On Driving...

I hate driving. In fact, next to packing (I HATE PACKING) and unloading the dishwasher, it is about my least favorite thing to do. I am not one of those people who needs to be the "driver" when we go anywhere. I am perfectly happy sitting in the back or as a passenger, probably because then I sometimes get to snooze or do other things :) I just think it is a darn waste of time, especially when you're alone, or stuck in traffic.

Today I drove back to Rochester from Crookston, MN, which is about a 400- (? I'm terrible with estimating distances) mile trip. I was in Lesley and David's car, which they were SO GENEROUS to loan me to go visit my grandmother (my car has been having highway break-downs the last several times I've tried to go anywhere of a substantial distance and its unreliability is just getting to me). The terrain is boring as heck, as is much of this midwest. In fact, I had never used cruise control in my life until I drove to MN from VA at the beginning of med school and hit Indiana (do you east-coasters even know what cruise-control is?? :)). It still boggles my mind that, where you can drive for about 5 hours north on I-95 from northern VA and pass through about 7 states, I could (I didn't today, though) drive for 7-plus hours and STILL BE IN MINNESOTA.

It is hard to find things to do to pass the time. My sister was telling me, this weekend, about the "cows and the graveyards" game (where, on a long car trip, you keep track of the cows on your side and try to beat the other person; passing a graveyard, however, makes you lose all your cows). Nevertheless, driving back today, I did not play this game with my imaginary friend Bob. I was driving alone.

So what does one do when you drive? What did I do while I drove today? There was a lot of daydreaming going on. About what I was going to do when I got home. About all the things I needed to do/pack prior to setting out on my mega travel journey. There was quite a bit of yapping on the phone, which, I must say, does pass the time. And there was a good amount of singing. I forgot what it was like to have the benefit of a car radio (mine was stolen after a car break-in in, YES, ROCHESTER, sometime during 3rd year..). So I sang along to both the radio as well as my ipod, with one earpiece inserted. [Sidenote: Can anyone tell me if this is illegal to do? I feel like it would be bad to put both earpieces in, for then I may miss amublances, etc., but is one okay? I'm just waiting to get pulled over... ] While I am still a bit self-conscious about people in adjacent/passing cars eyeing me, a lone driver, and wondering to whom I'm talking, I've gotten better. So I generally sing away. This usually comprises about 65% of any road-journey I take. But if there are other fun things to do while driving that I haven't figured out yet, please let me know.

Anyway, that's my take on driving. I am a big fan, for environmental as well as other reasons, for taking public transportation. Amtrak, Greyhound... you name it, I will ride it :). I took several LONG bus trips for med school interviews 4 years ago which definitely saved money... I actually checked out these options for this past trip, but there is only one bus per day between Roch and the Twin cities and no regular bus times to Crookston. The nearest Amtrak station is in Winona, about 45 min. east of here. So if Rochester could only be "hooked up" to some such network, I would be a big supporter. Not sure it'll happen before May though....
:)