I was struck by the April 16 story in the Ottawa Citizen Don't 'cheerlead' oilsands, officials warned government:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/cheerlead+oilsands+officials+warned+government/6463960/story.html
It seems Natural Resources Canada has been actively lobbying and marketing the benefits of developing Alberta's oil sands without balancing the message with the associated environmental challenges and trade-offs. This sounds like something the oil industry itself would and regularly does. Has the Canadian Petroleum Association co-opted Natural Resources Canada officials to make them a mouthpiece for the Industry?
It sure smacks of that to me. Reports of Industry led training sessions for bureaucrats on how to market the communications plan and stay on message is downright shocking to me. I was surprised this story disappeared as quickly as it did and was not reported on more widely.
When I worked for the Industry Canada on bilateral weights and measures device standardization issues with the U.S., I got the distinct impression that our Department of Commerce counterparts in the U.S. were under strict guidelines that Industry not only had to be consulted when introducing new technical requirements, but it was the Industry that had the most, if not the final say in adoption.
In fact we got the distinct impression that the American government does not do anything affecting industry's bottom line without getting industry's blessing, in advance. Another way of stating this is that Industry runs the American government.
Well we now seem to have Industry with a toe hold in Natural Resources Canada. That can spread quickly to other Departments with a Conservative government actively making it happen. Lest you think that I am an apologist for the Bureaucracy, I also spent the first part of my career working as an engineer in the oil industry. We use to sit around the table telling stories of how stupid the government of the day was. Hence, I have seen it from both perspectives.
I don't like to pay taxes so government officials can deliver Industry messages particularly when we don't have a clear picture of what is going on in the back room. Sounds like the Americanisation of the Canadian government to me.
D.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Monday, 16 April 2012
Do you know what it means...
to miss New Orleans.
And miss it each night and day.
I know I am not wrong.
Louis Armstrong
Written by Louis Alter, Eddie Delange
OK.OK, I am a New Orleans fan. I know many are not.
We stayed in the secure French Quarter RV Park right beside the I10.
We could walk to the French Quarter. And we did stopping to see some live music in Treme on the way.
It was St. Patrick's Day. so we joined in the hoopla.
The highlight of this trip was going to Congo Park on a sunny Sunday afternoon after mass with the (retired) Archbishop of New Orleans and a visit to the French marketplace.
We finished our trip by taking the Canal Street street car to the lovely City Park area. Confederate President Jefferson Davis waved goodbye as we returned to our home away from home.
We enjoyed our visit. Local people were very positive and upbeat and seem to have completely recovered from Katrina in 2007.
D.
And miss it each night and day.
I know I am not wrong.
Louis Armstrong
Written by Louis Alter, Eddie Delange
OK.OK, I am a New Orleans fan. I know many are not.
We stayed in the secure French Quarter RV Park right beside the I10.
We could walk to the French Quarter. And we did stopping to see some live music in Treme on the way.
It was St. Patrick's Day. so we joined in the hoopla.
The highlight of this trip was going to Congo Park on a sunny Sunday afternoon after mass with the (retired) Archbishop of New Orleans and a visit to the French marketplace.
We finished our trip by taking the Canal Street street car to the lovely City Park area. Confederate President Jefferson Davis waved goodbye as we returned to our home away from home.
We enjoyed our visit. Local people were very positive and upbeat and seem to have completely recovered from Katrina in 2007.
D.
Saturday, 14 April 2012
Chickamauga
For those of you who are American Civil War buffs, you will recognize this name immediately as one of the most well known civil war battle sites in America. Here is a photo of the entrance to the Visitor Centre.
Rather than go into details of the battle and what happened, suffice it to say that the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg was the victor over the Union Army of the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans. The outcome of the battle which took place September 19-20, 1863 hinged on:
1) A breakdown in Rosecrans communications when after being misinformed that there was a gap in his line, he ordered a brigade to pull out of the line. This caused an actual gap to appear just when Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's Division was attacking. The right wing of the Union forces was completely routed.
2) In pursuing the rest of the Union forces, the Confederate soldiers were stymied by the fierce resistance of Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas men on a ridge where they formed a new right wing. As a result, the remaining Union forces were able to withdraw back to Chattanooga, rather than be annihilated. Gen. Thomas became known as 'The Rock of Chickamauga" based on a comment by Rosecrans
It was the biggest defeat of the Union Campaign in the West. The number of casualties in this two day battle was second only to Gettysburg. You can read about all the details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickamauga
I would like to tell you my impressions of the Battlefield sites and steer you to a unique information resource.
There are 3 separate battlefield sites: 1) Chickamauga (named after the Chickamauga Creek about 5 miles south of Chattanooga and actually in Georgia); 2) Lookout Mountain (4 miles west of Chattanooga overlooking the city); and, 3) Missionary Ridge (in Chattanooga proper which we did not have time to visit).
The Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Centre is well done. They have a 20 min video explaining the battle, a museum that displays many artefacts and graphics and the Fuller Gun Collection (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtlUDF8hzIk for a tour). I particularly liked the large light emitting display that shows exactly how the flow of the battle went. I found this to be very useful before driving around the site. Of course, access is all free courtesy of the National Park Service and taxpayers.
The site is very large and it takes at good hour just to drive around even if you skip most of the 8 tour stops. Typical of many battlefields, the geography includes a large number of treed areas with grassy openings here and there. There are small hills and ridges and a few ravines I recall. A county Road runs right through the centre and I saw people heading to and from work etc..
There are many monuments honouring various States' participation and many markers and information plaques. It is a beautiful site to drive around however, it is difficult to get a single strategic view as the woods are always present interrupting your line of sight. I wonder how ACW Generals ever maintained communications with their Divisions during a battle (by sending messengers back and forth and trying to spot brigade battle flags in the distance). It is no wonder that communications failed at times as the whole battlefield area would have been submerged in smoke. It must have been a general state of confusion at the best of times.
Here are some photos I took (click on photo to enlarge):
Plaque explaining the fateful order from Rosecrans to Wood that opened up the Union line:
The details of Longstreets breakthrough and routing of the Union right wing.
Interesting story of the Brothertons outlining how son Tom served as a Confederate scout during the battle.
Rebuilt replica of the Brotherton House around which Longstreet's brigades streamed to over run the remaining Union forces in the trees at the back.
More info on the rout of the Union Right:
The marker on the right at the top of the hill marks Rosecrans' Headquaters on Sept 20 before being routed:
Thomas' heroic stand on Snodgrass Hill explained.
Union battery on Snodgrass Hill:
Finally the unique information resource. Former Park Ranger Jim Blackwell has made a tour guide available by cell phone. Simply call 585 672-2619 and enter any of the 8 Tour Stop numbers to receive a detailed explanation of what the stop entails. Amazing, but it helps if you have a block of free long distance calls to take advantage. Stops 7 Rout of the Union Right and 8 Snodgrass Hill are the most interesting stops.
In comparison, I found Chickamauga Battlefield to be more interesting than Shiloh but less so than Pea Ridge (my favourite), Antietam and of course Gettysburg. However, it came late on our 2 month RV trip and we were anxious to get home. Will have to return someday for a second visit. I highly recommend this site for a visit. More on Lookout Mountain to follow.
My sincere thanks to Park Ranger Wes Bowden for explaining Chickamauga with so much passion and for steering me to the Jim Blackwell cell phone tour.
D.
Rather than go into details of the battle and what happened, suffice it to say that the Confederate Army of Tennessee under Gen. Braxton Bragg was the victor over the Union Army of the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans. The outcome of the battle which took place September 19-20, 1863 hinged on:
1) A breakdown in Rosecrans communications when after being misinformed that there was a gap in his line, he ordered a brigade to pull out of the line. This caused an actual gap to appear just when Confederate Lt. Gen. James Longstreet's Division was attacking. The right wing of the Union forces was completely routed.
2) In pursuing the rest of the Union forces, the Confederate soldiers were stymied by the fierce resistance of Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas men on a ridge where they formed a new right wing. As a result, the remaining Union forces were able to withdraw back to Chattanooga, rather than be annihilated. Gen. Thomas became known as 'The Rock of Chickamauga" based on a comment by Rosecrans
It was the biggest defeat of the Union Campaign in the West. The number of casualties in this two day battle was second only to Gettysburg. You can read about all the details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickamauga
I would like to tell you my impressions of the Battlefield sites and steer you to a unique information resource.
There are 3 separate battlefield sites: 1) Chickamauga (named after the Chickamauga Creek about 5 miles south of Chattanooga and actually in Georgia); 2) Lookout Mountain (4 miles west of Chattanooga overlooking the city); and, 3) Missionary Ridge (in Chattanooga proper which we did not have time to visit).
The Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Centre is well done. They have a 20 min video explaining the battle, a museum that displays many artefacts and graphics and the Fuller Gun Collection (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtlUDF8hzIk for a tour). I particularly liked the large light emitting display that shows exactly how the flow of the battle went. I found this to be very useful before driving around the site. Of course, access is all free courtesy of the National Park Service and taxpayers.
The site is very large and it takes at good hour just to drive around even if you skip most of the 8 tour stops. Typical of many battlefields, the geography includes a large number of treed areas with grassy openings here and there. There are small hills and ridges and a few ravines I recall. A county Road runs right through the centre and I saw people heading to and from work etc..
There are many monuments honouring various States' participation and many markers and information plaques. It is a beautiful site to drive around however, it is difficult to get a single strategic view as the woods are always present interrupting your line of sight. I wonder how ACW Generals ever maintained communications with their Divisions during a battle (by sending messengers back and forth and trying to spot brigade battle flags in the distance). It is no wonder that communications failed at times as the whole battlefield area would have been submerged in smoke. It must have been a general state of confusion at the best of times.
Here are some photos I took (click on photo to enlarge):
Plaque explaining the fateful order from Rosecrans to Wood that opened up the Union line:
The details of Longstreets breakthrough and routing of the Union right wing.
More info on the rout of the Union Right:
The marker on the right at the top of the hill marks Rosecrans' Headquaters on Sept 20 before being routed:
Thomas' heroic stand on Snodgrass Hill explained.
Union battery on Snodgrass Hill:
Finally the unique information resource. Former Park Ranger Jim Blackwell has made a tour guide available by cell phone. Simply call 585 672-2619 and enter any of the 8 Tour Stop numbers to receive a detailed explanation of what the stop entails. Amazing, but it helps if you have a block of free long distance calls to take advantage. Stops 7 Rout of the Union Right and 8 Snodgrass Hill are the most interesting stops.
In comparison, I found Chickamauga Battlefield to be more interesting than Shiloh but less so than Pea Ridge (my favourite), Antietam and of course Gettysburg. However, it came late on our 2 month RV trip and we were anxious to get home. Will have to return someday for a second visit. I highly recommend this site for a visit. More on Lookout Mountain to follow.
My sincere thanks to Park Ranger Wes Bowden for explaining Chickamauga with so much passion and for steering me to the Jim Blackwell cell phone tour.
D.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
The RV Lifestyle
Makes me a better person.
As strangers in an RV or state park, most people give you eye contact, say hello and are willing to chat. Contrast this with the city where saying hello to a stranger is not usually reciprocated for personal safety reasons. I much prefer the friendly approach and now that I am back home, I continue to say hi and am willing to chat with strangers on the street or anywhere. It's a small town so I usually do get a warm response.
Now there does seem to be a bit of an RV life style perceived pecking order.
On top are the large Class A bus owners who usually travel with 2 exotic dogs such as poodles, miniature collies, terriers, spaniels etc. They have earned the right to be on top owing to the sheer size of their RV, the air breaks and the large financial investment it takes. Some do not own a home a live in their RV year round.
Next come the travel trailer crowd. Trailers range from small to gigantic, from plain to the streamlined models. What they usually have in common is a heavy duty pick up truck, usually a diesel, is used to do the hauling. The growl of these trucks is incessant in the campground. Fifth wheel diesels are the pick of the litter. Some travel trailer people live in their trailer all year round and supplement their set-up with a gazebo, shed etc.
The Roadtrek (also Pleasure Way, Leisure Way, Great West Van brands etc.) or Class B group, are next in order my view. We own fully motor home equipped heavy duty vans that have a raised roof line. We like to move frequently from site to site. Our vehicles can be parked on a city street and are allowed on small ferries where larger RVs are not permitted. We get 15 to 17 mpg (and up to 22 for a diesel) rather than the meager 7 mpg a Class A or 12 mpg a trailer pulling pick-up will typically achieve I believe.
Then there are the sportsman box campers set into the back of a pick up truck with ground mounting stilts. These units are on the small side and not too common where we tend top go. Finally there is a budding new vehicle called the "camper van" which is like a pop-top family van that has come to America recently from New Zealand and will likely grow as it is affordable
Another effect of RVing we have found is our need for keeping "stuff" is diminished. We are in the midst of getting rid of a lot of "stuff" we have been storing in our basement at home. While on our recent trip, we never once missed any of it!
RVing is effectively land cruising. I estimate our typical all up cost for 2 on the road including depreciation, fuel, food, site fees etc is $100/day or $50/day each. Ship crusing (which we have done 7 times) is much more expensive ranging from $90/day/person (bargain basement fire sale cruise on an old ship) to $500/day/person or more (Oceania, Regent, Crystal etc.). We can afford to stay on the road a lot longer at $100/day rather than $400/day.
Finally is the freedom. We can go when and where we want , stay as long as we want and move when we want in our RV. On an organized tour or cruise, this is not possible although some have inadvertently tried, ha.
OK, we are currently hooked on the RV lifestyle. Our next goal is to sell our 1999 Roadtrek 190 (189k km) and move up to a newer Roadtrek with a king side bed and diesel. We are hooked on the smaller size RV - what do you need all that extra space for anyway?
D.
As strangers in an RV or state park, most people give you eye contact, say hello and are willing to chat. Contrast this with the city where saying hello to a stranger is not usually reciprocated for personal safety reasons. I much prefer the friendly approach and now that I am back home, I continue to say hi and am willing to chat with strangers on the street or anywhere. It's a small town so I usually do get a warm response.
Now there does seem to be a bit of an RV life style perceived pecking order.
On top are the large Class A bus owners who usually travel with 2 exotic dogs such as poodles, miniature collies, terriers, spaniels etc. They have earned the right to be on top owing to the sheer size of their RV, the air breaks and the large financial investment it takes. Some do not own a home a live in their RV year round.
Next come the travel trailer crowd. Trailers range from small to gigantic, from plain to the streamlined models. What they usually have in common is a heavy duty pick up truck, usually a diesel, is used to do the hauling. The growl of these trucks is incessant in the campground. Fifth wheel diesels are the pick of the litter. Some travel trailer people live in their trailer all year round and supplement their set-up with a gazebo, shed etc.
The Roadtrek (also Pleasure Way, Leisure Way, Great West Van brands etc.) or Class B group, are next in order my view. We own fully motor home equipped heavy duty vans that have a raised roof line. We like to move frequently from site to site. Our vehicles can be parked on a city street and are allowed on small ferries where larger RVs are not permitted. We get 15 to 17 mpg (and up to 22 for a diesel) rather than the meager 7 mpg a Class A or 12 mpg a trailer pulling pick-up will typically achieve I believe.
Then there are the sportsman box campers set into the back of a pick up truck with ground mounting stilts. These units are on the small side and not too common where we tend top go. Finally there is a budding new vehicle called the "camper van" which is like a pop-top family van that has come to America recently from New Zealand and will likely grow as it is affordable
Another effect of RVing we have found is our need for keeping "stuff" is diminished. We are in the midst of getting rid of a lot of "stuff" we have been storing in our basement at home. While on our recent trip, we never once missed any of it!
RVing is effectively land cruising. I estimate our typical all up cost for 2 on the road including depreciation, fuel, food, site fees etc is $100/day or $50/day each. Ship crusing (which we have done 7 times) is much more expensive ranging from $90/day/person (bargain basement fire sale cruise on an old ship) to $500/day/person or more (Oceania, Regent, Crystal etc.). We can afford to stay on the road a lot longer at $100/day rather than $400/day.
Finally is the freedom. We can go when and where we want , stay as long as we want and move when we want in our RV. On an organized tour or cruise, this is not possible although some have inadvertently tried, ha.
OK, we are currently hooked on the RV lifestyle. Our next goal is to sell our 1999 Roadtrek 190 (189k km) and move up to a newer Roadtrek with a king side bed and diesel. We are hooked on the smaller size RV - what do you need all that extra space for anyway?
D.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
The Real Florida
We found The Real Florida on this recent RV trip, at least that is what the welcome sign said each time we checked into a State Park.
Here is a list of the Parks we stayed in with my 1 to 4 star ratings:
Kathryn Abbey Hanna City Park, Jacksonville **
- nice campsite, was cool when we were there
Anastasia State Park, St Augustine **
- wifi hotspot, nice facilities
Tomoka State Park, Ormond Beach *
- can't remember much, was not on beach
Moss City Park, Orlando **
- many friendly (almost too nosy) sandhill cranes, isolated location
Sebastian Inlet State Park, Vero Beach ***
- fishing paradise, miles of beach, great seafood store
Highland Hammocks State Park, Sebring **
- alligators, good nature trails, crowded
Oscar Scherer State Park, Osprey ***
- excellent location (near Casey Key beaches), good hiking trails, scrub jays
Turtle Beach County Campground, Sarasosta ***
- 50 feet from the beach, oh those sunsets, crowded, tight
Fort Desoto County Park, St. Petersburg ****
- miles of beach, great facilities, wifi hotspot, lagoon side camping
St. George Island State Park, ***
- miles of untouched beach, isolated
St Andrews State Park, Panama City ***
- great beach, close to the March Break madness
Grayton Beach State Park ***
- fabulous beach, nice campsite, private
Topsail State Park RV Resort ***
- wifi, cable, shuttle to the beach, swimming pool, manicured
Henderson State Park, Destin ****
- nice little campground, nestled away from the road and stores, boardwalk to the beach,
Big Lagoon State Park, Pensacola **
- lot of dead trees from Ivan 2003 still, old campground in need of uplift
Gulf Shores State Park, Orange Beach, AL ****
- huge, wifi, cable, our site right on lagoon, walk to beach, love Orange Beach
The "real Florida" refers to the natural coastal scrub vegetation that you can still see in these parks. It is a thick thicket of saw tooth palmetto, Spanish Stopper, small trees, salt marsh plants etc that is virtually impenetrable. Small birds, squirrels and other small things live a happy go lucky life there. The trouble is most of this vegetation is gone now from Florida to provide space for condos, fast food places, roads, hotels, stores etc.
In fact, the scrub jay population is at risk because most of the dry wooded land that these birds require for survival is long gone to commercial interests. Thank goodness for the Florida State Parks (county and city parks too) for preserving this land forever, or none of us would ever have seen what Florida was like before the 20th century.
As you can see we were pretty satisfied with our park camping experiences. Prices ranged from $18 to $40 per night. The most frustrating part is trying to get in. In winter, most State parks below Daytona Beach are completely sold out months in advance. We were able to get in by picking a day here and 2 or 3 days there where there were gaps between longer reservations. You have to pay in full at time of booking on the website but can make a change for an additional fee. It is rumored that some people abuse the 2 week maximum stay period by getting family members to book back-to-back stays to parcel together a month or longer in the same park. Shame, but it is so nice there... However, even though the shingle said park full and people were turned away, we usually saw the odd empty campsite each morning. I guess someone had prepaid and not shown up.
More info on Florida State Parks here: http://www.floridastateparks.org/
Now we thought we had seen everything but the Gulf State Park in Orange Beach Alabama was perhaps the most comfortable and beautiful stay of all. I guess it is their flagship campground and they enjoy showing Florida up. Park was full of snow birds but we did see some lucky March breakers who managed to get in. This campground is all booked up for next winter already as they have great weekly and monthly rates. Can't recommend this park enough: http://www.alapark.com/gulfstate/Camping/
Oh yes, we found The Uncommon Florida too. Up the west coast from Springhill to Carabelle, they call it the Nature Coast. There are few beaches, plenty of trees and lots of swamp. Off the typical tourist's road map, it is an interesting part of Florida for sure. We preferred the Panhandle proper with the miles of beaches and short distance to town.
A few parting photos:
D.
Here is a list of the Parks we stayed in with my 1 to 4 star ratings:
Kathryn Abbey Hanna City Park, Jacksonville **
- nice campsite, was cool when we were there
Anastasia State Park, St Augustine **
- wifi hotspot, nice facilities
Tomoka State Park, Ormond Beach *
- can't remember much, was not on beach
Moss City Park, Orlando **
- many friendly (almost too nosy) sandhill cranes, isolated location
Sebastian Inlet State Park, Vero Beach ***
- fishing paradise, miles of beach, great seafood store
Highland Hammocks State Park, Sebring **
- alligators, good nature trails, crowded
Oscar Scherer State Park, Osprey ***
- excellent location (near Casey Key beaches), good hiking trails, scrub jays
Turtle Beach County Campground, Sarasosta ***
- 50 feet from the beach, oh those sunsets, crowded, tight
Fort Desoto County Park, St. Petersburg ****
- miles of beach, great facilities, wifi hotspot, lagoon side camping
St. George Island State Park, ***
- miles of untouched beach, isolated
St Andrews State Park, Panama City ***
- great beach, close to the March Break madness
Grayton Beach State Park ***
- fabulous beach, nice campsite, private
Topsail State Park RV Resort ***
- wifi, cable, shuttle to the beach, swimming pool, manicured
Henderson State Park, Destin ****
- nice little campground, nestled away from the road and stores, boardwalk to the beach,
Big Lagoon State Park, Pensacola **
- lot of dead trees from Ivan 2003 still, old campground in need of uplift
Gulf Shores State Park, Orange Beach, AL ****
- huge, wifi, cable, our site right on lagoon, walk to beach, love Orange Beach
The "real Florida" refers to the natural coastal scrub vegetation that you can still see in these parks. It is a thick thicket of saw tooth palmetto, Spanish Stopper, small trees, salt marsh plants etc that is virtually impenetrable. Small birds, squirrels and other small things live a happy go lucky life there. The trouble is most of this vegetation is gone now from Florida to provide space for condos, fast food places, roads, hotels, stores etc.
In fact, the scrub jay population is at risk because most of the dry wooded land that these birds require for survival is long gone to commercial interests. Thank goodness for the Florida State Parks (county and city parks too) for preserving this land forever, or none of us would ever have seen what Florida was like before the 20th century.
As you can see we were pretty satisfied with our park camping experiences. Prices ranged from $18 to $40 per night. The most frustrating part is trying to get in. In winter, most State parks below Daytona Beach are completely sold out months in advance. We were able to get in by picking a day here and 2 or 3 days there where there were gaps between longer reservations. You have to pay in full at time of booking on the website but can make a change for an additional fee. It is rumored that some people abuse the 2 week maximum stay period by getting family members to book back-to-back stays to parcel together a month or longer in the same park. Shame, but it is so nice there... However, even though the shingle said park full and people were turned away, we usually saw the odd empty campsite each morning. I guess someone had prepaid and not shown up.
More info on Florida State Parks here: http://www.floridastateparks.org/
Now we thought we had seen everything but the Gulf State Park in Orange Beach Alabama was perhaps the most comfortable and beautiful stay of all. I guess it is their flagship campground and they enjoy showing Florida up. Park was full of snow birds but we did see some lucky March breakers who managed to get in. This campground is all booked up for next winter already as they have great weekly and monthly rates. Can't recommend this park enough: http://www.alapark.com/gulfstate/Camping/
Oh yes, we found The Uncommon Florida too. Up the west coast from Springhill to Carabelle, they call it the Nature Coast. There are few beaches, plenty of trees and lots of swamp. Off the typical tourist's road map, it is an interesting part of Florida for sure. We preferred the Panhandle proper with the miles of beaches and short distance to town.
A few parting photos:
D.
Thursday, 5 April 2012
Driving
In my opinion, American highway drivers are better drivers then Canadian drivers who drive better than Jamaican drivers.
While driving on our recent RV trip, I was struck by the fact that most American drivers drive at or slightly below the posted speed limit on the Interstate highways. This is not true where I live in Canada. People routinely drive 10 to 20 km over the 100 km limit on Hwy 417 (Interstate equivalent). If you drive the posted speed limit here, most vehicles will pass around you - quickly In the U.S I found most drivers would stay behind and drive at or slightly below the limit. When being passed, as of course some US drivers would do, we found relatively few out and out speeders.
There is one exception to this rule and that is large trucks - semis and trains. American and Canadian truck drivers are equally intimidating. Most large rigs would slow down heading up a modest incline. After passing a truck and returning to the right lane, I would invariably see the same rig bareling toward us as we headed down the other side of the hill. Unless I sped up to escape, they would ride right up almost on our rear bumper unless they could safely pass. This is true for Canada too. However, there are many more trucks in the US (economy seems to be improving this year). I81 from Knoxville to Pensylvania has thousands of trucks on the road on any day.
Our most enjoyable drive on our trip - driving about 20 km of beach in the Daytona Beach area and south:
As for Jamaica, friends told us we would be risking our lives to drive there and perhaps they were right. You drive on the left side of the road there, and some of the roads are extremely narrow and pot holed. We drove our Toyota Corolla rental on the (new) highway from Montego Bay eastwards to Fallmouth and as far as St. Ann's Bay near Ocho Rios. Jamaican highway drivers are scary. Many drive at 50 km over the speed limit and will pass you on blind curves and zip back into their lane just in time before collision with oncoming traffic. Turn signals are not used often - its pretty dangerous driving.
Off the major highway the roads ar terrible: windy, narrow, gravel, pot holes, bumps, ruts, single lane and worse. We just barely made it to Nine Mile and I don't think we would do it again. However, it was an "accomplishment" and we had much fun site seeing nevertheless:
Finally in Jamaica, there is the parking security issue. You should park your car in a gated secure area or risk having it vandalized or stolen. This is somewhat common in 3rd world countries. At Nine Mile, we had to pay some local youth "protection" so that we could leave our car safely on the street as no one had offered us a spot in the gated parking lot shown.Well that's it for today.D.
While driving on our recent RV trip, I was struck by the fact that most American drivers drive at or slightly below the posted speed limit on the Interstate highways. This is not true where I live in Canada. People routinely drive 10 to 20 km over the 100 km limit on Hwy 417 (Interstate equivalent). If you drive the posted speed limit here, most vehicles will pass around you - quickly In the U.S I found most drivers would stay behind and drive at or slightly below the limit. When being passed, as of course some US drivers would do, we found relatively few out and out speeders.
There is one exception to this rule and that is large trucks - semis and trains. American and Canadian truck drivers are equally intimidating. Most large rigs would slow down heading up a modest incline. After passing a truck and returning to the right lane, I would invariably see the same rig bareling toward us as we headed down the other side of the hill. Unless I sped up to escape, they would ride right up almost on our rear bumper unless they could safely pass. This is true for Canada too. However, there are many more trucks in the US (economy seems to be improving this year). I81 from Knoxville to Pensylvania has thousands of trucks on the road on any day.
Our most enjoyable drive on our trip - driving about 20 km of beach in the Daytona Beach area and south:
As for Jamaica, friends told us we would be risking our lives to drive there and perhaps they were right. You drive on the left side of the road there, and some of the roads are extremely narrow and pot holed. We drove our Toyota Corolla rental on the (new) highway from Montego Bay eastwards to Fallmouth and as far as St. Ann's Bay near Ocho Rios. Jamaican highway drivers are scary. Many drive at 50 km over the speed limit and will pass you on blind curves and zip back into their lane just in time before collision with oncoming traffic. Turn signals are not used often - its pretty dangerous driving.
Off the major highway the roads ar terrible: windy, narrow, gravel, pot holes, bumps, ruts, single lane and worse. We just barely made it to Nine Mile and I don't think we would do it again. However, it was an "accomplishment" and we had much fun site seeing nevertheless:
Finally in Jamaica, there is the parking security issue. You should park your car in a gated secure area or risk having it vandalized or stolen. This is somewhat common in 3rd world countries. At Nine Mile, we had to pay some local youth "protection" so that we could leave our car safely on the street as no one had offered us a spot in the gated parking lot shown.Well that's it for today.D.Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Jamaica
And when life becomes too bizarre
And all of my friends seem ordinary
As compared to the Rastafar
Oh, Jamaica
Hold me
Come let your arms enfold me
Forever and ever
Bobby Caldwell "Jamaica"
Jamaica is a special place. The Land of Wood and Water is spectacularly beautiful, has a great climate and very friendly upbeat people. Hence it is a great place to vacation. Bonus for English speaking Canadians and Americans: Jamaicans speak English as opposed to Spanish or French, as locals do on many other Caribbean islands.
The most popular way to visit is of course to book a stay at one of the islands all-inclusive hotels. This we have done twice and were quite satisfied.
However, this year we tried something different. We decided to stay in a B&B inn called the Retreat Guest House in Fallmouth, just east of Montego Bay. We rented a car and did our own thing for five days. Surprisingly, we ended up preferring this stay to the subsequent week long stay at the bedazzled 4 star+ Jewel Dunn's River Falls Resort.
For our complete review of our stay at this B&B, see http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g612473-d1200369-r125375348-Retreat_Guesthouse_Luxury_Suites-Falmouth_Jamaica.html#CHECK_RATES_CONT
What really struck us about this place was its authenticity. Rather than the bottled up, contained glimpse of Jamaican culture you get at an all-inclusive, we met real Jamaicans trying to survive in a competitive world, who poured out their generosity as well as their hopes, dreams and problems to us, as cherished visitors.
Rather than continue to make this point, I will leave you with a few photos so that next time you visit Jamaica, you too may try and enjoy something different.
D.
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