on the road again

Before taking this vacation I hadn't driven for six months. I really have no need to do so in Sydney. My work is within walking distance. The bus is a more economical and eco-friendly way to visit the city. The few driving lessons my fiance have given me usually end with my heart racing, or worse, with me in tears. So while I will eventually need to learn to drive properly on the left side of the road, for now I'm happy letting someone else drive.

My fiance has a similar driving deficiency when visiting the United States. All of the driving is up to me, while he navigates from the passenger seat (or worse, falls asleep, which I often find very irritating). This arrangement has led to some interesting "adventures."

There was the time I almost turned the wrong way on a one way street in Boston. My fiance gave his famous "turn right when you can" advice, and then suggested I turn at the next light. Thankfully, our hotel was in the financial district and it was a Saturday morning, meaning there was no one coming towards us. The only witness to my stupidity was the lone taxi driver who honked and shook his finger to indicate I was going the wrong way.

Then there was the night when we drove all over upstate New York looking for our hotel. We got into Cooperstown around 5pm, and immediately visited the Baseball HOF thanks to their awesome summer hours (open until 9pm!). Three hours later we finally ate dinner at a local restaurant, and set out for our hotel. I was reasonably sure I had booked something within three miles of downtown, but the Google map directions led us out of town and down a windy, dark country road. Once we passed where the hotel was supposed to be, my fiance discovered I had read the address number to him incorrectly. No problem: he inputed the correct address and we were off. Unfortunately by this time it was dark, and backroads don't have streetlights. The quickest way back to where we needed to be was through more dark, windy roads. The kind that pass creepy farmhouses, go through thick woods, and where deer cross the road (all things we actually saw). After another half hour of driving, losing and regaining cell signal, and general anxiety at being lost-ish, we finally called the hotel for directions. Turns out the hotel was south of town, not north like we had been going. So back to Cooperstown, and what do you know! -- we find the hotel within ten minutes.

Then there was the delightful time we accidentally went to New Jersey. This is actually the second time I have accidentally been to New Jersey. The first time was much nicer, as it involved getting an ice cream at Dairy Queen. This time involved missing a turn in Philadelphia, and getting onto the Ben Franklin Bridge thinking it connected to the I-95 in the direction we were going. Nope: it goes to New Jersey. I got off at the first exit so we could get back onto the bridge, and ended up in a very very bad neighborhood. After several tense minutes of driving down one way streets and obsessively checking that the car doors were locked, we were headed back into Pennsylvania. After paying a $5.00 toll to get back on the Ben Franklin Bridge. Oy vey.

Needless to say, I am very excited to not drive for awhile.