Tunnel Vision: The Art of the Pleasure Drive

By Brendan O'Hallarn Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Before my wife and I had kids, and a full day became an outing to Starbucks, we used to love simply getting in the car on beautiful weekend days and going for a drive.

Winnipeg, Manitoba, where we lived for a decade, was a big city surrounded by bald prairie. So we’d get in the car and be passing through golden canola fields after about 10 minutes, watching puffy clouds paint an ever-changing canvas on the blue prairie sky.

When we moved to southeast Virginia a little over two years ago, we were excited about all the exciting day trips we would take – maybe to Charlottesville and Monticello. Or D.C. Or even the mountains if we felt adventurous.

Now, sadly, the last thing I want to do on a Saturday when there’s nice weather (not that we’ve had any of those lately) is get in the car and drive somewhere.

I did a little arithmetic in the radioless Ford Explorer on the way home on Monday.

It’s 41.2 miles to my job at Old Dominion University. Each way, that’s 82.4. Times four days a week. Times 48 weeks (ballpark, to factor in holidays, weather and sick days). That’s a whopping 15,820 miles in a year.

How far are we talking about? According to Google Maps, if we left our driveway, bound for the Opening Ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, it would have been a 3,048-mile drive to B.C. Place. I drive more than five times that distance in a year to occupy a windowless office at work.

According to a 2005 survey by Time Magazine, ABC and the Washington Post, the average American commute is 16 miles, virtually unchanged from the 1980s. The average drive time to the office for American workers is a little over 26 minutes, about 90 seconds longer than it was in 2000.
But more than half of Americans, in the same survey, reported getting in a “traffic jam” at least once per week.

I drove to work on Monday, because ODU wasn’t closed for Presidents Day, unlike many offices. The roads were relatively deserted. I forgot how serene commuting can be when there’s no braking involved.

The final part of the survey dealt with Americans’ feelings toward their cars. Three-quarters of Americans said driving gives them a sense of independence. More than half declared it “relaxing.” In fact, a whopping 40 percent of Americans said they loved their cars. Not liked. Loved.

That’s the conundrum. When I’m driving back from Norfolk at night, say after a basketball game, and I see the tiny ribbon of lights marking the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel to the east, I’m reminded of the simple joy I’ve felt my entire driving life when I’m out on the road, with nothing in front of me, and scenery in every direction as far as my eyes can see.

Drives like those make me feel less stressed, not more.

But a stall on the Norfolk side of the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel, causing traffic to back up a mile and add 10 minutes to my morning commute (like Tuesday morning), is simply not relaxing.

So that settles it. On my to-do list for the spring is a pleasure drive or two. And I’m going to ask you WYDaily readers to suggest my route.

Here are the rules – it needs to be done comfortably in a day, with a worthwhile place to stop and have lunch or a snack before heading for home.

What are some of your favorite day drives in southeast Virginia?

Since this is now my home, I want to regain the simple pleasure of taking to the road with my family, and seeing what this beautiful region has to offer.

Brendan O’Hallarn writes Tunnel Vision on Wednesdays for WYDaily. If you have a day-trip suggestion, or any other comment about commuting, feel free to write him at brendan@wydaily.com.