Sunday, April 8, 2007

Leaving the city

In a memorable episode of "Married...With Children," Al Bundy loads the family in his car to escape for a holiday weekend vacation. After several hours on the interstate, they can still see their own house from the traffic jam. Don't be a Bundy.



Most of us live in big cities, giving the impression that the entire country and indeed the world must be one large megalopolis, but nothing could be further from the truth. Like a rocket escaping the earth's gravitational pull, the hardest part is getting started. You have a choice. Spend some leisurely time in bed and enjoy a nice breakfast at home, or hit the road before dawn, and beat the traffic before it builds into rush hour.

I planned to leave at 4:00 AM from Manhattan Beach, hopefully being outside San Bernardino by the time Los Angeles County became flooded with cars, but when my 20 year-old son arrived home at 2:30 AM, I found myself awake and decided to make some coffee, shower and still was on the road at 3:00 AM. Keep in mind that no one except the driver really needs to be awake. Others can bundle up in blankets with pillows and sleep as the driver escapes the city atmosphere.

By 4:30 AM, we were in Victorville, with lots of easy, open country driving between us and the next big city, Las Vegas.

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