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Ryen Hanna wrote: And Californians are afraid of my driving, so they're not nearly up to my crazy standards, lol!
Are you going, Ryen?
And I thought you were a good driver ... :huh: I've just started learning to parallel park, and I give you major credit for parallel parking Bloo on the first try when you'd never driven him before. And in a tight space, too! Geez.
All right, that jump off the starting line and swerve was a little frightening. But other than that, no complaints, haha.
Frayed - $75,000 Liveinthemoment - $25,000 Same - $10,000 It's Been Awhile - $10,000 Grindelwald - $10,000 Skywatching - $7,500
I will say that it takes a different kind of mentality to drive in LA. You have to plan getting off at your exits in plenty of time because it can be hard to get across lanes of traffic. If you know the right routes you can find roads that are less crowded depending on the time of day. Depending on how close you are staying to the track it really won't be too bad. The traffic on the way to Santa Anita in the morning is usually lighter than the traffic on the way home.
The one golden rule of LA driving is to drive aggressively. People aren't going to give you space to get over and if you leave a gap inbetween you and the car in front of you big enough to fit a car in someone will fit one in there.
"The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're ignorant: It's just that they know so much that isn't so."
- Ronald Reagan
Ryen Hanna wrote: And Californians are afraid of my driving, so they're not nearly up to my crazy standards, lol!
Are you going, Ryen?
And I thought you were a good driver ... :huh: I've just started learning to parallel park, and I give you major credit for parallel parking Bloo on the first try when you'd never driven him before. And in a tight space, too! Geez.
All right, that jump off the starting line and swerve was a little frightening. But other than that, no complaints, haha.
I had to be extra special careful in Bloo...Em would have killed me if anything happened!
I AM a rockin' parallel parker though, most def.
And I had to beat those people off the line because no one told me not to be in that lane!
I'm a pretty aggressive driver, so I never really mind driving in SoCal...
My appearance at the BC is highly unlikely, especially because with the two-day format now, I would have to get there on Thursday (because if I'm going, I'm NOT going to miss the Distaff) and I just don't think that's a good idea... plus I don't really have the money for the plane tickets.
But as always, you are MORE than welcome to visit me!
I think it's worth my adding that driving in California is not as bad as people imagine. I consider myself an expert Californian, so here's my take on all of it.
I've driven in Arizona, where there's a combination of college students and the extremely old, which makes for interesting drivers. I'd rather drive in California.
I've driven in Kentucky, where there's just a southern sweetness to people, but nobody gets where they need to go because they're too dern busy letting everyone else go first! I'd rather drive in California.
I've spent enough time being driven in New York to know that I think NY drivers are complete a-holes. I'd rather drive in California.
Here's the deal with CA drivers. We commute everywhere because the public transportation options aren't good (getting better!), so we're very, very, very good at it. 99% of the people on the road know exactly where we're going, when we'll get there, and how. We don't enjoy having this strategic mission of getting to work/school complicated in any fashion, so if you don't know where you're going, plan. Please, for the love of all that is merciful, plan your drive by visiting maps.google.com, and learn what exits are prior to yours so you can get an idea of what is coming up.
Do not expect anyone to help you out if you get in the wrong lane and need to turn left from the far-right, or vice versa. Make your left turn and find a way to start over. Stopping to consider your options won't be tolerated by the cranky, hot, tired LA-ites behind you.
As far as merging goes when you're on the highway... don't wait for people to hand-deliver an invitation for you to come over. Put on your blinker, check your blind spot, and come on over. If you hesitate more than, say, 7 seconds, you will lose your opening.
Really, driving in So Cal is easy as pie if you just do it. Don't worry about how many cars there are around you, and don't fret. We're not a-hole drivers like in NY. Most of the time we'll let you over or sneak into traffic in front of us if you don't make an ordeal out of it (of course there are some exceptions to this).
With all that said, I drive 100 miles round trip every day, and it only gets easier. Yea, traffic blows. Yea, I spend more time in 2nd and 3rd gear than any other. But it's a small price to pay to have the ocean, mountains, and desert all within an hour of me.
If anyone needs any driving directions or other help, please ask. I work at all the major So Cal tracks, so I know the road systems surrounding them like the back of my hand. I can give detailed directions, including landmarks if that's the type of driver you are.
Ry, your driving from Tucson to Arcadia for the Santa Anita Handicap in 06(?) will forever be remembered as one of the most terrifying experiences in my life. You've yet to scare me to such an extreme again, though, so I often wonder if that was some sort of anomoly. We should go on Snow Patrol next winter...
Ali LaDuke wrote: Ry, your driving from Tucson to Arcadia for the Santa Anita Handicap in 06(?) will forever be remembered as one of the most terrifying experiences in my life. You've yet to scare me to such an extreme again, though, so I often wonder if that was some sort of anomoly. We should go on Snow Patrol next winter...
I can't wait for Breeder's Cup!
Apparently I really wanted to get there...good thing we had Jason to keep an eye on me, or else I would have been violating my mechanic's orders multiple times.
You know, the orders telling me to keep it under 120mph.
Oops.
I'm always more than happy to go on Snow Patrol with you...but we can't do it in SoCal! There's no snow!
however, it does not detail how to drive in so cal..you'll just have to refer to ali laduke's post up top! which is btw the most detailed and accurate explaination of so cal driving i've ever seen! I live about 2 miles away from Santa Anita...I'm not as detailed and would have just put something like... "Just drive super aggressively and you'll fit right in...65 mph speed limit really means 80 mph minimum...and honk at the driver in front of you as soon as the light turns green.."
Scott Pho wrote:
however, it does not detail how to drive in so cal..you'll just have to refer to ali laduke's post up top! which is btw the most detailed and accurate explaination of so cal driving i've ever seen! I live about 2 miles away from Santa Anita...I'm not as detailed and would have just put something like... "Just drive super aggressively and you'll fit right in...65 mph speed limit really means 80 mph minimum...and honk at the driver in front of you as soon as the light turns green.."
He he... If you live 2 miles from SA, you'll understand where I'm coming from, considering I commute to work (at SA or Hollywood) from Orange. And not old town Orange, but the Orange Hills, by Irvine Park. Needless to say, that little post about driving was as much a very needed rant as it was a helpful tool for out-of-towners.
Ali LaDuke wrote:
He he... If you live 2 miles from SA, you'll understand where I'm coming from, considering I commute to work (at SA or Hollywood) from Orange. And not old town Orange, but the Orange Hills, by Irvine Park. Needless to say, that little post about driving was as much a very needed rant as it was a helpful tool for out-of-towners.
totally sympathize with you....driving that distance in LA, which I think you said was about 100 miles a day is prob the equivalent of driving 200-300 miles a day in any other state! the more annoying part of driving in LA is not only the traffic but the time consumption...imagine driving 30 miles at 5-30mph the entire way..stop and go, stop and go...sometimes just a complete stop...so a 30 mile drive takes an hour or more...and that's on a 5 lane freeway!!! I mean, even the carpool lane is at a stop!
i used to live in long beach and commuted to irvine off macarthur and the 405..i eventually began driving down pch instead and used to see surfers out there at 6am while I'm wondering what the heck i'm doing going to work and sitting in traffic!!!
Ali LaDuke wrote:
He he... If you live 2 miles from SA, you'll understand where I'm coming from, considering I commute to work (at SA or Hollywood) from Orange. And not old town Orange, but the Orange Hills, by Irvine Park. Needless to say, that little post about driving was as much a very needed rant as it was a helpful tool for out-of-towners.
totally sympathize with you....driving that distance in LA, which I think you said was about 100 miles a day is prob the equivalent of driving 200-300 miles a day in any other state! the more annoying part of driving in LA is not only the traffic but the time consumption...imagine driving 30 miles at 5-30mph the entire way..stop and go, stop and go...sometimes just a complete stop...so a 30 mile drive takes an hour or more...and that's on a 5 lane freeway!!! I mean, even the carpool lane is at a stop!
i used to live in long beach and commuted to irvine off macarthur and the 405..i eventually began driving down pch instead and used to see surfers out there at 6am while I'm wondering what the heck i'm doing going to work and sitting in traffic!!!
I went to High School in Santa Ana (kinda near your old job - was off Fairview and McArthur), and instead of taking the 55 in the morning, I had a very convoluted route on all side streets that only took me an hour. The same drive coming home at 11am (my senior year) on the 55 took less than 20 minutes.
I can think of worse drives than going down PCH...
In fact, I'm about done here at work (Hollywood Park), so I'm off to hop on the parking lot that is the 105 East. At least gas prices are slightly down (I saw $4.49! Woooo!)...
Ali LaDuke wrote: I went to High School in Santa Ana (kinda near your old job - was off Fairview and McArthur), and instead of taking the 55 in the morning, I had a very convoluted route on all side streets that only took me an hour. The same drive coming home at 11am (my senior year) on the 55 took less than 20 minutes.
I can think of worse drives than going down PCH...
In fact, I'm about done here at work (Hollywood Park), so I'm off to hop on the parking lot that is the 105 East. At least gas prices are slightly down (I saw $4.49! Woooo!)...
let it all out ali...let it all out! hahahah you forgot to mention 105E to probably the 605S, to the 405S to who knows maybe the 22E depending on how you prefer to get home!
we can go on forever about traffic in LA...in fact nowadays, I only drive about 8 miles to work down Huntington and guess how long it takes me? Yeah, 30-40 minutes...not that it's that bad, but multiply that by 5 days a week times 52 weeks...roundtrip . . .and throw in the occasional Cal Trans road work where they close off at least 2 of the 4 lanes during high traffic times which adds oh, just another 15-20 minutes!!! yeah, we're talking about 50 minutes to travel 8 miles!!!!!! ...yeah we can totally go on forever about this...
Alysse Jacobs wrote: Okay, Barbara Livingston e-mailed me today to ask if I wanted to work with her at the BC so now I'm definitely going!
-whines- But...you're not allowed to go to California without me!! Seriously! Think about it...have you ever been to California without me? NO! There's a reason for that!
Alysse Jacobs wrote: Okay, Barbara Livingston e-mailed me today to ask if I wanted to work with her at the BC so now I'm definitely going!
-whines- But...you're not allowed to go to California without me!! Seriously! Think about it...have you ever been to California without me? NO! There's a reason for that!
You know what that means, right? I won't tell BC you were planning on boycotting if you don't! Just come!
