On Tue, 19 May 2020 08:58:57 +0100, Timothy Collinson - timothy.collinson
at port.ac.uk (via tml list) <xxxxxx@simplelists.com> wrote to Freelance
Traveller:
>> This is one of the significant differences between Europeans and Americans
>> or Australians... Europeans think 100 miles (150km) is a long distance.
>Well it is!
Even in the dense eastern states, 100-150 miles is considered viable for a
day trip - it's not at all unusual, for example, for civil service unions
in NYC to arrange a day trip to Albany NY (closer to 150 miles than 100
miles) to lobby the state legislature for some bit of favored legislation.
Board the (chartered) busses in Manhattan at 8 AM, be in Albany around 11
AM, lobby, lunch, more lobby, board the busses back to NYC around 3 PM,
debark in Manhattan where you started around 6 PM.
I have done day trips like that, but mother-in-law is exactly 100 miles away (well, 97 on one car odometer, 100 on another) and we wouldn't think of anything less than a weekend there (i.e. Friday evening to Sunday afternoon).
As I get older (or perhaps just tireder) I even think twice about that. Although it may not be an issue for much longer if MiL's proposed moved to a flat (apartment) on the beach about two miles from home finally gets going again after lockdown.
Of course, the downside of that is MiL being just two miles away... ;-)
As for older daughter not only Cornwall but at the far end of Cornwall [1], she might as well be in another country. (Indeed, given language and flags, perhaps she is.) It's 'only' - as it happens! - the same 225 miles but is a five hour drive at best and can be 7 or 8 in summer traffic (my wife's record is 9 hours on a trip with three major holdups/accidents - I was so glad I missed that one). We've done it (once I think) as an 'overnight' but never in a day and more usually expect to go for nothing less than a long weekend (like Thursday to Tuesday). The driving is very unpleasant. (Much of it single lane, busy, and slow.) Though there is a lovely segment across Exmoor where we get both lovely scenery and our satnav record of "next turn" being 80 miles distant. I'll bet Americans and Antipodeans can easily beat that last however.
The ObTrav is the NPC passenger I had in one game who obsessively told anyone who'd listen about the different routes he could have taken via various Jumps to get to where he currently was or where he was next going. IIRC the PC's route was the least optimal in his opinion.
Presumably in the Imperium, 100 years is no time at all but 100 parsecs quite a distance. (So, like the Brits in that respect!)
tc
[1] Next point west is probably Jeff!