Road Trip!

xwesx

Sounds like you had a fun trip!

I'll be taking a trip soon as well. Not intended, but people tend to die that way.

andres3

fintail said:

Vancouver has a good number of speed and red light cameras (I believe with signage), hope you don't get a surprise in the mail.

Indeed BC drivers are faster on the highway than those in WA (doesn't take much), driving in the city itself or in certain suburbs (Richmond and Burnaby in particular) can be exciting for other reasons. Maybe nobody LLCs more than people in western WA, especially in the areas just south of Seattle. 167 is a LLC hotbed, 405 can be fun too.

OH, the other thing I noticed, lots of nice luxury sports cars. I may very well get one of those surprises in the mail, I'm afraid they'll have to collect the next time I go through customs I guess. I don't think I'll be extradited for a traffic violation.

I'm not sure I ever noticed so many MB's, BMW M cars, and Audi S's so close together and packed tightly.

In between the large tall glass and concrete buildings, a good sounding exhaust can really raise the city noise level.

fintail

Condolences, hope it goes as well as possible.

Going to OR? I was in Walla Walla and TC last week.

xwesx said:

Sounds like you had a fun trip!

I'll be taking a trip soon as well. Not intended, but people tend to die that way.

fintail

Vancouver is a money laundering/capital hiding/residency purchasing hotspot of this continent. Amazing cars to be seen there with endless sums of money flitting about, and fun to spot different models not seen south of the border as well.

andres3 said:

OH, the other thing I noticed, lots of nice luxury sports cars. I may very well get one of those surprises in the mail, I'm afraid they'll have to collect the next time I go through customs I guess. I don't think I'll be extradited for a traffic violation.

I'm not sure I ever noticed so many MB's, BMW M cars, and Audi S's so close together and packed tightly.

In between the large tall glass and concrete buildings, a good sounding exhaust can really raise the city noise level.

xwesx

fintail said:

Condolences, hope it goes as well as possible.

Going to OR? I was in Walla Walla and TC last week.

xwesx said:

Sounds like you had a fun trip!

I'll be taking a trip soon as well. Not intended, but people tend to die that way.

No, other side of the country this time - my wife's uncle passed away. She's heading out tonight; the rest of us join her in a week.

fintail

Oh yeah you have a link to PA or something, right? Driving?

xwesx said:

No, other side of the country this time - my wife's uncle passed away. She's heading out tonight; the rest of us join her in a week.

xwesx

fintail said:

Oh yeah you have a link to PA or something, right? Driving?

xwesx said:

No, other side of the country this time - my wife's uncle passed away. She's heading out tonight; the rest of us join her in a week.

Oh, yes. Sorry. I thought I mentioned PA, but clearly did not! We are flying to the area and will rent a car. Two actually. Wife is flying directly to Erie, and she will rent a car there, but flights to Erie are substantially more expensive (typically) than flying to Columbus, OH, so next week the kids and I will fly in there. We'll get a separate rental there, turn in the Erie rental when we get up to Erie, then drive back to Columbus and fly out of there in early November.

The car swap out is a little annoying, but saves about $300 versus just renting one in Erie then dropping it off in Columbus. LOL Those rental companies..... /sigh

Michaell

My sister just did something similar to this. Her middle son had his parents weekend at his prep school in CT, so my sister, her husband, their other two sons, the prep school son's GF, and my sister's best friend all flew from CA to the east coast.

I believe my sister and her friend flew separately to Newark, and picked up a Mopar van - I was never able to ascertain if it was a Grand Caravan or a Pacifica. The rest of the gang flew into Albany the next day, where my BIL had reserved a compact, as it was meant to serve as the overflow car. Since everyone was flying home from Boston, the rental agency decided that a bigger car was warranted, since it would be returned at a larger airport. He got a Charger.

fintail

It's funny how moves like that can save a bit. I recently helped a co-worker book a short trip to VA. Flying into a larger airport about an hour from her destination vs the smaller airport saved about $300 in flight and rental car costs as well, worth the drive. Hope it's a smooth trip, if anything, you won't be one who panics if it snows.

xwesx said:

Oh, yes. Sorry. I thought I mentioned PA, but clearly did not! We are flying to the area and will rent a car. Two actually. Wife is flying directly to Erie, and she will rent a car there, but flights to Erie are substantially more expensive (typically) than flying to Columbus, OH, so next week the kids and I will fly in there. We'll get a separate rental there, turn in the Erie rental when we get up to Erie, then drive back to Columbus and fly out of there in early November.

The car swap out is a little annoying, but saves about $300 versus just renting one in Erie then dropping it off in Columbus. LOL Those rental companies..... /sigh

xwesx

fintail said:

It's funny how moves like that can save a bit. I recently helped a co-worker book a short trip to VA. Flying into a larger airport about an hour from her destination vs the smaller airport saved about $300 in flight and rental car costs as well, worth the drive. Hope it's a smooth trip, if anything, you won't be one who panics if it snows.

Yeah, true enough! I'll definitely be watching for crappy tires this time, though. Our adventure last February was quite enough for me.

fintail

I always inspect the heck out of a rental car, especially if I get one with over 20K on it (fortunately, not common).

Columbus and Erie, I suppose you won't get anything exotic anyway.

xwesx said:

Yeah, true enough! I'll definitely be watching for crappy tires this time, though. Our adventure last February was quite enough for me.

gagrice

xwesx said:

fintail said:

Oh yeah you have a link to PA or something, right? Driving?

xwesx said:

No, other side of the country this time - my wife's uncle passed away. She's heading out tonight; the rest of us join her in a week.

Oh, yes. Sorry. I thought I mentioned PA, but clearly did not! We are flying to the area and will rent a car. Two actually. Wife is flying directly to Erie, and she will rent a car there, but flights to Erie are substantially more expensive (typically) than flying to Columbus, OH, so next week the kids and I will fly in there. We'll get a separate rental there, turn in the Erie rental when we get up to Erie, then drive back to Columbus and fly out of there in early November.

The car swap out is a little annoying, but saves about $300 versus just renting one in Erie then dropping it off in Columbus. LOL Those rental companies..... /sigh

Erie, I was born in Erie. Your wife know any Rickrode's? Also the Wood family on my mother's side are from Erie.

kyfdx

@gagrice Welcome back!

fintail

Out on the road this morning - cool temps around freezing, but insanely low humidity, dewpoints below zero, no condensation on cars parked outside. What does my fair city do? Slathers my street in de-icer. I swear, someone's brother owns the company that sells the city chemicals. This gunk makes a mess when it rains, and can be even more slick than ice if applied wrong. I am in the wrong line of work, must be nice being able to make batty decisions and be virtually untouchable. They've been overreacting like this since Seattle botched its snow removal in 2008 - now any hint that it might get to 32F or lower, time to go crazy.

Nice to see you back @gagrice.

gagrice

Last time I tried posting I could not access my account. Now it works like nothing changed. Getting tired of the craziness on FB. Good to meet up with old friends. Rocky is in FB jail again, I see he came over to say hi.

imidazol97

I hate FB.

Good to see you posting here!.

I don't find any posts by rockylee. Did he change username? There had been some problems with signing in at times and a few people had to change their username.

Cars and Conversations:
https://forums.edmunds.com/discussion/comment/5796132/#Comment_5796132

xwesx

Gary, my wife is not familiar with that family name. She spent most of her childhood in Crawford County, south of Erie, in areas such as Meadville, Cambridge Springs, and Edinboro. We are in Edinboro now, where she is dealing with property, etc., related to the death of her uncle. He was the last of her family on her dad's side, so much falls to her to sort out.

So far, it is warm and rainy here. We spent much of the last couple days combing over the property, looking for papers, etc. He was a hoarder of all things mechanical/electrical, so there are some neat things, but my goodness.... there is so much junk. Just literal hundreds of tons of junk, scrap metal, etc. Insanity.

gagrice

1943 my dad was in the Army. My uncles went to California to set up war factories. They were both Millwrights. They came back and hauled me, my mom and grandma to Los Angeles. I have only been back to visit one time.

Most of the time people call the junk man to haul all the stuff away. Unless you have the time to sort through and find the gold. I am getting rid of stuff on Craigslist so it will not be a burden on my kids.

xwesx

Yeah, we'll see how it goes. Looking through old paperwork on the property a couple days ago, it looks like her father was stationed in southern California for a spell. I guess he bucked the trend and decided to come home when his time was up! Wife and BiL are talking much about the approach to take to the property. They both agree that stuff has to go, but they're also looking at the "is there value here" proposition as well as just bulk disposal. Her brother will look into a deal with a scrapyard to see if they will provide bins that they can fill with metal and just call to haul away. If they don't have to pay to remove it, that's a big win by itself.

There is also some trash on the property, but it is a vast minority compared to all the scrap metal and electronics. It is amazing how much can accumulate over a half century (or, perhaps, even longer).

We held the service for her uncle yesterday; my wife gave an excellent eulogy. We went to lunch with her family (the ones who attended the service, anyway) at a little restaurant in the local town there. It was a good time with closure.

fintail

Heading out on a little trip again tomorrow (I'll have a bit of free time in the near future, life changes, for the better I suspect) - not as unique or varied scenery as last month. SW/Coastal WA is mostly trees trees trees with a forest or two mixed in. But once one leaves I5, traffic decreases by 95%, very few LLCs (they were out in force on 405/167 yesterday), and generally a more relaxed driving world.

Caught the imediate aftermath of a little dust-up on Friday, the rear of the CX5 was fairly bashed in and the window broken. Also noticed I need to adjust the dashcam to daylight savings time, apparently the automatic adjustment was de-selected, d'oh:

https://youtu.be/Kqo6pxmHY9Q

xwesx

So nicely snow-free. I should put together a little footage from local driving this last week. It's been "fun." LOL

xwesx

As for the unexpected free time, here's to hoping that things work out such that your changes are all for the better!

jpp75

xwesx said:

As for the unexpected free time, here's to hoping that things work out such that your changes are all for the better!

Ditto! @fintail And at least you get some extended downtime for roadtrips.

fintail

Are you guys colder than usual? It's been warmer than normal here, and a bit drier too. Left early today headed for the coast: holiday-light traffic, no issues, plenty of bugs on the car as it was 60F in places on the way, pretty warm for effectively mid-November,

And yeah, time for a change, I was made an offer I couldn't refuse, and now have a big weight off my back. I kind of burnt out over the past year, doubled workload with no compensation or recognition, and some amusingly toxic tenured supposed leadership who are probably pretty lucky frustrated workers in this area don't lose control - not that I am wishing harm on anyone as that is bad mojo, but if things happened, I'd just shrug my shoulders. I'll have some weeks off and get going again in the new year.

xwesx said:

So nicely snow-free. I should put together a little footage from local driving this last week. It's been "fun." LOL

fintail

Yep. Away from home now for the week, feels good to be away and not having a gongshow waiting for me when I return. Another trip coming up at Christmas, then I'll start getting on track again, refreshed and renewed. If you know anyone filling roles in the fraud realm, commercial underwriting, or compliance auditing, let me know

jpp75 said:

xwesx said:

As for the unexpected free time, here's to hoping that things work out such that your changes are all for the better!

Ditto! @fintail And at least you get some extended downtime for roadtrips.

cdnpinhead

Enjoy your hiatus, as I'm sure you will. Safe travels.

xwesx

fintail said:

Are you guys colder than usual? It's been warmer than normal here, and a bit drier too. Left early today headed for the coast: holiday-light traffic, no issues, plenty of bugs on the car as it was 60F in places on the way, pretty warm for effectively mid-November,

I don't know that I would say it is colder than normal. I cannot really pinpoint what "normal" means anymore, as, historically, the temperatures this time of year tend to be at or below zero by now, getting steadily colder through the end of January, before crawling back out to positive temperatures by mid-to-late March. Of course, there were typical spikes one way or the other in there, but that's what I would consider "normal," at least historically.

NOW, though. There's just no telling. We can get cold spikes down to -50F or under, but they are incredibly rare now. Some winters it will be flirting with above-freezing temperatures all the way toward December, with sub-zero days rarely encountered. I just cannot say what to expect now. We had snow periodically in October, and every single time it would snow and I would think that this is the fall to stick through to spring, within days it was melting. Just so odd. Now it is reasonably cool (between zero and +20F), everything is well-frozen, and we have a good layer of snow on the ground (about 10"). So, comfortable for now. Good skiing weather.

xwesx

fintail said:

Yep. Away from home now for the week, feels good to be away and not having a gongshow waiting for me when I return. Another trip coming up at Christmas, then I'll start getting on track again, refreshed and renewed. If you know anyone filling roles in the fraud realm, commercial underwriting, or compliance auditing, let me know

Ah, man, that sounds great. I've been seriously considering quitting my job for a few months now, and the more I try to hang in, the less motivated I feel to do so. I'm not sure I would even want to look for another job for at least six months if I did that though. I'm just really frustrated with the total lack of leadership here.

fintail

I am lucky in that I am single, with at least a minor rainy day fund. I know hiring doesn't really pick up until the new year, so I might not pound the pavement too hard for the rest of the year - but at the same time, I predict some cabin fever within a couple weeks, so I might look harder than originally planned. Fortunately, the economy is alive and this is a good area of the country for employment, so I am optimistic I'll be on board somewhere else without huge issue. It might not be in the Seattle area either, I am open to relocation - tired of that expensive rat race.

It's funny that for months I'd joke when leaving on Friday "I can't promise I'll be back on Monday", and then was effectively given that option. No more pointless emails at 1am from people who aren't in a good state upstairs. Life is too short. Good luck to those still in the office, but I think many are looking too, just haven't been given an offer yet.

xwesx said:

Ah, man, that sounds great. I've been seriously considering quitting my job for a few months now, and the more I try to hang in, the less motivated I feel to do so. I'm not sure I would even want to look for another job for at least six months if I did that though. I'm just really frustrated with the total lack of leadership here.

fintail

The past several winters here have felt warmer than normal, but we did have the crazy snow event in February. Maybe they are just coming later now. Weather models for the next 10 days or so don't show anything cooler than average, and I saw 60F yesterday. Good driving weather anyway.

xwesx said:

NOW, though. There's just no telling. We can get cold spikes down to -50F or under, but they are incredibly rare now. Some winters it will be flirting with above-freezing temperatures all the way toward December, with sub-zero days rarely encountered. I just cannot say what to expect now. We had snow periodically in October, and every single time it would snow and I would think that this is the fall to stick through to spring, within days it was melting. Just so odd. Now it is reasonably cool (between zero and +20F), everything is well-frozen, and we have a good layer of snow on the ground (about 10"). So, comfortable for now. Good skiing weather.

fintail

Thanks. No huge trips planned yet, but this is the first real hiatus I've taken since I graduated from school. Even after around 10 days, I feel refreshed.

cdnpinhead said:

Enjoy your hiatus, as I'm sure you will. Safe travels.

kyfdx

I was on "hiatus" a lot, between 1977 and 1984...

imidazol97

@fintail
I'm hoping for the best for you in your new position.

fintail

Thanks @imidazol97 I feel years younger already. And for all I know, maybe a road trip in the future if I end up in another area.

cdnpinhead

After I transitioned from long-haul independent trucking to Corporate America (1980 - yeah, I'm one of those entitled miserable baby boomers) I used to take one week of my yearly vacation allotment to do a 9-day "sanity break" when I drove back up to Canada or somewhere else on my own. Travel was, and is, to a more limited extent, my life. Motels and hotels are as much at home for me as being where I live the rest of the time, and the views out the windshield never get old..

fintail

That's maybe the real drawback here, as I was somewhat tenured, I had a ton of PTO (relative to the idiotic threadbare modern American standard). My remainder is cashed out, but I probably won't start at 7 weeks where I land next. Oh well.

There is something different about a road trip vs flying somewhere, especially when alone.

ab348

Fin, it sounds like you have some pretty uncommon skills and experience, so hopefully you will find a position that suits those in short order. Some of those things like vacation can be negotiated during the hiring process of course, especially for jobs with rare skills. I did that in my last position, to my delight. .

One thing I can say which may not apply in all cases - every job I left, even if it was stressful doing so, led to me landing in a better spot subsequently. Sometimes the first few months had me wondering if I made a mistake but they all worked out in the end. Best of luck.

jillygouse

I love to travel so much. I always go to for a trip with my Dad but now we don't have a car because our car is now in a bad condition and so we decide to buy a new car but don't have any idea. Anyone here kindly give me some suggestion so that I can make a beautiful trip with my family soon.

fintail

Thanks. I'm just about a week out, and although the uncertainty is irksome, the relief makes up for it. When work = dread, it is time to do something. No more 1am emails from a loathsome boor. That alone is worth something. I like to think I am not a completely illiterate stooge, so there should be something out there for me.

I was wanting to be out of the country on Election Day 2020 just for the hell of it. I'd like to keep to those plans, even if it means just being north of the border on a road trip.

xwesx

jillygouse said:

I love to travel so much. I always go to for a trip with my Dad but now we don't have a car because our car is now in a bad condition and so we decide to buy a new car but don't have any idea. Anyone here kindly give me some suggestion so that I can make a beautiful trip with my family soon.

That gives us nothing to go on! Give us some parameters for a vehicle that suits your needs....

andres3

Drove the Tiguan to Disneyland last weekend. Was 90+ degrees and HOT Saturday.

Lots of LLC's between Northern San Diego and Orange County. Epidemic levels. Becomes a bit of a slalom course for the faster drivers.

fintail

You should drive 405 and 167/512 between the eastside Seattle suburbs and roughly Tacoma - you'll be in heaven if you like LLCs. I like to call them "pylons".

jillygouse

fintail said:

Heading out on a little trip again tomorrow (I'll have a bit of free time in the near future, life changes, for the better I suspect) - not as unique or varied scenery as last month. SW/Coastal WA is mostly trees trees trees with a forest or two mixed in. But once one leaves I5, traffic decreases by 95%, very few LLCs (they were out in force on 405/167 yesterday), and generally a more relaxed driving world.

Caught the imediate aftermath of a little dust-up on Friday, the rear of the CX5 was fairly bashed in and the window broken. Also noticed I need to adjust the dashcam to daylight savings time, apparently the automatic adjustment was de-selected, d'oh:

https://youtu.be/Kqo6pxmHY9Q

So beautiful video guys.

fintail

MPG wasn't bad on the way back to the rat race. Traffic was moderate to awful, occasional rain, several LLCs, not a horrible drive but not relaxing.

Michaell

fintail said:

MPG wasn't bad on the way back to the rat race. Traffic was moderate to awful, occasional rain, several LLCs, not a horrible drive but not relaxing.

That's better than what I'd get in the Outback. Good job, MB!

fintail

It's amazing a 4300 lb 362 hp car can pull off numbers like that. 9 gears helps, I guess.

Michaell said:

That's better than what I'd get in the Outback. Good job, MB!

andres3

fintail said:

It's amazing a 4300 lb 362 hp car can pull off numbers like that. 9 gears helps, I guess.

Michaell said:

That's better than what I'd get in the Outback. Good job, MB!

Light foot Lucy VS. Lead foot Larry.

Lucy gets better miles per gallon than Larry.

tjc78

What were you doing with the traction control off......

fintail

I think the car was in the accessory/run mode where lights are illuminated. I've never tried it with TC off, don't even know how to switch it - I figure AWD with that mass would only create a mess on public roads. The car is officially rated at just under 5 seconds 0-60, so potential is there.

Funny thing, the car has a few "driving modes", and I am almost always in "comfort" or "economy". I actually like economy most, with its smooth early upshifts and higher speed wafting, with more than enough torque to almost silently pull it along in what may seem like a high gear. This is the most mellow and comfortable car I've owned.

fintail

On the road just a little yesterday. Perfect clear cool weather, and traffic volumes were fine, busy but moving at the speed limit 90% of the time. Morning traffic had a few LLCs, including an older guy in a very clean early Aurora who actually moved right when he was passed on the right a couple times (but knowing this area, he was just getting over to exit, he dropped out of my line of sight pretty fast). The other fun one was a dork in a Camry who merged onto the highway, made a beeline for the left lane, and camped there. I passed him in the carpool lane, and I noticed numerous others passing him on the right. He too eventually vanished behind me - I don't get what possesses people to drive like that.