Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Island People Should Try a Mainland Road Trip!

     In Hawaii, we are always crabbing about how much gas costs.  Just the other day, a gallon of gas cost $4.79 in Hilo.  Yet, if we were in Europe, gas or petrol is so much more expense and they sell the gas by liters and not gallons.

     In September, we took a trip to the mainland and traveled by car from Indianapolis, Indiana to Kentucky and ended up in Columbus, Ohio.  We filled up the car gas tank three times for a total of $73 for all the miles we traveled!!  We rented a Toyota Yaris which was a gas saver.  The rental company employee asked us if we wanted an upgrade which meant a bigger car with a bigger appetite for  fuel.  Nope...the Yaris was just fine with us.  Driving on the Interstate Highways of Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio can be somewhat hairy since people do not seem to observe the speed limits.  Then there are those huge Mac trucks and we were quite uncomfortable about being the filling in a semi-truck sandwich.  But as a whole, we found that the professional truck drivers know their stuff and we've been in situations when we have tailed these humongous trucks for miles, and miles and miles.

     A big factor for our courage (and success) is the printout of Goggle maps from one destination to the next.  Once you get the hang of using these directions, driving is so easy.  We did the printouts as sometimes glitches on the phone can get us in trouble.  Being old codgers, holding onto the map and directions provided a sense of security.

     Driving through these states enabled us to eat at the restaurants we see advertised on TV but not available in Hawaii.  We also got to see the countryside.  It is wondrous to see sites what we might only see on TV such as Riverside Stadium in Cincinnati, the beginning of the fall colors, wildflowers, and animals.

     By the way, the cheapest price for gas we saw was in Indiana for $3.22.  Whoooo hoooo!

      It is a joy indeed.  You should try it sometime.