Traffic

Why oh why did it take me over four hours to get home on Friday night from work? I really would like to know the reason why all of the wackos who owned cars were on the freeway screwing it up for the rest of us.

Friday happened to be day two of me taking my taking my co-manager to work and home (he called it 'car pooling' but seriously I don't see how I will ever allow myself to be put into the situation where he will ever return the favor) and we closed the office at the regularly scheduled time of 4:30 PM.

First there was a school bus loaded with kids that was stopped in traffic on the 5 south in Burbank. By the time we rolled past that, the bus was off on the shoulder and the kids were well on their way on another bus, and that was over an hour.

Then there was a hit and run over by Los Feliz before the east LA interchange. That again took over an hour to roll past. O.K., so I was on the freeway for two hours plus by the time we drove through the east LA interchange and I'm thinking I need a break from all this tension I'm feeling sitting in traffic. You know, it's one thing if the traffic keeps rolling, but entirely another for me to just be sitting motionless in a sea of cars on the road. That drive me bonkers.

So my co-managers suggests a dinner break somewhere other than the East La hell hole I previously wrote about off of Indiana Ave. (Graffiti shrine pay toilet). Lately, I have been getting off of the freeway for a tad to not have to sit in traffic using the Washington exit off of the 710 south. I drive on Washington until it passes the 5 again, or , if the the traffic is still not moving, pass under the 5 and turn right on Telegraph Road until Lakewood Ave (Highway 19), turn right and get back onto the 5 South freeway where by that time the heavy traffic has sufficiently broken up and is moving at a decent clip of 40 MPH or more.

So on Washington, there is this cool looking 50's style neon signage on the left next to a burger stand that I thought would be neat to explore, but he wanted to pay for dinner since he hasn't volunteered any gas money up to this point, and I'm fine with that. So thinking that that burger joint may be only cash and carry, we opt for the Jack in the Box down the street. I used to work at three different Jack in the Box restaurants right out of high school, (it was actually my first paying job), so I'm familiar with the menu and comfortable eating there. I ordered the new teriyaki chicken bowl meal that comes with the egg roll and a drink and he gets the sirloin burger which is HUGE. I'm thinking it's got to be close to 2,000 calories with the fries and a drink. It did look good though. So we ate and did a bathroom run before we got onto the road again for God knows how long.

Well, it ended up taking another two hours on the road to get Robert home to Huntington Beach and then land in Tustin. As tempting as it was to take a road trip to anywhere since the gas prices are like $1.69 a gallon, I was so irritated by the long ass drive to get home, I didn't go anywhere in the car for the entire weekend.