Just me, my guy, our cats, & the other 18 million people in the LA area...

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Carmageddon

The news has been full of reports on Carmageddon lately. (Carmageddon = the horrible traffic conditions caused by the construction closing of 10 miles of the 405 between the 10 & the 101 the weekend of July 16th & 17th. - check out Google Maps to find out where those are, Mom.)

To prepare, Jacob & I bought extra bottled water, topped off our gas tanks, stocked the pantry full of MREs, put new batteries in the flashlights, & made sure we had some cash on hand. Wait, that's what we would do in Kansas in anticipation of tornadoes & ice storms!

I understand this closure may make life difficult for people who work on the weekends & rely on that stretch of the 405 to get to their place of employment or for those trying to get to LAX...but to everyone else, use common sense & stay home! It's not really that difficult...take time to clean out that closet, or play with your kids in the backyard, or read a book. Hell, just sleep in & watch tv!

But many companies have taken advantage of the marketing opportunity set up by Carmageddon. JetBlue had tickets for $4 to get a flight between Burbank & Long Beach. There were weekend getaway packages to Las Vegas: $405 for two people & two nights. Carwashes have advertised specials for $4.05 to hand wash your car. Etc. Etc.

So far traffic doesn't look too bad. Reports are saying that travelers are having no trouble getting into LAX. Construction & traffic both appear to be running smoothly but people are being cautious of LA Saturday afternoon traffic.

We live further south (we're not Angelinos) & maybe that's why I'm not feeling at all affected by Carmageddon. But as for Jacob & me...we'll stay home to watch Harry Potter on DVD (in preparation of watching the last movie in the theater tonight), hang a few things on the walls, pot some plants we bought last night, & maybe venture out to the beach.

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