Spent the last 2 weeks and 2 days touring the northwest. Our trip began on the central coast of California. We took highway 101 all the way to Washington; something we've never done before. I must say that the scenery along that route is stunning, particularly from northern California and beyond.

We spent some time on Hood Canal and then found I-90 and headed east to Montana. Wandered around in Yellowstone Park and then headed south to the Boise area to visit more relatives. Headed south to Winnemucca and picked up I-80 west bound, then down I-5 and on home.

The car really added to our enjoyment of this long trip. The comfort and excellent road manners made the difference. After 6 months of ownership I still find myself discovering nice little features such as the air conditioned storage area in the center console. My protein bars were always cool and never melted. Nice touch.

The GPS navigation system, while not perfect, was a big help, particularly when we had to find our way around large cities. We nick-named our Nav "Edith-Anne." Edith got a little whiney a couple of times and ran us around a bit in Reno yesterday while trying to get us back on I-80 west. Detours really give Edith a headache. Heh!

One thing I would like to see added to the Navigation system would be mileage remaining to destination readout and also ETA (estimated time of arrival) based on current speed. Aircraft GPS have had this feature for many years, even in simple little hand-held units, so I see no reason why car versions couldn't incorporate the same feature.

Having my cellphone hooked up via Bluetooth for long stretches really taxed the battery, so I solved that problem by simply plugging the charger into the inverter and leaving the cellphone on charge all day. Worked like a champ.

We did find ourselves on a lot of 2-lane highways and I really appreciated the spunky performance of the car. Passing trucks and other slow moving cars was a piece of cake. In tight situations I always selected the "S" mode first. On at least one pass I floored it and sailed by a string of trucks with ease. I don't floor the peddle very often but when I do, it's really thrilling.

I'm very impressed with the apparent strength of the windshield. We experienced at least a half dozen rock strikes and didn't even receive a chip. I mean, those rocks hit really hard and the impact was very loud. I'm surprised it didn't crack the windshield. Amazing.

Well, better get with it and go wash and detail a very grungy GLK. I think I'm going to roll out my pressure-washer to blow off 4300 miles of very splattered bugs.

-3.5L

 

Nice post...I always wanted to do that trip...must have been a blast...Any more tidbits ?

 

Yeah, don't go to Washington state from July 1st to about August 5th without making motel reservations first. Seems that there's this yearly deal labeled Seafair in Washington. It involves approximately 35 individual events including hydro boat racing, canoes, you-name-it. Seafair attracts about 2 million people during the 5 week period.

We were unfortunate enough to end up on the peninsula (the worst area) on our second night and ended up driving all the way back down to Olympia from the Port Angeles area before finding a motel at 1:30 in the morning. The place was a dump, but we couldn't be picky after that ordeal.

After August 5th we had no trouble getting a motel room. Towards the end of our trip I got into the habit of reserving a room a day or two in advance just to remove the worry factor.

Other then that, it was a wonderful trip. I took lots of pictures with my new Canon T3i EOS Rebel. I'm still learning the ins and outs on framing good shots, but a few came out pretty decent. I think I'm going to get a tripod plus a bigger lens than my 250mm jobbie so next time out I can spend some time getting better shots. The scenery in Yellowstone just begged to be captured by a camera but I didn't have the time to walk around, looking for the best angle. Maybe next time with tripod and bigger lens.

It was generally cool going up the coast, but we ran into temperatures hovering around 104 to 106 south of Boise. Hit a pocket of 109 for a few minutes in California. Car never whimpered, but I took it easy when the temperatures exceeded 100 degrees. AC was more than adequate.

Never thought heated seats could be so nice. We used them quite often to relax our lower backs. Really nice feature.

Drivers in Oregon and Washington are amazingly courteous, particularly when compared to California. With rare exception they obeyed the speed limits and didn't tail-gate. This behavior kind of restored my faith in human nature. Things reverted back to the A S S H O L E mode once back in California. I-5 was really bad for idiot drivers (tail-gate, then pass on the right, then horn in back to the left lane just short of the big-rig in the right lane. Never mind that I cannot go faster than the car in front of me. California drivers are idiots! And this is coming from a California native!).

Anyway, as I previously mentioned, the car really made the trip a pleasant experience (except for the California A S S H O L E drivers. Hint to California drivers: try acting like adults).

3.5L

 

Good post, I'd like to make a road trip across the States Myself. I just wanted to point out that there is such a function, however it's probably not where you think it is. When you're in a guided route, on the left steering wheel control, click right to get to the "NAV" menu. In here, you can get the miles remaining, and I believe an ETA as well.

Regards

 

My Nav has a line on the bottom that tells you the distance remaining and the estimated time of arrival. You need to be in full screen mode.

 

That is right. But you also need to toggle between a couple of choices. Look in the manual for an explanation of your choices. I like to toggle between distance/ETA and elevation in the mountains. That's fun. The ETA is spot on, BTW. Unless, of course, your Navigator/Co-Pilot spots an antique shop.

Wayne