in Cincinnati

[cellio]

And lo, the network access is as advertised.

For places with "suite" in their names, this hotel is very low-end. Which is mostly fine; all I need from the kitchen is a fridge, though I suspect minimal utensils are normal. (I brought my own anyway.) My only complaint is not related to its suite-ness; I reserved a non-smoking room and they didn't have any left to give me. Yuck. It's not overwhelming, but it's certainly annoying.

The drive took about five hours. (Finding the hotel once I'd unknowingly missed the turn the first time took another 25 minutes.) I've realized why I dislike long drives: I start getting tired and sloppy after four hours. I think I'm a better-than-average defensive driver (that is, I'm not claiming driving skill in general, just the sub-skill of doing it defensively), but that requires work. Apparently I'm good for two hours at a stretch, repeat up to once. :-) (No, nothing bad happened, but I was feeling the effects.)

Random road notes:

Well into Ohio, west-bound on I-70, I was surprised to see a sign for Baltimore. (I think around milepost 120?) I'd think that if I were on I-70 in Ohio looking for Baltimore, I wouldn't be driving west.

The 70W-270S interchange is nasty. I'm used to the idea that when you take one of those split exits, once you've done the split you're fine. I had to take two more exits after that, both badly marked and easy to miss.

270S-71S was the same way (but only one extra turn). Maybe it's an Ohio thing? Or maybe it's PA that's weird.

There were a bunch of 5-minute bursts of heavy rain on an otherwise-clear day. Fortunately, my pleas of "please not during these nasty interchanges" were effective. :-)

Following prevailing speed is much more important than following the speed limit, IMO. [1] Prevailing speed on 70 was about 70-75 (posted 70). I used to be afraid to drive that fast, but I'm fine with that now. (Eventually I realized that if you go splat, you're just as dead at 65MPH as at 75MPH.)

[1] This is because following prevailing speed reduces the potential for surprises. Surprised drivers are the root cause of almost all accidents.

Sign on 279S out of Pittsburgh: "parkway closing". It didn't affect me, but some specifics might have been helpful to other drivers.


Tonight and tomorrow murmur311 will be taking me to her synagogue for services. I'm looking forward to seeing her again and exploring a new synagogue. (I think we're going somewhere different from where we went last year.)

Comments

[cellio]

I've never stayed at Comfort Suites, but this might be comparable. They do some things right but there have definitely been problems. The "suite" is a microwave and fridge in one corner of the room; there's not even a table suitable for more than one person to sit at. (There's a desk attached to a wall.) The clientele this weekend is rowdy and the sound-proofing isn't up to the task, and the bed is kind of squishy. On the other hand, the room is clean, the AC works (hey, I've been in places where it didn't), and the comfy chair is much more comfortable than others I've seen. I didn't mind sitting in it and reading for several hours.