Failure to grasp geography

[Flygon_Trainer]

a few days? You can drive across the UK in 8 hours. Only state that takes that long is Texas :P

Well, technically Hawaii and Alaska would be other states you can't drive across >_> Well, you could try with Alaska but you'd hit Canada after like 2-3 days if you started from Fairbanks or Anchorage, and I suppose if you've mastered driving on water Hawaii's an option...

Personally I'm just glad there's no obscure rule or anything in Alaska where you have to have passports because every time you fly you fly over Canada o_o;;

[Wenchie]

a few days? You can drive across the UK in 8 hours. Only state that takes that long is Texas :P

Well, counting the UP, you're looking at about 11 hours (in good driving conditions) to drive from the southeast corner of Michigan to the northwest corner of the UP... and yes, the Upper Peninsula is still part of Michigan, even though many of us would like to give it away. Except for the hunting... maybe we can just rent it out to WI or Canada?

My stepbrother Erik went to Michigan Tech, which is in Houghton, MI WAY WAY past the end of the each in the UP. It's a 9 hr drive to there from Lansing, MI (middle of the palm of the hand, in Michigan geographical terms) most of the time. Winter is yet again another story.

On the other hand... in those same 9 hours, I could drive from where I am (in the northeast suburbs of Detroit) through Chicago, cut through Wisconsin & then to Rochester MN. In a snow storm. (Yeah... that was my trip on December 23rd, 2008 - wasn't fun driving.)

But in Michigan, most people now have passports, I'd imagine. Since we're just a short drive into Canada and all. Which reminds me, I need to new one since mine expired.

[Shalom]

a few days? You can drive across the UK in 8 hours. Only state that takes that long is Texas :P

Traveler's lament:
The sun has riz
The sun has set
And here I is
In Texas yet!

(source unknown)

Of course the major difference between Europeans and Americans is that Americans think a hundred years is a long time, while Europeans think a hundred miles is a long distance.

I am reminded of a tale in the Readers' Digest, the sort they use to fill up space on the end of the page, in which a motel manager in Colorado had a reservation for a tourist couple from Europe or the UK (I forget exactly where). The day of their scheduled arrival, they called to say that they weren't going to make it, but could they hold the reservation for tomorrow? The manager agrees. Next day he gets another call. "I'm afraid we're not going to be there tonight either. We seem to have seriously underestimated the size of the United States..."

[elsporko]

bardicwench beat me to it, but I'm also in Houghton and was going to point out that you can drive for more then 8 hours and still be in Michigan. I had to do that Lansing trip myself a few months ago, it took between 7 and 8 hours for me and I was in good weather.

Now if we're counting winter driving I've had a trip where I drove over 8 hours and was still in the U.P.

[Magpie]

Then there's my mom's story of the friends who were over from the UK. They mentioned that they were thinking of visiting Regina by train that weekend. This is from Ottawa.

Punchline? That train trip takes a good two days. One way.

[Chromatix]

Oooh yes. Not only are the distances much shorter in the UK, but the trains tend to move faster too. Nearly all of the modern DMUs used for express services can do 90mph, and the proper express trains can do at least 125mph. On the continent you can often find express trains doing 200mph.

The net result is that I can go from here in Finland (far northeast of Europe) to pretty much anywhere in England (far northwest) in 48 hours flat, without ever getting on a plane. It's not cheap to do it that way, so I haven't actually tried it yet, but I assume it's more scenic and with fewer cavity-searches. This is despite the rather inconvenient bodies of water (Baltic and North Seas) in the way.

Another thing I might try is a railway tour of Finland. The railways don't go to the furthest northern areas, unlike in Scotland where you can at least get to Thurso, but there are enough of them to do a good lazy round-trip circuit in a few days.

[Jester]

Bottom line is that people need to allow plenty of time for their passports. Anyone who thinks they are going to get their passport quickly in this country is bound to be disappointed. Very disappointed.

To me this not having a passport seems pecular. As i livs in the Uk where around 77% of the population has a valid passport to hear someone saying I need a passport quickly for something is highly unusual. I suppose thats the great benefit of being the US everything is within your great land!

Remember that the U.S. is much, much larger than the UK, and there are people who travel extensively and still never leave the country. I spent a year and a half once traveling this country, and the mileage I put down was impressive.

a few days? You can drive across the UK in 8 hours. Only state that takes that long is Texas...

Really? Texas is the only state that takes that long to drive across, huh? Well, when I drove across Florida from bottom to top and back again, it took me 9-11 hours each time. This is not including the Panhandle. Incidentally, the State that is most comparable in size to the UK is Florida. Which is not even one of the larger States.

After all, there are those large Western States. I'm not even talking about Alaska, which is much larger than Texas. How about Colorado? Montana? Utah? Wyoming? New Mexico? My home state of Arizona?

Anyone here ever drive across California, north to south or south to north? That's gonna take you some time. Mapquest has the drive from San Diego to San Francisco taking 8 hours and change, and there is a lot of California real estate north of San Fran.

Of course the major difference between Europeans and Americans is that Americans think a hundred years is a long time, while Europeans think a hundred miles is a long distance.

That is hilarious, and absolutely 100% true.

[protege]

PA takes about 5-6 hours to drive across. With that said, I-80 has the most boring scenery of all the roads I've ever been on. There's very little to look at.

[trunks2k]

To me this not having a passport seems pecular. As i livs in the Uk where around 77% of the population has a valid passport to hear someone saying I need a passport quickly for something is highly unusual. I suppose thats the great benefit of being the US everything is within your great land!

It's due to the size of the US. Most people in the US are not within easy travel distance of an area that requires a passport. Even needing a passport or special documents to go to Canada (well, get back from, we can cross into canada without them, we just need them to get back in) is a new thing. So for a long time the closest country we'd need a passport for was Mexico.

It's sorta funny how often people in Europe don't realize how big the US actually is. My parents were flying back from Italy and were talking with a couple that was going on vacation to New Jersey (why in the world they would go to New Jersey, I don't know). As they were discussing what they were planning on doing, they mentioned they were going to take a day trip to drive out to Chicago (they literally planned to drive out there, spend the day there, then drive back). My mom had to convince them that this was a bad idea because driving to Chicago alone would take over 12 hours.

[Jester]

I-80 has the most boring scenery of all the roads I've ever been on. There's very little to look at.

You obviously have never driven I-10 through West Texas. 400 miles of brown.

So for a long time the closest country we'd need a passport for was Mexico.

Actually, even Mexico is a new thing as far as needing the passport. I remember going there a few times in the 90's, and all we needed was our driver's licenses.

[protege]

It's sorta funny how often people in Europe don't realize how big the US actually is. My parents were flying back from Italy and were talking with a couple that was going on vacation to New Jersey (why in the world they would go to New Jersey, I don't know).

You'd be surprised. Quite a few Europeans head to southern NJ for the beaches. Cape May is a favorite destination

[Titi]

PA takes about 5-6 hours to drive across. With that said, I-80 has the most boring scenery of all the roads I've ever been on. There's NOTHING to look at.

There I fixed that for you. I have been on that I-80 more times than I like to remember (since I was very young.) and I remember getting excited when they got the logos of the places that were at an exit. Because it was something to look at.

[Wenchie]

bardicwench beat me to it, but I'm also in Houghton and was going to point out that you can drive for more then 8 hours and still be in Michigan. I had to do that Lansing trip myself a few months ago, it took between 7 and 8 hours for me and I was in good weather.

Now if we're counting winter driving I've had a trip where I drove over 8 hours and was still in the U.P.

Only 7-8 hours from Houghton to Lansing? That's GOOD traffic and weather! Most of the time it look my brother around 9 hours, because there's always construction or stupid people or sucky weather in Michigan.

[C-130]

And another way to look at things for those pointing out how we europeans fail to grasp the vastness of the USA are the many Americans who come to say the UK and congregate for some reason on landmarks only. They fail to get outside of london and Edinburgh a world exists. i live in Scotland to be exact Glasgow and we have os much tourist potential for visintg Americans and it is all missed out on.

Its a shame if you ask me what the people who visit a country miss out on.

[Wenchie]

And another way to look at things for those pointing out how we europeans fail to grasp the vastness of the USA are the many Americans who come to say the UK and congregate for some reason on landmarks only. They fail to get outside of london and Edinburgh a world exists. i live in Scotland to be exact Glasgow and we have os much tourist potential for visintg Americans and it is all missed out on.

Its a shame if you ask me what the people who visit a country miss out on.

Unfortunately, people have a tendency to do that when they visit any place... visit the landmarks and the big cities. Ignore everything else. Which is awesome if you're a local because you can have areas less infected with tourism. But sad when you think about the great things people miss just because they aren't publicized.