BS: Where?

Subject: Where are you going?
From: Amergin
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 06:14 PM

Well, folks, Christmas is upon us and I will be hoping on a train at about 1650 in Vancouver, Washington Tuesday evening and will be jumping off in Sandpoint, Idaho to be greeted by my grandparents at about 0215 Wednesday morning, so that they can have the distinct pleasure of driving me home to Bonners Ferry and the joy of having me home for Christmas. I have here a pic of my hometown click here.

Where are you all going for the holidays?

Amergin

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Zebedee
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 06:18 PM

Thank you so much for telling me the times of your trains. Living on a different continent, I found it particularly interesting.

Thank you.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: MarkS
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 06:18 PM

Hanging around beautiful eastern Pennsylvania. Both daughters coming home from college tomorrow. Finally the house will be full again

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Lepus Rex
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 06:18 PM

Nowhere, apparently. :)

---Lepus Rex

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 06:26 PM

Thanks for the pic Amergin, I always like to see pictures of other Mudcatters homes. I am off to a village near Cromer in Norfolk to spend Christmas with my parents and I will be travelling sometime next week and returning before the New Year.

It is around an 8 hr journey by train for me. Funny how our (UK) conception of distances can be so different to yours. It seems a long way to me and I am in travelling from the West coast of the UK to the East coast.

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Matt_R
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 06:27 PM

Nowhere.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 06:39 PM

Jon...distances DO mean a lot more here...driving across the US can easily be 6-7 days...3-4 with spare drivers and few stops...In places like Wyoming or Montana people regularly drive hours just to get to towns or 'neighbors'...I know that gas(petrol) is higher there, but here it will take 40-50 gallons to go get my son at college next week...and that is not considered a long trip (5-6 hrs each way)...same way in parts of Australia, and they have REALLY long open spaces!

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 07:05 PM

Bill, what the hell are you driving? If I was to say that you could average 50mph on your journey and it took 6 hours each way, you would have covered 600 miles. Taking the low figure of 40 gallons, that gives 15 miles per gallon of petrol. I know that your gallon is smaller than ours but it still sounds like a lot of fuel.

I don't know if deisels are popular in the US or not but my mother drives a smallish deisel engined car and driven sensibly, it will do 50+ miles on a gallon of fuel. Even driven at 70mph it still returns over 40...

I guess it is just as well fuel is so much cheaper in the US.

Tim, one of my brothers have done some travelling in oz an told me about the roads and how remote places were they were (he started in Melbourne, worked down, headed north - up the middle - and back down the East coast to Melbourne again).

He had also a few months holiday in the US until the RV (I hope I have the right term - very big motor home) he had bought caught fire. That did something like 12-15 to the gallon but I thought cars would do better.

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Troll
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 07:05 PM

Ratcheer in beeeutiful SUNNY Florida.
Ya mean theys OTHER places ta go? Wheer hits COLD?
Fergit it!

troll

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Ebbie
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 07:23 PM

Jon, I understand that RVs here typically get around 7 miles to the gallon- of course, that is not the imperial gallon.

Cars' mileage varies a lot. The last car I had got around 40 miles to the gallon- the least I ever got with it was 34 to the gallon but that was going over mountains with 4 people in the car. That was a Plymouth Champ, (since discontinued) made by Mitsubishi.

Nowadays, (that was 14 years ago) I gather most vehicles get around 15-17 mpg. And SUVs get less than that. But again remember our gallon is smaller than yours.

Looking at it that way, the difference between our mileages doesn't seem all that great.

I once drove a Peugeot on the job that burned diesel. It got less than 30 miles to the gallon, which made it cheaper than gasoline but smelled worse.

And again, remember that in the western half of the US train service is not that great; most people don't have that option.

Ebbie

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Midchuck
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 07:31 PM

Squiggle, if Bill D is in the West, he could be averaging more like 75, and going 400 miles in his 5-6 hours, or 800 round trip, which would make his 40-50 gallons 16-20 MPG.

I have a Honda accord that gets about 30 mpg, cruising at vigorous interstate speeds (which means about 70 mph in the eastern US), and a Nissan van that gets about 25. But the fad here now is for huge massive SUVs that get relatively lousy mileage. Maybe Bill has one of those.

It's been very funny, the last year or so, hearing the screaming as gas prices have gotten high (by US standards - a little over $1.50 US per US gallon - which must be amusing to you - but keep in mind that the US gallon is a little less than Imperial gallon). It's as though people thought that when they bought the big car, it came with a guarantee that gas would stay cheap.

Peter.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: catspaw49
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 07:34 PM

Well 'Gin, have a safe trip home, Merry Christmas, and Bite A Spud!

Actually Jon, Bill has a full size van and 15 ain't too bad. Distances are funny things between us. Karen drives a 100 mile round trip to work each day and she's not alone. As a matter of fact, out of the 9 techs, 7 drive over 75 mile round trips to work.

And Zeb, what's your problem anyway? That's some damn valuable information. One day you might wind up in Vancouver and feel the burning desire to go to West Bumfuck, Idaho.....and you'll be glad that the Gin boy posted it!

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Sorcha
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 08:05 PM

Staying right here at home. Just hope it is a nice quiet day. Mr. has to work, of course, so we don't have much planned. The band is having a Late New Year's/Old Christmas/Ephinany Party on Jan 6 tho. Jam and nosh all afternoon, then Roast Turkey Dinner, and jam til we all too tired to play any more. Drop ins welcome!!

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Bill D
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 09:02 PM

yep...for 'some' trips, like to haul lots of stuff (people DO know that when attending the Getaway, I tend to bring it ALL..), I have a BIG (15 passenger)Dodge van...and 15MPG is about it...we do have a smaller car that will get 30mpg or so, but 2 adults and a teenager and all his books, computer, clothes...etc..won't fit...so....I do love my van but I don't drive a lot.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: mmm
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 10:28 PM

I am staying home here in Indiana but all my kids will be here :)

R.V get 7 miles a gallon only for the first few hundred miles then it goes up a little. only reason i know this is because i work in the factory that builds some of them and my husband delivers them. hope everyone has a wonderful christmas

mmm

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: campfire
Date: 17 Dec 00 - 11:17 PM

I'm staying in town for the holidays, but driving a whole 20 minutes to Mom and Dad's for Christmas Eve. I'll spend time with Mom, Dad, my two in-town brothers, and their current SO's. Unfortunately, neither of my sisters are making the trip home this year.

campfire

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Alice
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 12:29 AM

Amergin, I used to own 40 acres of forested land east of your photo of Bonners Ferry and the Clark Fork River, near Thompson Falls, Montana. I never moved there, though. I spent a long hot summer camped on my land looking for a job in that tiny town. Here's a photo of where I will be home for Christmas, the university campus in the foreground.click here, Bozeman, MT

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 12:59 AM

Home, in Casper, in Rue's new, snug little house. All of my sibs and one neice and her SO will be at bet's in Colorado; if Rog and Rue didn't have to go back to work on Tuesday, we'd probably go down there, too.

Here's a link to some really neat photos of Casper in its early days with a tiny bit of frontier history as captions.

My Wyoming History teacher in college, Bill Bragg, now deceased, told us in class that most folks didn't go anywhere by the time Christmas came around as the roads were not passable. Everyone tended to gather at the ranches for Thanksgiving, if the weather held out; otherwise they were "holed up" for the winter.

katwholovesher4WDsubaru

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Amergin
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 01:12 AM

Alice, I have some cousins in Plains and Paradise.

It sounds great, folks, keep it coming!!

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: CarolC
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 04:27 AM

wheaton, maryland. nuff said. (bill d, i tried to find something nice to say, honest.)

OH YEAH! I FORGOT! There's always Wheaton Plaza!

Carol

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: CarolC
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 04:30 AM

(When I was in junior high school we used to bum spare change there before it had a roof. Those were the days...)

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 04:49 AM

I will be driving 4 hours north to New Limerick, Maine, to spend Christmas with my parents on the farm. My poor children will be spending Christmas with their mother and will join us at the farm on Tuesday at which point their lives will improve considerably. (Just my opinion)

CarolC, if you think Wheaton, MD, has nothing to offer you ought to try Houlton, Maine. That poor town has been going down the crapper for years and still has a long way to go. I have a friend who owns two of the downtown building with apartments and stores in themn and she can barely pay the mortgage. The buildings have been for sale for the last five years and she cannot find a sucker, uh, businessman to invest in them.

Sorry about the thread creep.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: blt
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 05:02 AM

I will be driving in my 1987 Toyota Celica, which still gets 32 miles/gal on the highway, from scenic Portland, Oregon to the even more scenic (and aptly named)Curtain, Oregon, just north of Drain, Oregon. I will be spending Christmas Eve in the Stardust Motel in Curtain with my 8 year old grandson, Austin, who thinks this is about the coolest thing possible, and I sincerely hope to be floating in Belknap hot springs up past McKenzie Bridge on Christmas Day. Christmas greetings to all.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: CarolC
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 05:06 AM

Thanks, Naemanson. I think Wheaton is just one of those things you have to experience to really understand, though. Maybe Bill D. could tell you about it sometime.

Carol

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: GUEST,Roger the skiffler
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 08:17 AM

I don't envy Jon his train journey, Llandudno to Norfolk must be pretty bad even without the present rail disruption.
We'll spend Xmas day at home in Ascot, having fetched my father down from Birmingham, not wishing to let him travel alone by train the way they are at present. On Boxing day friends we've known since college days will come over (we take it in turns to be host) with their surviving parent.
After we've taken my dad home we have a couple of days to ourselves (hopefully listening to some new CDs, if Santa's been concentrating) then go to Essex to my sister-in-law's, my mother-in-law will be with them, for a convivial New Year, we may even see my nephews and partners as they whizz past from party to party, then back here to work!
If the weather is fine I may get some logs sawn up in anticipation of the cold weather you've got in US & Canada coming over to us soon, and we hope to go for some calorie-burning walks, if the ground isn't too soggy. Otherwise, it is the indoor games and the quizzes from the Mudcat to avoid anyone watching Xmas tv!
RtS

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: GUEST
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 08:52 AM

I will be driving about 150 miles from Plymouth to Cheltenham, (which I consider to be an EXTREMELY long way, particularly as I have to work until 4 on Saturday 23rd) to spend Christmas with my parents. Midweek I will break camp and move a few miles to Upton on Severn to spend a couple of nights with my sister, check out how much the nephews and nieces have grown and hopefully drink some good single malt with my brother in law, all of whom I see far too rarely.

For the New Year I will be going HOME, where I no longer live, to my beloved South Wiltshire, where I will stay with friends, catch up with gossip, and spend New Years Eve partying wildly at the Boot Inn, Tisbury (House of ill repute). I will be computerless for the whole period, so Mudcat "cold turkey" could kick in.

Seasons Greetings to all and sundry.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: GUEST,Greyeyes
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 08:53 AM

Sorry, the above post is me, I forgot I am cookieless at work.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 09:06 AM

Fun thread, especially with the side-discussion of car mileage and all...

$mas eve: go not far to the twins' father's family gathering - 2 parents, all 7 of their children and their sundry Others (INCLUDING ALLAN C I HOPE!), and all 8 grandkids should be there; the happens in Stony Point, which is barely north of Cville (about a 20 mn drive door-to-door for me). Then after that drive up to Fairfax (Northern Virginia, about a 2-hour drive without too much traffic) for MY family gathering, which will have one parent, 3 out of 4 daughters (all dicorced or divorcing), and 7 out of 8 grandkids (the 8th, with her parents, spend $mas in Tasmania, whence the Papa, my one remaining brother-in-law, hails. I think their motto is What Winter?). But that's OK, it's that child that gave all 14 of us the stomach flu over Thanksgiving...

I used to do this driving with a minivan, and had to fill my $20 tank at least once to get there and back. Now with my Mobile Marnita, I can get there and back without refilling the $15 tank. I don't do capacities in gas tanks, only values. I would guess that I had a 15-gallon tank and now have a 12, but am not sure. Btu I do definitely get better mileage!

Flashback: When I was in college I got to go to West Africa (Freshman year), India (sophomore and junior years) and Thailand (junior and senior years) for winter break... *sigh* ... those were the days! Now I drive for a couple of hours -- then I flew for a couple of days... and it didn't matter more than 20 miles whether I went over the Pacific or not when going Boston-Bangkok! Love that International Date Line...

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Mooh
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 09:17 AM

Every year we (wife and kids) go to Hope Bay Ontario, on Georgian Bay, part of the Great Lakes, to spend Christmas with the family. This will be the first year without Dad (who died in August) so the vibe will be a little different. It is one of the most beautiful places on earth, surrounded by the Niagara escarpment on the Bruce Peninsula, and probably the reason why I haven't travelled much. If there was the remotest chance of a job nearby I'd live there.

Merry Christmas. Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 09:56 AM

Oh Mooh, my sympathies. Good luck filling the (feels like a yawning chasm) in the family dynamic with warm and loving memories of the Dearly Departed!

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Bill D
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 10:40 AM

for those who have experienced the phenomenon of sprawling Metropolitan areas with MANY suburbs, you will understand Wheaton...no real identity-even it's mail address ZIP (20902)is listed as "Silver Spring"...there are malls, homes, subway stops, fire stations, churches...but no mayor or local govt..we don't even think of ourselves as Marylanders a lot...identity comes from being near Wash DC.

(and yes, Carol, I remember Wheaton Plaza without the roof, with little snowplows in the winter...but even THAT name is gone, bought by a conglomerate and renamed "Westwood" or something (I truly can't remember!!)

what we do have is "The Royal Mile Pub" where you can go hear music (especially sea chanties)...and at LEAST it's not Northern Virginia on the other side of the Beltway, where the traffic is 9 times worse! For some strange reason, the Folklore Society got it's major activities centered in DC and Maryland years ago, so I don't have to drive to *shudder* Virginia for everything.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Mrs.Duck
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 11:08 AM

We're spending Christmas at home here in Pontefract,West Yorkshire. It makes it easier for Father Christmas to find us. After a party at Mouldy's on the day after boxing day we are making our second annual pilgrimmage to Whitby to bring in the Millenium.( that's 70 miles on a gallon and a half in our Renault Espace!! That's diesal and it doesn't smell at all)
MERRY CHRISTMAS

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Pelrad
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 11:33 AM

We'll be staying right here in Rhode Island for the holidays. Christmas Eve we will travel by car about 45 minutes each way to my father's family party. Christmas Day we will be traveling about the same distance to my future sister-in-law's family for dinner. We'll probably take a 20-minute foray over to Newport at some point to visit my mother.

My mother-in-law is sulking because we will not be going up to New Hampshire to spend the holiday with them. But I am not about to spend 4 1/2 hours each way in the car with a fidgety 2 yr-old and a three week-old who hates to be put down for more than two minutes, so she'll just have to get over it! Besides, we haven't figured out yet how to fit two adults, two children in car seats, and everything in our house into our Acura.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Mooh
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 01:13 PM

Mrrzy, thanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: MarkS
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 01:17 PM

Naemanson = I once dated a girl who went to Ricker College in Houlton, Maine. Is that place still there?
Marks

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Rick Fielding
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 03:02 PM

Thank goodness after a year of fairly extensive driving, "Home for the Holidays"!

For the last 14 years heather and I host a jovial gathering of eccentrics chez nous. Every year we have a surprise guest joining the core thirteen (to fifteen...depending on divorces) in food booze (not fer me) and general merriment. Should be a few Mudcatters in attendance.

Merry Christmas, Happy Chaunukah, and joyous everything else, folks.

Rick

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: CarolC
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 03:14 PM

(Bill D, I'm totally with you on the Northern Virginia thing.)

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: katlaughing
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 03:19 PM

Pelrad, congratulations on your new baby. Traffic from RI to NH is a hassle anyway, let alone with young'uns! Enjoy staying close to home.:-)

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Naemanson
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 03:51 PM

MarkS, Ricker College has gone the way of all flesh. It died years ago. The buildings now house a variety of small businesses and a retirement home.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: catspaw49
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 06:49 PM

In answer to the where..............right here in Ohio.

We'll go to Connie and Wayne's on Christmas Eve day, enjoy the company, attend Eve services (my concession to Connie every year), eat oyster stew and a whopping meal, sing a bit, open family gifts, and head home late.

Christmas day we will be at home with a fire in the fireplace, bubble ring in the oven, and two excited little boys. The tree is beautiful this year (they're always "the best we ever had") and the boys decorations are.............interesting. I didn't get the outdoor stuff up because of Karen's problems and now its too damn cold!!!! Too much stuff for too short a time!!!

I'll try to post a few pictures of the day and it would be fun if we could all link a picture or two of everybody's Christmas.....might be fun, ya' know?

Spaw

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Burke
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 07:01 PM

Thurs. I fly from Syracuse, NY to Minneapolis. Going from cold to colder is my usual for the holidays. Christmas week will be with my dad, step-mother, sister, & various in-laws, step-sibs and their children in different combinations at different times.

New Years Eve I'll be singing in the new millenium on Sand Mountain, Alabama with Sacred Harp singing friends.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: rabbitrunning
Date: 18 Dec 00 - 07:03 PM

Home, (Boston) in my little apartment. I wish I could be in Denver, with my Mom and my sister, or off visiting one of the other sets of sisters/brother's kids, but I got Christmas vacation time last year, and we have to take turns at work.

I'm looking forward to New Year's Eve and our First Night celebration here in Boston though. We do it up great!

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 19 Dec 00 - 05:30 AM

WellI'm about to "set sail"should be computerised the othe r end but just in case Happy Christmas to all. Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Amergin
Date: 19 Dec 00 - 05:05 PM

Well, I am off. I have to catch a bus to the train station. I won't be back until next Thursday, so have a Merry Christmas (or whatever), everyone!!!

Amergin

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: NightWing
Date: 19 Dec 00 - 05:40 PM

NightWing'll prolly go up to visit his folks in Northern Colorado. About an hour's drive, 70 miles or so, considered a very short distance. It's practically "in-town".

Not having wheels myself (hopefully soon to change!) I don't get mileage of ANY kind. But a co-worker recently bought one of those electric/fuel cross-overs (what're they called???). He says that the WORST mileage he has gotten in it was 71 or 72 mpg (around 25 km/l, if anyone needs that). Whew!

BB,
NightWing

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: GUEST,jaze
Date: 19 Dec 00 - 06:32 PM

Home in the suburbs of Richmond,Va. Our Christmas will be quiet and subdued this year. But for all our recent sorrow, I have a lot to be grateful for: family, friends and all of you. I wish everyone peace and a merry whatever it is you celebrate. James

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: Bill in Alabama
Date: 20 Dec 00 - 09:24 PM

Since I'm now the elder Foster, all the folks come to our home here in Florence, Alabama. We'll enjoy our new grandson's first Christmas. He can watch me play with his electric train.

Subject: RE: BS: Where?
From: catspaw49
Date: 20 Dec 00 - 09:31 PM

Merry Christmas Bill.........that sounds great! Don't forget your engineer's cap.

Spaw