Do You Know the Way?

There always has to be something about a new place that makes you miss the old one.

In the case of Connecticut vs. Dallas, it's the road system. I know that you may be wondering how anything in Connecticut could be more horrific than driving in bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic on I-635. But when you're sitting on I-635 and you see that you are at exit 12 and you know that your exit -- your gateway to freedom -- is exit 15 then you can say to yourself "Only three more miles."

You know this because Texas, like most other states in the Union (for once), uses a mile-marker based exiting system. Sadly, Connecticut has not seen the wisdom of this method.

So, when you've been driving for something like 13 or 14 hours from Indiana to Connecticut and you pass mile marker 21, there can be no "only-2-more-miles-to-my-exit" elation. Instead, when you pass exit 16 at mile marker 27, you start to get a little angry. And not just because after 14 hours in a car, everything makes you angry. But because you deserve to know how much longer you will be driving along on I-91 without the aid of a fancy GPS system. Who cares if this is the 16th exit since I've entered Connecticut?

Regrettably, the sequentially-numbered exits were only the beginning of our Connecticut road woes.

Once you leave the highway, the hunt for road signs begins. It would seem that large, clearly discernable road signs would somehow mar the New England charm of the place. Because what's more charming than having to turn around several times because you didn't realize you were on Main St., since nowhere was it labeled Main St.?

Recently, we were trying out a new way to Target which involved turning left on 2 Rod Highway. This was the trip where we learned that roads change names frequently. While we were wondering why a road would be named "Hang Dog," we should have realized that on the other side of the street it was also called 2 Rod Highway. We didn't make it to Target in under 10 minutes.

The two times we've gone to Buckland Hills we've been unable to leave it without having to turn around at least once. Partly because the entrance ramp to I-84 is marked only by a One-Way sign, pointing the other way.

Speaking of road signs, this is one of my favorites.


Stop Bush (Dallas, TX)