RE: First long trip - to MASSACHUSETTS - LONG

[rajones315]

 
We went to Massachusetts for our most recent trip.  The weather was nice, and we had a good time.  I wouldn t recommend the campground unless you go there with the intention of just sleeping there.  We stayed @ wymanns beach and although the sites were adaquate & CHEAP, the overall facilities were mediocre at best.
 
 They had metered showers with adaquate hot water
 The bathrooms were clean, but VERY SMALL.  I had to litterally open the door to the bathroom stall when I wanted to wipe my - well you get the picture.
 
 The rules on quiet time were STRICTLY enforced.  The guard drove around all night long EVERY NIGHT in an old pinto and after 10:00 all children were sent back to their camp sites.
 
 The campground was close to all major attractions - although in MASS that s a given.
 
 For attractions, I d recommend Battleship Cove You can see & tour the Battleship Massachusetts there along with several other ships and a submarine - very cool.  
 
 We went on a whale watch in Glouster.  That was the easiest major harbor to get to -traffic wise.  We saw pilot whales, but no humpback whales.  Was a little dissapointed since we had paid almost $100.00 for the 4 of us and no humpbacks.  If you go, wear long pants, and bring a warm jacket - also go on a warm day.
 
 If you go to the Cape - Cod, don t bother going on the weekend unless you want to duke it out with traffic.  Traffic stopages are common on the weekend, and when you get to the front of the pack, there s never any reason for the slow down.
 
 Speaking of traffic, Mass drivers just plain suk.  I think they hand a liscense to anyone who can walk upright and hear thunder.  There is no speed limit in that state.  You literally need to drive as fast as you can, and some drivers are awarded extra points for driving in the breakdown lane or cutting across 5 lanes of traffic.  Don t worry about speeding tickets there,  several times we observed police cars escorting street sweepers.  
 
 Construction is a bear, but it s not long before you learn what highways go where and how to avoid certain areas.  I could have pretty much gotten anywhere in Mass after driving the roads a few times and wrong turns weren t as frequent as areas like New Jersey where those dog-leg, boot-leg, hair-leg turns are a sporting event.

[Camperroo]

 rajones315
Now now...glad to hear you had a nice time but MA isn t the only state with drivers that you know what!![]   I ve driven cross country a couple of times and I could nominate a few other states that are a lot worse!!   It s pretty common knowledge round these parts that anyone who heads to the Cape on the weekends is asking for what they re getting...traffic!![]   It s just something you learn to live with if you ve absolutely got to head down there on a weekend, usually we opt to go midweek or Thurs instead of the Friday crunch.  Good news is they are talking about redesigning the rotary which as a kid I don t ever remember sitting forever miles away from just to approach it but now it s a different story!!
 
 Battleship Cove is a great place to visit.  Haven t heard of the campground you stayed at...we like to camp up in Maine and NH.  I think most campgrounds down towards the Cape tend to be fairly commercial/small just given their location.  The Cape is a very popular getaway and packed in the summer...especially after a long, snowy, cold winter!!!!!!!
 
 
 
 

[cruiserpop]

 rajones315
just a sugggesgtion...
 a nice  undiscovered"  area is Scussett Beach, Mass Bay(north)  and landward (right) side of the canal. a odationsstate park leased from the copps of the engineers. sits right an the end of the canal. GREAT ship watching. cheap, ok sites and accomodations, less than 100 yards from the beach (COLD water). great base of operations fro exploring most of the lower Cape in cluding Plymouth. Head to Sagamore bridge, but do not cross. take a left at the Dunkin dohnuts on the Rotary and follow signs to Scussett Beaxch State park.

[mwh710]

 rajones315
Just as hint to anyone doing the Mass thing.  Go to Plymouth, MA & see Plymouth RocK, reconstructed Mayflower W/ actors etc..., tour the OceanSpray factory with free samples of many that aren t on the market yet & take the Ferry across the bay to Province Town on the very tip of Cape Cod.  Very artsy  & nice.   It s a lovely trip, pretty cheap & you miss all of the traffic & of course take the Ferry back at the end of the day.  Bring a wind breaker though, always breezy on the ocean.[]

[AustinBoston]

 Camperroo

ORIGINAL:  Camperroo
 
 Now now...glad to hear you had a nice time but MA isn t the only state with drivers that you know what!![]   I ve driven cross country a couple of times and I could nominate a few other states that are a lot worse!!

 Hmmm...I ve lived all my life in Mass, but I ve driven in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Mass., Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Monnesota, Texas, South Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, California, Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana.  I ve also driven in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, Ontario, and Quebec.
 
 I don t know which state you are talking about that might be worse than Massachusetts...unless you ve never driven on I-95, I-495, I-93, I-90, in Boston, or (shudder) in Lowell.  [][]" Them that fail in Boston move to Lowell" .[][]
 
 New York and New Jersey can be fairly bad (they took lessons from us), and in California, there was only one speed...FASTER! But for all-around idjiots behind the wheel, nothing beats Massachusetts.
 
 * In Mass., the merge is ALWAYS in the last 50 feet.[&:]
 * In Mass., I m not sure what a turn signal is, but I only see them in the left lane of the highway...on the left side of the car.[&:]
 * In Mass., a lane change signal means " speed up and block me before I pull in" ...if they know what a turn signal is at all.[:@]
 * In Mass., a STOP sign is a suggestion.[]
 * In Mass., pedestrians ignore crosswalks, and drivers ingore pedestrians.[][]
 * In Mass., " No Passing"  means " don t stack pass" [:@]
 * In Mass., " One Way"  means nothing at all.[8D]
 * In Mass., " Share The Road"  means run the other guy (cyclist, jogger) off.[]
 * In Mass., sidewalks are for passing a left-turner on the right.[&:]
 * In Mass., " Left Turn Only"  means Left, Straight, or Right turn only.[]
 * In Mass., " No Turn On Red"  means slow down before turning on red.[]
 * In Mass., cutting off tandem trailers going faster than you is considered good driving.[:@]
 * In Mass., lane markers (dotted lines) have no meaning.[]
 
 I could go on and on.  After driving 13,000 miles in 21 states over the course of 8 weeks, we knew we were back in Massachusetts by the general rudeness, aggressiveness, and lack of skill of the drivers.
 
 The only real jerks we saw outside of the Northeast were in California (SF area, and LA), but we could teach them a thing or two about poor driving here in Mass..
 
 Austin (who hopes to never drive in Lowell, Mass. [:@] again)

[tlhdoc]

 mwh710

 

ORIGINAL:  mwh710
 
 Just as hint to anyone doing the Mass thing.  Go to Plymouth, MA & see Plymouth RocK, reconstructed Mayflower W/ actors etc..., tour the OceanSpray factory with free samples of many that aren t on the market yet & take the Ferry across the bay to Province Town on the very tip of Cape Cod.  Very artsy  & nice.   It s a lovely trip, pretty cheap & you miss all of the traffic & of course take the Ferry back at the end of the day.  Bring a wind breaker though, always breezy on the ocean.[]
 

 
 Thanks for the tip about the ferry.  Cape Cod is one of the places we would like to go.

[Firefyter-Emt]

 rajones315
Yep.. Tom, you pretty much hit the nail on the head..
 
 BUT..
  A no turn on read is really a stop before turning sign
 
 Some stop signs are invalid.. (as I tell my wife) Some times they just don t belong there, so we dont pay attention to them
 
 Are there other states where during a certin time frame you are really allowed (and posted when to do so) to use the break down lane as a high speed lane??
 
 We have an intersection in Worcester Mass. (Kelly Square) Those who know it, know what I mean. Driving this " mass dump"  of road ends means you have the right of way " IF"  your mental attitude is one of " I know where I am going, I do have the right of way"  and is only enhanced by how big you are (car/truck, not personaly) This intersection has about 6 roads entering it, no signs, and no real " flow"  and more than half the people have no idea what the hell to do at it! Hense, the " Attatude"  right of way.. This is only found in Mass, where if you think you have the right of way more than the next guy does, you do..
  []
 

[chasd60]

 rajones315
Glad you had a good trip, relatively speaking.
 
 As far as the drivers go, blame it on lack of enforcement of the laws and no-fault insurance.
 
 They figured they had to go to " no-fault"  because nobody in MA can admit they are wrong and the argument about whose fault it was usually took 8 months to settle, but I may be wrong about that.[8D]

[Firefyter-Emt]

 rajones315
Thats not true Charlie!! Do ya all remember the accidend over a year ago where I totaled my wifes white Sable?? I go before the board of appeals on the 19th to fight the surcharge.. [&:]

[Gone-Camping]

 rajones315
Hey Lee, your description of Kelly Square hits the head right on the nail, and you could just about throw Brosnihan Square into the same pot and stir it all up!!!

[AustinBoston]

 Firefyter-Emt

ORIGINAL:  Firefyter-Emt
 
 Yep.. Tom, you pretty much hit the nail on the head..
 
 BUT..
  A no turn on read is really a stop before turning sign
 
 Some stop signs are invalid.. (as I tell my wife) Some times they just don t belong there, so we dont pay attention to them
 
 Are there other states where during a certin time frame you are really allowed (and posted when to do so) to use the break down lane as a high speed lane??
 
 We have an intersection in Worcester Mass. (Kelly Square) Those who know it, know what I mean. Driving this " mass dump"  of road ends means you have the right of way " IF"  your mental attitude is one of " I know where I am going, I do have the right of way"  and is only enhanced by how big you are (car/truck, not personaly) This intersection has about 6 roads entering it, no signs, and no real " flow"  and more than half the people have no idea what the hell to do at it! Hense, the " Attatude"  right of way.. This is only found in Mass, where if you think you have the right of way more than the next guy does, you do..
  []
 
 

Oh, yes, road and intersection design (or lack thereof) is a factor too...I can remember my father saying " You wouldn t have done that if you knew I drive the Expressway every day"  and I have said (more like hollered) " Hey! I used to LIVE in Stoughton Square. You should NOT have tried that!"
 
 Another factor you find in Massachusetts is the " Drivers decide how many lanes there are"  factor.  If the highway department paints two lanes, everyone will drive down the line turning it into one lane.  If they paint one wider lane with a shoulder, they will form two parallel lanes.
 
 Austin (who has never, ever ben wrong while driving)

[Danny O]

 rajones315
We stayed at the Cape Ann Campsites near Gloucester last month and had a great time. The area is beautiful and there s plenty to see. As far as driving goes, I lived in Da Bronx most of my life, so there s nothing that I haven t seen or can t handle.
 We re headed up to Camden, Me. next week. I hope the thunderstorms that we ve been experiencing all week long finally stop.

[Acts 2:38 girl]

 rajones315
Tom, do you mean the intersection around Rt-131 ? The one with Honey Dew shop and a couple of weird roads comming togather??

[Foxyladies]

 rajones315
Hi, just came back from vacation so I m behind on the posts. Too be honest....you can put connecticut in the same boat as mass. Us New Englanders are use to these condidtions. The sign says 65 mph and your doing 70 and there still passing you out or riding your bumper......
 
 This past week my friend was with me camping and she had to do alot of driving because my knee and leg was killing me. We used to go camping all the time, well she was driving slow and sometimes the speed limit. I said to her what happen, you used to drive much faster.......(they used to tease me how slow I drove)well she doesn t work so I think she has slowed down her life a whole lot. Maybe thats why people drive so fast.....were all in a hurry....[]

[mike4947]

 rajones315
As a " Million Miler"  I would have to agree with Austin.  NYC does get better grids locks, PA gets longer lasting construction (although smaller), Florida has a greater incidence of turn signals on for miles, and California has faster and better armed drivers, but nowhere in the country do they combine like they do in a circle about 20 miles in diameter from the center of Boston.
 Not to mention having streets straight as an arrow change names 4 times within a mile. Even the city maps can t keep them straight.