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Fiddleback Visit Fail and Hiking Buddy giveaway!
- Thread starter whitty
- Start date
Comprehensivist
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2008
- Messages
- 3,311
* Official Entry *
Since I have lived forty-eight of my fifty-five years living and working in the Los Angeles area, I have had so many stopped traffic stories that they all kind of blend together. Rather than re-count any of those, I want to share the most unique freeway experience that I ever had in my life.
Immediately after the Rodney King riots happened in April 1992, the county of L.A. imposed a curfew from dusk to dawn. That was very inconvenient because my best friend Paul and I had planned a hunting trip to Arizona months in advance and we were due to leave from Ventura county north of L.A. the day after the curfew went into effect. We both worked days at the time, so by the time we got loaded up, it was well after dark. Rather than cancel the trip, we decided to just go for it and take the freeways across L.A. It turned out that we were the ONLY car on the freeway (either side) from Calabasas to Arcadia (20+ miles). That was a once in a lifetime experience to have any L.A. freeway to ourselves from one end of the county to the other.
Thanks Scott!
Phil
Since I have lived forty-eight of my fifty-five years living and working in the Los Angeles area, I have had so many stopped traffic stories that they all kind of blend together. Rather than re-count any of those, I want to share the most unique freeway experience that I ever had in my life.
Immediately after the Rodney King riots happened in April 1992, the county of L.A. imposed a curfew from dusk to dawn. That was very inconvenient because my best friend Paul and I had planned a hunting trip to Arizona months in advance and we were due to leave from Ventura county north of L.A. the day after the curfew went into effect. We both worked days at the time, so by the time we got loaded up, it was well after dark. Rather than cancel the trip, we decided to just go for it and take the freeways across L.A. It turned out that we were the ONLY car on the freeway (either side) from Calabasas to Arcadia (20+ miles). That was a once in a lifetime experience to have any L.A. freeway to ourselves from one end of the county to the other.
Thanks Scott!
Phil
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2015
- Messages
- 155
Official Entry
A couple years ago I was stuck for almost three hrs on a four lane. It was odd, because military vehicles (Two Hummers) were either involved or accompanying the vehicle involved. Didn't get close enough and they had most of it cleared before letting traffic move. It was on the opposite side I was traveling. Never heard for sure what happened.
Thanks for the opportunity, Whitty!
DB
A couple years ago I was stuck for almost three hrs on a four lane. It was odd, because military vehicles (Two Hummers) were either involved or accompanying the vehicle involved. Didn't get close enough and they had most of it cleared before letting traffic move. It was on the opposite side I was traveling. Never heard for sure what happened.
Thanks for the opportunity, Whitty!
DB
- Joined
- Nov 6, 2012
- Messages
- 822
Official entry
about an hour and a half during a vacation a couple of years ago.
about an hour and a half during a vacation a couple of years ago.
schmittie
Gold Member
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2009
- Messages
- 2,971
Official entry
I remember as a kid being stuck in traffic for an eternity on our way to vacation. Reality was about 3 hours I think. There was a horrific accident involving a semi and a little Fiero. I remember it because I thought those little cars were so cool at that age. This accident changed my perspective. Somehow it went under or into the semi causing the top to be peeled off like an opened can. A news report said both passengers were killed instantly by obvious means. Made me feel awful sorry for the families involved and all of a sudden, the 3 hours wait and vacation delay seemed insignificant by comparison.
I remember as a kid being stuck in traffic for an eternity on our way to vacation. Reality was about 3 hours I think. There was a horrific accident involving a semi and a little Fiero. I remember it because I thought those little cars were so cool at that age. This accident changed my perspective. Somehow it went under or into the semi causing the top to be peeled off like an opened can. A news report said both passengers were killed instantly by obvious means. Made me feel awful sorry for the families involved and all of a sudden, the 3 hours wait and vacation delay seemed insignificant by comparison.
Official Entry
Two years back, a truck accident caused a traffic Jam on I - 94 going from Portage to Kalamazoo M.I... I was stuck for almost two hours just to get to the next exit.. Crazy stuff.. We get a lot of snow up in Michigan, which makes commuting a bit slow.
Two years back, a truck accident caused a traffic Jam on I - 94 going from Portage to Kalamazoo M.I... I was stuck for almost two hours just to get to the next exit.. Crazy stuff.. We get a lot of snow up in Michigan, which makes commuting a bit slow.
- Joined
- Dec 8, 2014
- Messages
- 194
Official Entry.
Traffic in DC with my 8 month pregnant wife. We were returning to Alexandria from K Street in DC. The trip should've taken about 45 minutes with traffic...but the President was out and about and it majorly screwed up traffic! My poor wife couldn't hold her bladder so she would get in and out of the car peridically to visit the ladies room at various DC restaraunts. We were exhausted afterwards!
Thanks for the contest!!
Traffic in DC with my 8 month pregnant wife. We were returning to Alexandria from K Street in DC. The trip should've taken about 45 minutes with traffic...but the President was out and about and it majorly screwed up traffic! My poor wife couldn't hold her bladder so she would get in and out of the car peridically to visit the ladies room at various DC restaraunts. We were exhausted afterwards!
Thanks for the contest!!
prom52
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2014
- Messages
- 2,311
Official Entry
Blizzard in PA
Traveling from Phila to Pittsburgh got caught in a massive blizzard that shut down the PA Turnpike. All told I was stuck in my 66 Mustang for 26 hrs in bumper to bumper traffic. Survived on a box of Ritz crackers and a 6 pack of Piels beer. Fortunately the bottles were big mouth so it made it easier to dispose of liquid waste. It brought new meaning to that old Frank Zappa song "watch out where the huskies go don't you eat that yellow snow". I had to start & stop the engine to keep from freezing, and periodically get out to move snow away from the exhaust pipe to avoid CO2 poisoning. Since the turnpike was in bad shape further west into the mountains, road crews eventually made it in from the east to remove sections of the guard rail which allowed traffic to cross over and turn back east and off the nearest exit. I stopped at a Howard Johnson's roadside restaurant to warm up and get some food but found that the travelers stranded there had wiped them out including everything in the vending machines. What was a normal 5 hour drive ended up being the trip of a life time. I can still remember how good those Ritz Crackers tasted, not to mention the beer to wash them down !!!
Blizzard in PA
Traveling from Phila to Pittsburgh got caught in a massive blizzard that shut down the PA Turnpike. All told I was stuck in my 66 Mustang for 26 hrs in bumper to bumper traffic. Survived on a box of Ritz crackers and a 6 pack of Piels beer. Fortunately the bottles were big mouth so it made it easier to dispose of liquid waste. It brought new meaning to that old Frank Zappa song "watch out where the huskies go don't you eat that yellow snow". I had to start & stop the engine to keep from freezing, and periodically get out to move snow away from the exhaust pipe to avoid CO2 poisoning. Since the turnpike was in bad shape further west into the mountains, road crews eventually made it in from the east to remove sections of the guard rail which allowed traffic to cross over and turn back east and off the nearest exit. I stopped at a Howard Johnson's roadside restaurant to warm up and get some food but found that the travelers stranded there had wiped them out including everything in the vending machines. What was a normal 5 hour drive ended up being the trip of a life time. I can still remember how good those Ritz Crackers tasted, not to mention the beer to wash them down !!!
- Joined
- Feb 6, 2013
- Messages
- 896
Official entry
5 hours in Downtown Chicago the most horrendous trip of my life.
5 hours in Downtown Chicago the most horrendous trip of my life.
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2005
- Messages
- 1,728
Official entry
Several hours on I-65 between Birmingham and Montgomery on a Summer day. Hot as the devil and humidity to match. Everyone got out cars and trucks because we had to shut off engines to avoid overheating as well as running out of gas (not knowing when the blockage would clear).
Several hours on I-65 between Birmingham and Montgomery on a Summer day. Hot as the devil and humidity to match. Everyone got out cars and trucks because we had to shut off engines to avoid overheating as well as running out of gas (not knowing when the blockage would clear).
NJBillK
Custom Leather and Fixed Blade modifications.
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2014
- Messages
- 9,594
Official Entry.
A buddy of mine and I were heading down to South Carolina about 10 years ago, and we decided to beat the DC traffic by leaving at midnight from NJ. As we near DC, we come to a crawl, then a stop. As we look ahead, we see people with charcoal grills going in the early A.M. light cooking breakfast, bored teenagers just trying to pass the time, playing tag, throwing frisbees, walking on their hands...
It turns out that we were behind people who were Already waiting 1 1/2 hours with Zero movement and we were there for 2 1/2 hours on top of that with our vehicle in park and turned off...
What caused this delay of apocalyptical proportions? A driver of a tractor trailer had decided he didn't like driving south on I-95 southbound and fell asleep. He ended up 20' into the woods on the Far side of the northbound lanes. To remove his vehicle, they had to call in a crane and have it placed on the southbound lanes to have the clearance and the weight capacity to lift it out...
Thanks for the chance, I hope next time you actually arrive at your destination!
A buddy of mine and I were heading down to South Carolina about 10 years ago, and we decided to beat the DC traffic by leaving at midnight from NJ. As we near DC, we come to a crawl, then a stop. As we look ahead, we see people with charcoal grills going in the early A.M. light cooking breakfast, bored teenagers just trying to pass the time, playing tag, throwing frisbees, walking on their hands...
It turns out that we were behind people who were Already waiting 1 1/2 hours with Zero movement and we were there for 2 1/2 hours on top of that with our vehicle in park and turned off...
What caused this delay of apocalyptical proportions? A driver of a tractor trailer had decided he didn't like driving south on I-95 southbound and fell asleep. He ended up 20' into the woods on the Far side of the northbound lanes. To remove his vehicle, they had to call in a crane and have it placed on the southbound lanes to have the clearance and the weight capacity to lift it out...
Thanks for the chance, I hope next time you actually arrive at your destination!
Official Entry
Can't say the longest I've been stuck in traffic, probably no more than 30-45 minutes at one time. My worst traffic story was getting twisted around in Washington DC on Christmas Eve due to detours. Still don't know if someone thought it was a funny joke to move the signs or we just made the same mistake several times but it felt like we would never get away from there.
Can't say the longest I've been stuck in traffic, probably no more than 30-45 minutes at one time. My worst traffic story was getting twisted around in Washington DC on Christmas Eve due to detours. Still don't know if someone thought it was a funny joke to move the signs or we just made the same mistake several times but it felt like we would never get away from there.
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2008
- Messages
- 1,414
Official Entry
In 2005, my wife and I fled Houston (metro area of 5 million people) to escape Hurricane Rita. At the time we elected to flee, around 6am, Rita was a Category 5 (the worst) with 180mph winds, and was aimed directly at Houston. As we drove east on I-10, the storm curved east also, and was then aimed at Beaumont, Texas, right where we were headed.
Then they issued an evacuation order for Beaumont... and we ended up driving all night and into the next day, but back to the north-west.
All told, before we landed in Onalaska TX, we had driven a whopping 175 miles over about 26 hours, an average of 6.7 mph. We stopped because the gas tank was almost literally fumes. Totally surreal journey, bumper-to-bumper literally EVERYWHERE, all major highways.
In 2005, my wife and I fled Houston (metro area of 5 million people) to escape Hurricane Rita. At the time we elected to flee, around 6am, Rita was a Category 5 (the worst) with 180mph winds, and was aimed directly at Houston. As we drove east on I-10, the storm curved east also, and was then aimed at Beaumont, Texas, right where we were headed.
Then they issued an evacuation order for Beaumont... and we ended up driving all night and into the next day, but back to the north-west.
All told, before we landed in Onalaska TX, we had driven a whopping 175 miles over about 26 hours, an average of 6.7 mph. We stopped because the gas tank was almost literally fumes. Totally surreal journey, bumper-to-bumper literally EVERYWHERE, all major highways.