No one loves traffic. There is not a single soul who gets up in the
morning, stretches their back and yawns, while thinking, “Today is the
day. Today is the day I get to sit in lots of traffic. I can’t wait!”
Don’t argue with me because there is no one sane that thinks that.
While we all dislike traffic on normal commutes; any disruption like a holiday or a big tent sale just
serve to compound the phenomenon of way too many people all trying to
get to one place on a road that is too small.
I am the type that likes to leave early for things. My husband however
grumbles if he has to rise from bed during the AM. So even if we get
out of the house at a normal time, we inevitably hit traffic on our way
to wherever we are going. And he inevitably gets irritable
on the trip down and mutters things like, “Why are there so many people
in LA?” and, “Why don’t these people just leave?” He doesn’t mean it I
promise.
He
can’t help his LA angst. He’s from Ohio and I made the mistake of
telling him that the same amount of people that live in all of the
state of Ohio live in the LA area. It is an absurd thought actually.
But who can blame them? It was 80 degrees this past Thanksgiving and my
family slow cooked the turkey on the BBQ. We can do that
here in LA while his family stokes the fire and tries not to succumb to
hypothermia in Ohio. Or whatever.
So what to do about traffic? Especially if it is over a long weekend? Well Inside Travel has some great tips for you. Here are a few:
• It is recommended that you leave earlier than the day prior and plan to be pulling up to your destination in a timely fashion.
• Combat
construction delay by using services that will inform you of this
potential problem so that you may prepare a detour to continue to save
time. AAA and Cingular Wireless offer services that inform their
customers of this potential setback.
• Think
about taking your laptop and satellite card (if you have one) with you.
That way you can access the internet practically anywhere. Hey, if you
are in traffic, why not play a little Sudoku? Or better yet, check out
the Ask Patty blog and search for a Female Friendly dealer!
Make sure you remember to buckle up! Even
though you aren’t moving fast, it doesn’t mean you can’t be in a
traffic accident.