On the Lighter Side
#1
02-12-2016, 12:10 PM
On the Lighter Side
I've been looking at a lot of posts on Off-Topic, and frankly, they are mostly glum. No money, family issues, bad medicine...I'm not discounting any of it. We all have bad days or something to get off our chest. But...I think we need some happy stuff.
So I will start off with the first road trip I did with my Saturn. It was in March of 2015. This was the first long distance/extended trip I did with the Saturn and it performed great! My girlfriend, Anne, joined me for a tour of sites Illinois has to offer.
We started in Springfield. There, we drove around the maze of one-way streets and found President Lincoln's old house. We then went from the digs when he was alive over to the digs where he's now dead; at his tomb. We then went up the road a ways and had a picknic in the parking lot of New Salem, where Lincoln set up his shop (literally) and started to dable in politics. Having a third door on the coupe is great for tossing in bags and coats into the back seat. The trunk is plenty big for two suitcases, a large cooler, and a bunch of other stuff.
Next we hit the highway north to Chicago. The gas mileage is great, and since the car has a 12 gal tank, fillups don't break the bank. The car is by-in-large comfortable for long hauls. However, there is no sound deadening, the seats' padding is sagging a bit (my big *** has a little to do with that), and this little low car feels really tiny when even a new Taurus rolls up along side. Anne took the wheel for a while and enjoyed driving a stick again. (She had a Tracer GTS for a while until it rusted away, then got a minivan, which....rusted away.) The one thing she wanted was a telescoping steering wheel, since she has short legs and the steering wheel was too close for comfort. Fifth gear was alwo a reach for her because of her seat position.
Our hotel was outside of Chicago proper, so we took the train into the city. There, Anne and I marveled at the architecture, stared at the people, jammed out to street music, and basked in the big-city lifestyle Chicago offers. Unfortunately the tickets I had to go to the top of the Sears Tower blew away so we didn't go up there, but we did enjoy walking around Millenium Park and checking out "The Bean" (I think it's called Heaven's Gate). We ended the day with an incredible dinner, a relaxing sit next to the river and a terrifying cab ride back to the station. But that's not all! The train schedules were messed up so we got on the wrong train! Fortunately, another one came along and gratiously took us the rest of the way back home.
The next day I felt confident enough to drive through downtown and look at things we couldn't on foot. This day was also 20 degrees colder and windier than the previous day. A freezing jaunt out to the planetarium for the obligatory skyline shot of the city and a skip up to the magnificient Bah'hi Temple rounded out our tour of Chicago. But not before stopping at a Volvo dealer for Anne to use their restroom (seriously God, please design bigger bladders for girls!). The looks on the salesmen's faces when a 15 year old Saturn rolled into their lot was priceless!
From Chicago, it was a long boring drive to Michigan with a brief stop at the Indiana Dunes. Star Wars was right. Sand is dry, coarse and it gets everywhere. Fortunately I have all-weather floormats. Michigan roads are about what you expect Michigan roads to be. Unfortunately, I still had the old (original) struts on the car and it was both jarring and wallowy at the same time. The car survived just fine. I'm surprised by the lack of squeak and rattles in my particular car. You would think a car that has more plastic than Dolly Parton (with the same number of airbags!) would be noisy. Maybe I can't hear it over the engine and road noise.
Anne, her daughter Heather, and I went on a day trip to Lancing. We all fit, but just barely. I wouldn't recommend anyone over 5'3" in the back seats of the coupe. We enjoyed another picknic in the parking lot of the Oldsmobile Museum before checking out the goodies they had on display in there. (Recommended by the way.)
The drive back from Grand Rapids was long, but even with the tired seats, I wasn't really tired. Leg room can be improved, but I have long legs, so it might just be an issue with me. Maybe I just have a high threshold of pain? Made it home on one tank of fuel averaging 37 mpg. Not bad with a big driver and a trunk full of stuff.
Overall, I'd rate the Saturn did excellent. It never called attention to itself and it never failed to go were we wanted it to go. There was some oil consumption, but you learn with Saturn ownership that it's part of the routine. The one thing I wish the car had was more sound deadening because on long trips, it's all you hear. One of the good things were it's negligible fuel costs. I think I filled up four times and went 1200+ miles. Never once did we complain about the car. Anne loves the third door for purse dumping. Her daughter likes it because it makes getting into the back seat easy. I just like the novelty of it.
So I guess a Saturn can be a good road trip car. It has just enough room for your stuff. It has just enough space for you inside. And it doesn't complain and it doesn't bite back much when you drive 7 hours in a day.
I didn't mean this to be a travelog, just a brighter, happier life experience than what seems to be the more recent experiences of us in here these days. Maybe this will encourage some of you to share the good things in your lives with us! If not, well....you'll just hate me for going on a trip and being happy.
EDIT: Anne said to include that we were stuck in traffic around Chicago for two hours before she asked me to stop for the bathroom, or else I'm sleeping on the couch because she's embarrassed.
So I will start off with the first road trip I did with my Saturn. It was in March of 2015. This was the first long distance/extended trip I did with the Saturn and it performed great! My girlfriend, Anne, joined me for a tour of sites Illinois has to offer.
We started in Springfield. There, we drove around the maze of one-way streets and found President Lincoln's old house. We then went from the digs when he was alive over to the digs where he's now dead; at his tomb. We then went up the road a ways and had a picknic in the parking lot of New Salem, where Lincoln set up his shop (literally) and started to dable in politics. Having a third door on the coupe is great for tossing in bags and coats into the back seat. The trunk is plenty big for two suitcases, a large cooler, and a bunch of other stuff.
Next we hit the highway north to Chicago. The gas mileage is great, and since the car has a 12 gal tank, fillups don't break the bank. The car is by-in-large comfortable for long hauls. However, there is no sound deadening, the seats' padding is sagging a bit (my big *** has a little to do with that), and this little low car feels really tiny when even a new Taurus rolls up along side. Anne took the wheel for a while and enjoyed driving a stick again. (She had a Tracer GTS for a while until it rusted away, then got a minivan, which....rusted away.) The one thing she wanted was a telescoping steering wheel, since she has short legs and the steering wheel was too close for comfort. Fifth gear was alwo a reach for her because of her seat position.
Our hotel was outside of Chicago proper, so we took the train into the city. There, Anne and I marveled at the architecture, stared at the people, jammed out to street music, and basked in the big-city lifestyle Chicago offers. Unfortunately the tickets I had to go to the top of the Sears Tower blew away so we didn't go up there, but we did enjoy walking around Millenium Park and checking out "The Bean" (I think it's called Heaven's Gate). We ended the day with an incredible dinner, a relaxing sit next to the river and a terrifying cab ride back to the station. But that's not all! The train schedules were messed up so we got on the wrong train! Fortunately, another one came along and gratiously took us the rest of the way back home.
The next day I felt confident enough to drive through downtown and look at things we couldn't on foot. This day was also 20 degrees colder and windier than the previous day. A freezing jaunt out to the planetarium for the obligatory skyline shot of the city and a skip up to the magnificient Bah'hi Temple rounded out our tour of Chicago. But not before stopping at a Volvo dealer for Anne to use their restroom (seriously God, please design bigger bladders for girls!). The looks on the salesmen's faces when a 15 year old Saturn rolled into their lot was priceless!
From Chicago, it was a long boring drive to Michigan with a brief stop at the Indiana Dunes. Star Wars was right. Sand is dry, coarse and it gets everywhere. Fortunately I have all-weather floormats. Michigan roads are about what you expect Michigan roads to be. Unfortunately, I still had the old (original) struts on the car and it was both jarring and wallowy at the same time. The car survived just fine. I'm surprised by the lack of squeak and rattles in my particular car. You would think a car that has more plastic than Dolly Parton (with the same number of airbags!) would be noisy. Maybe I can't hear it over the engine and road noise.
Anne, her daughter Heather, and I went on a day trip to Lancing. We all fit, but just barely. I wouldn't recommend anyone over 5'3" in the back seats of the coupe. We enjoyed another picknic in the parking lot of the Oldsmobile Museum before checking out the goodies they had on display in there. (Recommended by the way.)
The drive back from Grand Rapids was long, but even with the tired seats, I wasn't really tired. Leg room can be improved, but I have long legs, so it might just be an issue with me. Maybe I just have a high threshold of pain? Made it home on one tank of fuel averaging 37 mpg. Not bad with a big driver and a trunk full of stuff.
Overall, I'd rate the Saturn did excellent. It never called attention to itself and it never failed to go were we wanted it to go. There was some oil consumption, but you learn with Saturn ownership that it's part of the routine. The one thing I wish the car had was more sound deadening because on long trips, it's all you hear. One of the good things were it's negligible fuel costs. I think I filled up four times and went 1200+ miles. Never once did we complain about the car. Anne loves the third door for purse dumping. Her daughter likes it because it makes getting into the back seat easy. I just like the novelty of it.
So I guess a Saturn can be a good road trip car. It has just enough room for your stuff. It has just enough space for you inside. And it doesn't complain and it doesn't bite back much when you drive 7 hours in a day.
I didn't mean this to be a travelog, just a brighter, happier life experience than what seems to be the more recent experiences of us in here these days. Maybe this will encourage some of you to share the good things in your lives with us! If not, well....you'll just hate me for going on a trip and being happy.
EDIT: Anne said to include that we were stuck in traffic around Chicago for two hours before she asked me to stop for the bathroom, or else I'm sleeping on the couch because she's embarrassed.
Last edited by Dave4422; 02-12-2016 at 04:09 PM.
#2
02-12-2016, 02:50 PM
I hate you
I already hated you before the post, so it was irrelevant to me.
in fact, I've hated you for some time now; was just waiting for the right time to express it politely in a public setting.
Thank you for finally granting me this opportunity.
Come to think of it - - you're a swell dude for allowing me to finally express my hatred of you.
Maybe I shouldn't hate you.....(??)
I already hated you before the post, so it was irrelevant to me.
in fact, I've hated you for some time now; was just waiting for the right time to express it politely in a public setting.
Thank you for finally granting me this opportunity.
Come to think of it - - you're a swell dude for allowing me to finally express my hatred of you.
Maybe I shouldn't hate you.....(??)
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