Plot Monkeys

I’ve lived in Southern California for most of my life (other than the 8 years I lived in Maui, Hawaii, when I was a kid). So, I’ve learned that traffic, and lots of it, is to be expected. Especially on the freeways. And truly, that’s the one thing I hate the most about living in a huge city area – bumper to bumper traffic. Especially on the freeways. :evil:

When Don and I got married twenty years ago, we bought our house out past a place called “Rancho Cucamonga”, which at that time was fairly equivalent to “Timbuktu” for anyone living in the Los Angeles area. Seriously. It was out in the middle of nowhere - - and because it was out in the middle of nowhere, it was a nice big house that we could AFFORD, which was key. We were young (I was 21, Don 25), so in order to afford a house at our age, we basically had to live in Timbuktu, LOL.

But I learned to love being out in the middle of nowhere, even if I did have to drive 7 miles to the nearest grocery store. It was quiet and far away from the rat race of Los Angeles. Our major freeway was and still is the 15 Freeway, and we live about a mile off that freeway. Twenty years ago it was pretty much deserted. There were five lanes going each way, and you could literally run across both portions of the freeway without getting hit by a car, because there was hardly anyone who used the freeway! For the most part, it was a freeway to use if you wanted to go to Las Vegas, and that was about it, because the freeway, once it passed us, led to the dessert and not much else. It was wonderful and we loved it. Back then, it only took Don 25 minutes to drive to or from work, with no traffic. And it was a freeway that took me anywhere I wanted to go, and quickly, because no one used it.

Fast forward 20 years. We’re still living in the same area and house (which we truly still love), but everything else around us has changed so much. There are huge shopping centers going up all around us, as well as upscale malls. And because all of the major cities leading up to where we live have used up their land on houses and commercial buildings, they keep building more and more where we live, and even further up the 15 freeway into the desert area. As a result, more people are commuting on the 15 freeway and it has become JAMMED PACKED every single day of the week. There is bumper to bumper traffic for MILES, especially during rush hour – and we can see it all from where we live! What used to take Don 25 minutes to drive to and from work has now turned into an hour and fifteen minute drive because of all the traffic he has to deal with on the freeway! I absolutely hate it, because I’ve had to find alternate routes to get home – back streets and such. But, it seems like everyone else is using these back routes because even those are heavily congested! It’s gotten so bad that I just don’t leave the house from 4PM to 8PM because I know I’m going to spend so much time sitting in bumper to bumper traffic! I know there are many people who make the long drive to and from work in rush hour traffic – sometimes spending up to 2 hours a day going just one way! I can’t even imagine.

Just recently, Caltrans opened a brand new freeway near us that gave us what should have been a quicker route home, instead of taking the jammed packed 15 freeway. But a week after opening the NEW freeway, it’s almost as bad as the 15 freeway! So, there truly is no easy way home! I love my house and where I live, but I honestly can’t wait for Don to retire so we can move somewhere quiet again. Maybe we really will move to Timbuktu for peace and quiet and no rush hour traffic!

So, all this got me thinking – do you live in the city where you have to deal with crammed freeways and rush hour traffic? Or do you live in a place that is nice and quiet and traffic free? And how do you feel about the traffic where you live?

Here’s your chance to either commiserate with me – or make me envious!