we would get some of the more fun ones. I'd loved to have had the chance to test drive an Espace back in the late 90s.

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited November 2015
    I'd fit right in. Except for the beer part. :D
  • carboy21carboy21 Member Posts: 760
    edited November 2015
    Somehow cars in UK and Europe have fun and personality and character. Smaller car lend themselves to more individual personality then the Camcorders and SUVs in USA.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=Fzb6z6f0cbY

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=DwqEpwO-5PE&index=6&list=PL0KIzbnLyQv_LqKHja3HOe44327AtfY5K

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=mLD1plXHmLY

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=X5TZafDynIY

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=w5eT3gIl97o

    Of course the huge Interstate highway system is not conducive to small cars like in Europe. And the huge suburban houses are absent in Europe.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    And I'm back - on my first drive I made it a good 15 minutes before I honked :)

    It really does flow slower here, even with the wider roads and more "safe" (sarcastic quotes) traffic controls. I'll be on the highway a little over the long weekend, hopefully will be better as I'll avoid peak times.
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    Took a drive on some local highways yesterday - I forgot what a lowest common denominator driving environment we have here. More than a couple LLCs, plenty of weirdo MLCs too. Beautiful weather didn't seem to make an impact one way or another.
  • xwesxxwesx Member Posts: 17,684
    fintail said:

    Took a drive on some local highways yesterday - I forgot what a lowest common denominator driving environment we have here. More than a couple LLCs, plenty of weirdo MLCs too. Beautiful weather didn't seem to make an impact one way or another.

    Welcome back! I bet you're thrilled to be home! :)
    2018 Subaru Crosstrek, 2014 Audi Q7 TDI, 2013 Subaru Forester, 2013 Ford F250 Lariat D, 1976 Ford F250, 1969 Chevrolet C20, 1969 Ford Econoline 100
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    And back to work too, fun times!

    I don't know what is better here, being a driver or pedestrian. I need to re-accustom myself to how things work here.
    xwesx said:



    Welcome back! I bet you're thrilled to be home! :)

  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    My experiences at least, and they may be wrong; but the Seattle area seems to be a bit lacking in restaurant variety, particularly with popularly priced places. I'm sure you got spoiled across the Pond! But at least you're on the west coast, so you should have cheap fares to relieve that issue in SoCal, Vegas or Phoenix ;)
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    You're not far off. There are good places here, but they aren't always easy to find. Some diners here and there are good, but Red Robin is a popular go-to choice. Good pizza can be tough, I really got spoiled in Italy.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Company is in town so we did the local tour.


  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited December 2015
    Another day in the sun. Typical scenery ~5 minutes ago a little west of Wilcox AZ. Nice rest area in this spot, although every one we've passed in AZ so far has been closed for remodeling. Stopping in Phoenix tonight, LA tomorrow.

    The mpg readout at 76mph is saying 51.0 mpg.


  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    And this is the rental we got for the ~10 day trip. 2014, must be the base model, not too many bells and whistles.


  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,709
    edited December 2015


    stever - this is close ta where the Mrs. and I are planning ta retire at. Love the Dragoon Mountains there in your picture. Some look like hands folded in prayer, others look like faces, etc. Our son lives in Phoenix - Arizona would be a welcome place ta see for us.

    You're probably in Cali by now.

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited December 2015
    We decided to skip Phoenix and are aiming for Yuma. Want to crash before dark. We already had plans to stay in Phoenix a couple of days on the return leg.

    And yeah, nice country. We did Interstate 8 and it's pretty lonely until you get to Gila Bend. Enjoyed a lot of real western scenery going through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.


  • iluvmysephia1iluvmysephia1 Member Posts: 7,709
    Nice vacation country - enjoy!

    2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick

  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    Prius and long drive - your butt Stever ;)
  • MichaellMichaell Moderator Posts: 262,197
    stever said:

    We decided to skip Phoenix and are aiming for Yuma. Want to crash before dark. We already had plans to stay in Phoenix a couple of days on the return leg.

    And yeah, nice country. We did Interstate 8 and it's pretty lonely until you get to Gila Bend. Enjoyed a lot of real western scenery going through Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.


    I went to college in Phoenix and had family living in Yuma .. would drive there a few times a year for weekend visits. Man, is that some lonely road.

    (and this was before I-10 was complete all the way into Phoenix from the west).

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  • slorenzenslorenzen Member Posts: 694
    berri said:

    Prius and long drive - your butt Stever ;)

    Agreed. Gas is so cheap, why put yourself through that? To save 50 bucks?

    You're a wealthy man!

    Life is short!

    :p
  • carboy21carboy21 Member Posts: 760
    slorenzen said:

    berri said:

    Prius and long drive - your butt Stever ;)

    Agreed. Gas is so cheap, why put yourself through that? To save 50 bucks?

    You're a wealthy man!

    Life is short!

    :p
    No savings as I am sure Prius rental costs more then a full size sedan.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    edited December 2015
    The Prius was a free upgrade versus the standard car we had reserved, which was to be a VW Jetta or similar. The only thing available was the Prius or a Jeep Cherokee unless we downsized to a subcompact Spark.

    Since the Prius is on our shortlist to buy, we told the agent at Enterprise we'd "settle" for the regular Prius.

    The rental bill was $314 for 11 days. Could have saved a little more but the Costco card expired. That's another story. :)

    Just cruised by a section of the Salton Sea and the next waypoint is the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park entrance.
  • carboy21carboy21 Member Posts: 760
    edited December 2015
    stever said:

    The Prius was a free upgrade versus the standard car we had reserved, which was to be a VW Jetta or similar. The only thing available was the Prius or a Jeep Cherokee unless we downsized to a subcompact Spark.

    Since the Prius is on our shortlist to buy, we told the agent at Enterprise we'd "settle" for the regular Prius.

    The rental bill was $314 for 11 days. Could have saved a little more but the Costco card expired. That's another story. :)

    Just cruised by a section of the Salton Sea and the next waypoint is the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park entrance.

    That is an awesome deal. I never get that cheap rates as I always rent at airports where Costco does not offer any deals. I am in Denver next march and best I can get for full size car is $186 for for 4 days .
  • fintailfintail Member Posts: 58,415
    edited December 2015
    $186 for 4 days, that's like 10% less than I paid for the loaded X5 I had in Germany (before the full insurance, which I bought as I spent time in Italy).

    Seattle rentals can be off the charts too.

    I hope Steve's Prius has better seats than the Prius C a friend once had - he drove it from Atlanta to Seattle and says it made him visit the chiropractor for the next year.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Highways 78 and 79 from the Salton Sea to Temecula was a great drive today. RVs prohibited or not recommended, lots of dips and curves. Even got a taste of fall colors.


  • berriberri Member Posts: 10,165
    I had read awhile ago that the drought has done some weird things to the Salton Sea area, including some less than pleasant stench in parts of it. Don't know if you ran into any of that.
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    We just cruised by a small part of the southern half before we cut west. Have a good friend up in Salem who RVs down there in the winter and he's still making his annual trip there. He could be hanging out in a different area though. Coming out the way we did, you do hit a lot of aromatic CAFOs going through the Imperial Valley. :)
  • steverstever Guest Posts: 52,454
    Joshua Tree today.


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