How Can You Not Know What State You Are Driving Thru?

The BBQ Pit
1

The other day I’m walking to work at 7:30am, and I see a car coming down the street, Jersey tags. I’m thinking, geez, don’t see many people from Jersey here. He sees me, pulls over and says, “Do you know the streets around here?”

[Sidebar, how come where ever I go, I am the Direction Man? All my life I have always been asked for directions. When I was 14: here I am a country boy in NYC being asked directions. In the heart of Ireland, I’m asked for directions. Every single day, I hear: “Oh, go ask Bob, he’s good with directions.” Is there some kind of look the Direction Man gives?]

Anyway, I say, “Sure, what street are you looking for?”

“Second Street. The K of C.”

“Oh, the K of C Hall is in…”

" No, K F C, Kentucky Fried Chicken, on Second Street."

The closest KFC in 10 miles away, and not anywhere near a Second Street. “What town are you supposed to be in?” I ask.

“Jamestown” and he was in Jamestown.
“I have the address right here–blah blah blah Second Street, Jamestown, New York.”

Oh–and then my sarcastic smart mouth kicks in:

“Um, it would help if you were in the RIGHT STATE! This is Pennsylvania.”

He was speechless, fumbled for the map, and I continued on to work.

I know it was mean, but come on, how could you mistake a little tiny town on the border of Ohio/Pennsylvania for Jamestown, New York? At 7:30am, you had to have stayed somewhere close-by overnight, you didn’t drive the 7 hours overnight from New Jersey. The nearest Interstate is over 20 miles from here. Jamestown, New York is three hours from here, and I don’t have an idea how to even get there. And every road sign, every car, every town sign, etc. just screams Pennsylvania. And the big sign that says “Cleveland, 68 miles ahead” didn’t give you a clue that maybe you weren’t even in New York State?

And the sad thing is, this isn’t the first time someone thought they were in Jamestown, New York! A couple was on their way to a wedding there, got here instead, had a big fight, “See I told you we were in the wrong state!.” (Yes, the wife was pointing that out.)

A high school girl from the next town down from us (7 miles away no less) was on her first road trip, going to Jamestown, New York. She stopped in our store, and asked where the college was she was supposed to visit. My boss asked her, Did you even look at a map before you left? She said, “I know New York is north, I guess I didn’t go far enough.” Excuse me, did you see the big “Welcome to New York” sign just out side of town?

Please, people, get a map! Before you leave home. I’m going to start charging for directions, because my middle name isn’t triple-f-ing a. How can you go on a trip and end up here in the middle of nowhere?

I know this isn’t a big rant, I just shake my head on how dumb people get.

And I hope that guy did get to Jamestown, New York OK. These kind of guys catch me off guard sometimes because I think they’re pulling my leg, and my mouth engages before my brain. (Probably conditioning from the bbq pit)

2

The survivor of many cross-country hauls, I can testify to the fact that after driving all night, I’m so bleary and woozy that I probably couldn’t tell you what country I’m in, let alone state. You really don’t know if he had been driving all night, do you? When travelling, when I did stop overnight, I usually try to hit the road by six AM.

My question is what the hell was he doing looking for a KFC at 7:30 in the morning?

3

It’s pitiful but not at all surprising, considering how many people here in CA and elsewhere think that Catalina (an island off the coast which is part of this state) is a foreign place with different currency, stamps, and even a different language.

They think the same thing about New Mexico.

:rolleyes:

Sigh.

4

I remember a woman making a very big scene in a Texaco station because she was lost. She was about half an hour south of Yosemite National Park. The road she was on is not a “main road” (Highway 41, for those who know the area), kind of twisty and mountainy, and not an area you are apt to just wander up into unless you have some sort of clue. I would hope.

Anyway, this clueless woman wanted to know how to get to Nebraska. Yes. Nebraska. She was yelling, “WHERE AM I? HOW DO I GET OUT OF HERE!!!” and the excruciatingly polite and helpful gas station people asked her, “Do you want to go to the Park?” (Meaning, Yosemite National Park, one of the most beloved National Parks in the nation, and a big draw for international tourists.) “WHAT PARK!!! I DON’t KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT A PARK!!! I WANT TO GO TO NEBRASKA!!!”

And on and on. And somehow, her attitude indicated that it was the Texaco attendents’ fault that she was not in Nebraska already. They got a map out for her and everything, (hopefully indicating to her the difference in location of both Nebraska and California). They were so helpful, and yet she continued to be a screaming bitch.

Yes, apparently she just “discovered” herself half an hour away from Yosemite, while all the time she wanted to be in Nebraska. Will wonders never cease. (And no, I don’t think she was pulling our legs. She seemed quite intense, and there was a certain ignorant belligerance about her that appeared to be genuine.)

5

It must have been, if her goal in life was to actually go to Nebraska.

6

Could be that he indeed had been driving all night, somehow got onto the PA turnpike and didn’t notice. Maybe he got to New Castle, PA, though it was New Castle, NY and simply asked for directions to Jamestown?

7

Oops, my mistake, seems that there is no New Castle in NY but I think you got my point anyway.

Stupid MapQuest, I ask for NY and it gives me KY.

8

Wow, that’s impressive. PA has lots of signage. The only time when I didn’t know what state I was in was when we got on the wrong road in Virginia, and ended up in West Virginia. We were tipped off to the mistake when we went for miles and there were no roadsigns.

9

** guy_from_wpa**: Did you smell alcohol on the breath of that guy?

10

If you are too tired and weary to know what state you are in, then you shouldn’t be driving. Shame on you, Lissa! :smiley:

With that said, there is a portion of Maryland that is only about ten or twelve miles wide. You can be in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania-- all within ten minutes. If you miss the signs, you just don’t know for sure.

11

I read an article from Chippie who said he found a very confused man stopped on the side of the road near San Diego with the ocean visible. He had a map out, so the officer pulled over to try to help.

The guy was wondering how he’d missed Arizona during the night. Yes, all of it, apparently. Hitting the Pacific clued him in that he had a problem.

12

Driving from NY to VA with the family, I thought I was in DE. But by the time I thought about it and said “Hey, we’re in Delaware” we were in Maryland.
Not the same, you say? But what if I had wanted some Delaware Fried Chicken? What then? By the time it would have took us to stop the car, find someone to ask directions of and gotten a correct answer, the Earth would have turned impercievably on its axis under our car and put right out of Delaware once again.

I hear the same thing can happen when driving through Rhode Island.

13

My husband went on a day long wandering back roads trip to PA one day from NY, and stopped at a DQ for a late lunch. He asked where he was (what city) and when he didn’t recognize the name, they let him know he was in NJ. Whoops! :slight_smile:

14

>>Could be that he indeed had been driving all night, somehow got onto the PA turnpike and didn’t notice. Maybe he got to New Castle, PA, though it was New Castle, NY and simply asked for directions to Jamestown?
That’s even worse! You pick up the PA turnpike at the New Jersey state line.

>>Did you smell alcohol on the breath of that guy?

I have never gotten that close to a guy, ever, that I could smell his breath. (I don’t want to smell ANYONE’S breath, for that matter.)

>>My question is what the hell was he doing looking for a KFC at 7:30 in the morning?

Hot Wings! For breakfast!

I wanted to call the KFC–I have the address-- and find out if the guy showed up. I figured he probably was embarassed enough without me rubbing it in.

>>I thought I was in DE

Well, the signs on 95 in Delaware aren’t all that great. The first time I went from Philly to Baltimore and saw the sign announcing the Delaware Turnpike, I thought: Why bother? I’ve been on driveways longer than the Delaware Turnpike. And then, somewhere, sometime, you’re in Maryland. The only way I knew was when I saw the Maryland House rest stop.
Anyway, spring is here, so more people are visiting the area (there’s a big state park here), so hopefully we’ll just get the people who are just confused between being in Ohio or Pennsylvania.

It’s probably me, but I notice that the shapes and colors of the road signs change from state to state. And I lived in Jersey, so I know the signs are different there. His big clue that he was in PA was all the left turns!

You see, in New Jersey, there are NO left hand turns, only jughandle turns. I’m convinced the whole state of PA is one big left turn. It makes the traffic in every little town worse than the Schuykill Expressway.

15

The NJ turnpike, PA turnpike, and OH turnpike are all one continous stretch of highway and all look pretty much alike. All he had to do was get on the NJ the wrong way and not notice. If that is what happened, it’s possible that he could have gone all the way to Chicago without noticing! Or at least to Toledo. :slight_smile:

16

I didn’t know they opened that early. KFC for breakfast? Ewww! My stomach turns at the very thought.

17

My sister likes to tell the story of her friend who went south instead of north from Illinois and didn’t realize anything was wrong until she saw the “Welcome to Texas” sign.

18

To be fair, it’s not like Jamestown, NY is a bustling metropolis :slight_smile: i’m from Fredonia, and since growing up I keep running into names of other towns there with BIGGER counterparts elsewhere, e.g. Stockton, Dunkirk, Panama, Cassadaga (named after Cassadaga, NY, to be fair), Barcelona, even Jamestown. But this is the first time its happened the other way around!

hmmm, it looks like it would be a little less on the map. Then again its not like you can just take 4 lane interstates the whole way. I say he got off easy.

okay, so the constant mistakes do make it rather humorous!

sure, first it’s in New York, then it’s in in Oklahoma :wink:

19

I always know what state I’m in, plus or minus 1.

20

Boy, you’d think the giant black line would clue them in that they’ve passed into a different state. Or the color! Look at any map: New York in a light pink, Pennsylvania is a sort of powder blue! Doesn’t anybody pay attention anymore?