Lynne Guinne
Veteran
Someone's post, perhaps @Lullabelle(?) mentioned that she doesn't drive and her dear hubby has been driving on vacation when they are off-tour for the day and on their own. That got me to thinking about how far most Europeans think is just too far to bother?
Unless you live along the east or west coast of the U.S., or the Chicago, Illinois area, public transportation is seriously lacking. My old hometown of Cleveland, Ohio does has a fine rail line, but it travels only between downtown to the eastern suburbs, or southwest to the airport, either of which is roughly 8 km from city center. There are also city run buses, but they also are limited in the routes they travel and the schedule they run. For this reason, most suburban and rural residents have a car (or more) in their family.
Before hubby retired, his one-way commute to work was 57 km, five days a week. Since we were transferred to Massachusetts, just going back home to see our kids is 971 km one way. Our annual trip to the beaches of Florida's west coast each autumn is a one-way drive of nearly 1000 km. Getting tired of driving yet? Because when our son was traveling between home and college, and we had already move to Massachusetts, our one way trip from Massachusetts to Ohio to Arizona was a whopping 4200 km. All of it driven. We never minded a bit.
For us personally, driving is far more pleasurable than air transportation. When something looks interesting, a pilot doesn't have the luxury to land the plane so you can explore. But even when vacation time was limited, we always built in free time to explore what looked interesting at any particular moment of a trip. The flexibility one can enjoy when setting one's pace and route allows for moments of surprise and wonder. Not to mention how much leg space compared to air travel, unless you are one who can book in First Class.
How far are you willing to take a full-on driving vacation before you think "oh, I could never!"?
Unless you live along the east or west coast of the U.S., or the Chicago, Illinois area, public transportation is seriously lacking. My old hometown of Cleveland, Ohio does has a fine rail line, but it travels only between downtown to the eastern suburbs, or southwest to the airport, either of which is roughly 8 km from city center. There are also city run buses, but they also are limited in the routes they travel and the schedule they run. For this reason, most suburban and rural residents have a car (or more) in their family.
Before hubby retired, his one-way commute to work was 57 km, five days a week. Since we were transferred to Massachusetts, just going back home to see our kids is 971 km one way. Our annual trip to the beaches of Florida's west coast each autumn is a one-way drive of nearly 1000 km. Getting tired of driving yet? Because when our son was traveling between home and college, and we had already move to Massachusetts, our one way trip from Massachusetts to Ohio to Arizona was a whopping 4200 km. All of it driven. We never minded a bit.
For us personally, driving is far more pleasurable than air transportation. When something looks interesting, a pilot doesn't have the luxury to land the plane so you can explore. But even when vacation time was limited, we always built in free time to explore what looked interesting at any particular moment of a trip. The flexibility one can enjoy when setting one's pace and route allows for moments of surprise and wonder. Not to mention how much leg space compared to air travel, unless you are one who can book in First Class.
How far are you willing to take a full-on driving vacation before you think "oh, I could never!"?