LAX to Boston

[Lifemagician]

My arrival in Boston today, marks the end of the first leg of my trip.... LAX to Boston via St Paul.

As already mentioned elsewhere, the train journey was just great, and I may do it again to get back to the west coast - funds permitting. The 30 (or so) hours in LA were, as expected, good and busy. The hostel is always welcoming, clean and secure, and this time was no exception.

Successfully completed all the shopping I had intended to do, and enjoyed a great meal of 'fish and chips' (not fries) at Mel's Drive-In on Highland Ave... one of the very few places in North America who serve great fish and chips.

And did you know that seniors can ride the LA subway on weekends for 25c per trip?

My week in St Paul was fantastic, catching up with family and friends, and getting the good oil on the car. My lovely friends (my son's in-laws) have even added me to their AAA membership. They felt I needed the security in case of any mishaps.

After that it was time to head to Boston. It only took two days for me to regret the forward planning I had done. Before I got to my first night's stop in Rockford I had already passed through no fewer than six lots of road works, each with a speed limit of 55 mph, and often doing much less.

Then the nightmare through Chicago followed by a day and a half of pouring rain. Had notified son I would be doing the drive in three days..... famous last words! By the end of the second day, I still had some 700 miles to go.

How roadtrippers book things ahead of time, and try to keep to a schedule, is beyond me. From now on, I shall go back to winging it. At least that way there is no stress having to get to a certain destination at a given time.

Since the purpose was just to get to Boston, sightseeing was left for another time. I did however enjoy the great scenery where the road took us through the mountains and along waterways, just as I relished in the variety of bridges over which I drove. And I sure made the most of the information available at welcome centres and some of the plazas.

Two nights were spent at truck stops, the second was quite a small one. They took my registration, car details and my name. Once again I slept until well after daybreak and was refreshed for my run into Boston.

Sitting at a comfortable 60 mph - less when the speed limit was lower - it finished being a relaxing drive. I have just completed my calculations, and am happy with the fact that I got in excess of 26 mpg (despite the petrol wasting crawl through Chicago).

Next week I will be off on the next leg... meanwhile I am enjoying the grandchildren.

[Midwest Michael]

Before I got to my first night's stop in Rockford I had already passed through no fewer than six lots of road works, each with a speed limit of 55 mph, and often doing much less.
.

I see you then got the full experience of being in Wisconsin/the upper midwest. As you may not have known, we only actually have two seasons here: Winter and Road Construction!

[Lifemagician]

... we only actually have two seasons here: Winter and Road Construction!

Michael, when does Winter end, and Road Construction start? Do you think if I make it through WI in the third week of March, I might avoid RC? And if so, should I be dreading the alternative?

Lifey planning for 2012

[glc]

Road construction is actually an all-year activity now - they have the technology to pave in sub-freezing temperatures. However, with the bad economy I'd imagine that a lot of projects are going to be put on hold.

[Midwest Michael]

While they can pave in sub-zero conditions, they usually don't. There's still a lot of work that can't really be done (or at least not done well) in winter. It doesn't mean that all projects shutdown for the winter - because the major ones will have work done year round - but the number of projects does significantly increase between April and October.

Late March can mean a little bit of everything! I'd say you'd see less construction, but you certainly aren't out of winter yet either! March can often be the snowiest month in the upper midwest, because temperatures in the 30's can make for the biggest piles of snow.
It seems like there is always at least one good storm that moves through in March. This year, Minneapolis and Green Bay got hit with a foot of snow in Mid April!