No internet at home yet; however, thanks to the generous free wi-fi from the local Caribou Cafe, I get to update my blog (I hope the free advertising makes up for not buying their coffee while I use their wi-fi).
The drive from Miami to Waukesha was completed without any problems (any major); there was a minor one in Pittsburgh, but more on that later. The trip started Friday morning and culminated Wednesday afternoon, July 7th, at 2 pm; as opposed to initial expectations I did most of the driving, including all the mayor cities -- Washington, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.
The drive from Miami to Maryland was not very eventful; the scenery through I-95 is too familiar. Only while driving past the exit to I-40 West did I feel the urge to lower the window and breath in the sweet air of that state I called home for the past four years. That was as close as this trip would take me back to Duke. The only other portion worth noting from this section was the accident that slowed traffic to a crawl while entering DC. The slow tempo, which stretched for about half an hour, allowed me the opportunity to experience the displeasure of driving manual: having to stop and go; press break, press clutch, hold clutch, slowly release clutch, release break, accelerate, press break, press clutch... By the time it was all over I had a tingly feeling in my left foot. I had passed my final test on manual driving, or so I thought.
After the first half of the trip, my parents and I spent the 4th of July weekend with my sister and her husband in Columbia, Maryland. Since traffic into and out of DC is very complicated on the 4th of July, we went to Baltimore Inner Harbor to watch the fireworks. On the 5th we went down to visit DC; the heat was very severe (I have the tan I did not get during two months in Miami). On the 6th we continued our journey.
The portion from Maryland to Wisconsin was more engaging; driving through the Appalachian Range was an incredible sight. While the farm scenery of the Midwest did become very repetitive, it was something new. I do have to mention that roads in this area were very bad, and the tolls very expensive. Since we would not be able to arrive to Waukesha in time to get my apartment keys, my parents and I decided to make a few stops -- in Chicago, South Bend (i.e., Notre Dame, but did not get to visit Bethel College), and Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, I encountered an unexpected problem: steep hills.
While driving on 4th gear in one of these hills, I noticed the car was loosing speed -- despite the fact that I was pressing the accelerator all the way. So, I did the most sensible thing: down grade to 3rd. The car kept loosing speed. Okay, 2nd gear. The car runs out of momentum. Crap! It must have been quite a site: A little blue car, the shape of an egg, about to start rolling downhill. Taking a deep breath (while engaging both the emergency break and the break pedal), I shifted to my last hope of making it all the way to the top: 1st gear. Slowly, very slowly, I began releasing the clutch, listening very intently for that point when it catches. As the car began to vibrate (indicating the catching point) I released the emergency break. Pause -- no back rolling -- good. Then I began to release the break pedal; and, if I had a third foot would have started accelerating then, but I do not have a third foot (I supposed I could have used the emergency break to free up my right leg, but the motion did not feel right). Taking much longer than necessary, I finally let go of the break and started accelerating. The car began to move forward. Another deep breath, this time from my mom, who apparently had forgotten how to breath.
I have passed my final test on manual driving. Or so I think...
The drive from Miami to Waukesha was completed without any problems (any major); there was a minor one in Pittsburgh, but more on that later. The trip started Friday morning and culminated Wednesday afternoon, July 7th, at 2 pm; as opposed to initial expectations I did most of the driving, including all the mayor cities -- Washington, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.
The drive from Miami to Maryland was not very eventful; the scenery through I-95 is too familiar. Only while driving past the exit to I-40 West did I feel the urge to lower the window and breath in the sweet air of that state I called home for the past four years. That was as close as this trip would take me back to Duke. The only other portion worth noting from this section was the accident that slowed traffic to a crawl while entering DC. The slow tempo, which stretched for about half an hour, allowed me the opportunity to experience the displeasure of driving manual: having to stop and go; press break, press clutch, hold clutch, slowly release clutch, release break, accelerate, press break, press clutch... By the time it was all over I had a tingly feeling in my left foot. I had passed my final test on manual driving, or so I thought.
After the first half of the trip, my parents and I spent the 4th of July weekend with my sister and her husband in Columbia, Maryland. Since traffic into and out of DC is very complicated on the 4th of July, we went to Baltimore Inner Harbor to watch the fireworks. On the 5th we went down to visit DC; the heat was very severe (I have the tan I did not get during two months in Miami). On the 6th we continued our journey.
The portion from Maryland to Wisconsin was more engaging; driving through the Appalachian Range was an incredible sight. While the farm scenery of the Midwest did become very repetitive, it was something new. I do have to mention that roads in this area were very bad, and the tolls very expensive. Since we would not be able to arrive to Waukesha in time to get my apartment keys, my parents and I decided to make a few stops -- in Chicago, South Bend (i.e., Notre Dame, but did not get to visit Bethel College), and Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh, I encountered an unexpected problem: steep hills.
While driving on 4th gear in one of these hills, I noticed the car was loosing speed -- despite the fact that I was pressing the accelerator all the way. So, I did the most sensible thing: down grade to 3rd. The car kept loosing speed. Okay, 2nd gear. The car runs out of momentum. Crap! It must have been quite a site: A little blue car, the shape of an egg, about to start rolling downhill. Taking a deep breath (while engaging both the emergency break and the break pedal), I shifted to my last hope of making it all the way to the top: 1st gear. Slowly, very slowly, I began releasing the clutch, listening very intently for that point when it catches. As the car began to vibrate (indicating the catching point) I released the emergency break. Pause -- no back rolling -- good. Then I began to release the break pedal; and, if I had a third foot would have started accelerating then, but I do not have a third foot (I supposed I could have used the emergency break to free up my right leg, but the motion did not feel right). Taking much longer than necessary, I finally let go of the break and started accelerating. The car began to move forward. Another deep breath, this time from my mom, who apparently had forgotten how to breath.
I have passed my final test on manual driving. Or so I think...
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