> Question for the group in response to recent (long)trip reports:
>
> How do you choose your route from point A- point B?
>
> It seems that many are happy working their power starved VDubs along the
> Nations I-ways. This Vanamaniac just hates taking his Syncro Westie on the
> interstate.

Sometimes point B is not the most important part of the trip! If
it really is maybe you should consider a plane ticket instead.
I admit to often taking the expressways, but if I'm driving for a
long time I'll often drive off the expressway for at least part of
the day on an old parallel road. (The road before the expressway).
Or find a shortcut, where a smaller road takes me between two
expressways.

Many people plan their vacations going from National/state park
A to B to C... etc. I like to stop in the small towns as well.
After all the people who live in the area are part of it also.
(Which is why I don't like that NPS throws out the original
population when an area is made into a national park).

The small roads take you through these small towns with locals
and occasionally a real treat (like the best coffe cake you have
ever tasted, baked by real hands, not a machine.) If you want to
learn to know locals don't forge in on them. Let them come to you
instead. One of my favorite tricks is to start fumbling with my
outdoor gear (which is old Scandinavian stuff I brought here, not
the new neon colored). Hot waxing my old wood skis using the
backpacking stove is almost guaranteed to make people curious
and come talk to me.

Cheers,
Martin
--
Martin Jagersand                 email: jag@cs.yale.edu
Computer Science Department             jag@cs.rochester.edu
Yale University

        Slow down and visit the VW diesel Westy page:
          WWW: http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/jag/vw
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