You’re Fortunate to be Cruisin’ in CA

So I’m at home and I hear the low rumbles and “boom!...boom!” every so often (one time even strong enough to rattle the windows) and I realize ah yes, it must the soldiers out in the field. We definitely got a place close to base! We’re located off a small highway that cuts through its center, so we can access the base on either direction. Though we’re only about 5 miles to Camp Barrett, where TBS is located, there are no straight roads and the speed limits on base are suuuper slow, which means it can take up to 30 minutes to drive just a few miles. Compared to driving back home in CA, we’re not used to maintaining these whopping speeds of 15mph! (That’s right, 15 mph!! Try it one day, its reaaally slow!) And beware, the MP (Military Police) are so strict on bases, you will get a ticket for the littlest things.

In general, it’s a challenge driving out here because…

1) It’s so dark. Hardly any street lights along the roads (especially on base). Reflectors on the outer edges of the road are scarce to none. I’m bound to hit an animal if it were ever to bolt out from the dark forest.

2) Clear, logical signage do not seem to be popular out here…may it be lack of arrows, bad location, or none whatsoever. For instance, you’ll come across large intersections where they just use those dinky corner street signs that we usually only see in neighborhoods. Err…how is that helpful?! Plus it doesn’t help that markings or arrows on the roads have not been re-painted for ages…so you’ll be driving in a lane and surprise!...it’s now a left turn lane. Freeway signs are confusing too.

3) The roads aren’t maintained very well. Crazy pot-holes everywhere…even on the freeways. (my lowered truck would not do well out here, good thing we left it back home)

4) It doesn’t help that our GPS is often confused since road/freeway/bridge construction is always in progress. “Recalculating…” is our GPS’s favorite word!

5) It rains so suddenly here while the weather is hot, so the streets are always “steaming” when rain hits the ground. It looked pretty cool first times I saw it, but it’s not fun when it creates foggy conditions any time of day.

You should have seen us driving the first week here. I don’t think I’ve driven with my face so close to the windshield since I was 15 years old first learning to drive. We're keeping within the law as best as possible, so we're driving like old people keeping the 55/60/65mph speed limits on the freeways, but hey, we don't want to risk getting ticketed out of our home State. So, we definitely love that our location minimizes having to drive as much and we definitely miss cruising California! (not to mention you get to drive with your windows down and enjoy nice breezes..here its so humid, it's A/C all the time!)

Enjoy it Californians!