The Automobile...and Frickin' Traffic

I originally planned on driving to California. True story. 3000 miles, 40 hours of driving, and 4 days of country-crossing bonding time with my father (Needless to say, I was thrilled). But then we looked into the costs associated with doing this drive, compared to flying. $400 in gas, $500 in hotels, $200 on food, and $300 in Vegas (bummed I didn't get to do that) led to the conclusion that it was just about the same price to fly across the country and have my car shipped by truck. So in the spirit of saving time, and ruining my first chance at Vegas, I decided to fly.

Today, I finally came to regret that decision. Because today, I FINALLY received my car. An entire month after we ordered it to get picked up! Here's some advice: If you want to ship your car across the country, be sure to tell them it will be ready at least 3 weeks in advance of when you actually want it shipped. Sure, the company will say they can get a driver in less than a week. They are lying to you. I wanted my car shipped here before Christmas! Also, the price they quote you is NOT a guaranteed price. I ended up paying $300 more than I was quoted. That's about what my plane ticket cost!

But damn, am I glad to see my car. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I took Route 67 to Poway (essentially up a mountain, for non-locals) and DIDN'T have to beg my car to make it. The rental I had for the past week was a Chevy Sonic. I think most lawnmowers have more oomph. That car was tiny.

But I will give the Sonic credit where it's due. It was so small, I could easily navigate traffic. Which is a big thing here. My Subaru Legacy wagon is a boat comparatively. I HATE the traffic here. Absolutely abhor it. Every highway has 50 lanes and no one knows what a turn signal is. I may be exaggerating, but you get the point. I'm used to two-lane, windy roads and being able to get more than 20 miles in a half hour. Today, I had to leave work at 5 instead of 4, because of having to go receive my car. From now until I leave this city, I will do everything in my power to avoid driving at 5 PM. It took me 20 minutes to a whopping 2 miles on Route 125. I thought I was going to fall asleep just sitting there. And I have one request to San Diego-ans: Learn to let somebody merge in front of you. If everyone lets just one person in front of them, these jams would last half as long.