Robs Obs 5

Trains and boats and planes
are passing by
Dionne Warwick 1966

Notice what's missing from the list above?
Coaches.
Now Harvey will argue with me but I maintain that you hardly see any coaches on the roads out here.
On our two day trip down from Santa Rosa we only saw 5 of them. That's in 450 miles.
Perhaps it's because we live in a resort area that we see a lot but even on a trip to visit Harvey which is only 95 miles, we'll probably see 20 - 30.
We did have two coaches visit our hotel in Palm Springs whilst we were there. They were delivering groups of 'Ladies in Red Hats' which is a national society for ladies who like to get together and have fun.
They all wear red hats of whatever design they choose, coupled with purple jumpers/tee shirts/sweaters. I know, it's a dreadful combination of colours but it was inspired by a poem by Jenny Joseph which starts.
When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

Back to the coaches or my reasons for the lack of them.
Most people seem to prefer to use their own cars for local transport and planes for long distance. The trains are very evident but mostly for freight rather than passengers.
On our trip to the Salton Sea we saw umpteen freight trains but not a single passenger train. Some of them were enormous. Val counted 109 flatcars on one train pulled by 5 engines. Most of these carried huge shipping containers and a great many of these were double stacked. Think how many truck miles that would save.
I keep trying to record the trains as they pass a crossing. The bells clang and the train whistles a lonely 'whoo whoo' and it so reminds me of the movies I watched as a kid.
I'm just gonna have to make a special trip to get the recording done so you can hear what I'm talking about.

Being close to the ocean as we are, there are plenty of opportunities to see boats of all sizes.
In San Diego, we drove past the US Navy Pacific fleet repair yards and I counted at least 30 warships alongside. I hate to admit this, and it may surprise you, but that is more than the total number of major ships left in the Royal Navy. As an ex-sailor, I find it a great shame to realise that we don't have the best navy in the world anymore but that's talking from my heart, not my head. I realise that money spent on defence cannot be spent on more worthy needs.
San Diego is also a favourite visiting port for the Cruise ships and there is generally one or more in port on a daily basis. Their berth is right beside Anthony's Fish'n'Chip restaurant so we could watch them leaving port as we ate.
We also drove past Marina Del Rey which is enormous. I've never seen so many private yachts in one place but again I question whether the money spent on a big toy could not be spent better elsewhere? I'd hate to hazard a guess as to how many never get out of the marina.
I've already had an earlier whinge about the gas guzzling cars so I won't say any more but I would like to have a quick mention about the roads.
In comparison with ours they are a joy to drive on, due to their size but are nothing like as well constructed or maintained.
Funnily enough, in general I don't find that a problem.
What I do like is:-

1. A great proportion of them are built from concrete and they are noisy but it's a cheap way to build and, as I don't notice the noise whilst I'm driving, I'm in favour of concrete roads.
2. They appear to be kept in use far longer than ours and are patched continuously. The surface is usually a camouflage of blacks where repairs have taken place. It's adequate though and a car's suspension is fully capable of dealing with all but the worst pot-holes. At home our roads seem to be constantly under repair and resurfacing the whole stretch seems to be the only way they know.
3. Except for major roads, they appear to be of a much simpler construction than ours. You wouldn't find a road in Britain that didn't have a kerb and built in drainage system whereas that seems to be quite common out here and again seems perfectly adequate.
4. Road & street names are very obvious out here and are hung high for all to see as are traffic lights.

What I don't like is

1. Four way stops where everyone behaves in a well mannered way and proceeds in turn. I think our mini-roundabouts are a far better idea. Stop signs appear in the most unlikely places and they would have been a night-mare if Loretta hadn't introduced me to the 'Hollywood' stop.
2. Road markings have to be pretty worn out before they get re-painted and on a well patched road on a wet night, I find it very difficult to see my lane.
3. Cats eyes aren't a patch on ours. They seem to be made of some yellow reflective material which soon loses it's lustre. With ours being self cleaning, they are always obvious.

I'd love to see a per mile cost comparison for building and upkeep. I wouldn't mind betting that it's a lot cheaper out here.

Now that I have discovered an easy way to get Kate away from her obsession with motor-ways, driving has become much more of a pleasure and we see all sorts of things we would have missed if we'd stuck to the Interstates. If you want to get someplace in a hurry though, the Interstates are invaluable.

I still haven't spoken about big trucks yet but that will come later.

I'm off to bed to dream of persuading 'Myth Busters' to explode a Hummer!!