INTERSTATE UPDATES
General Advisory: any major bridge or tunnel on your route to the south may, from time to time, be subject to traffic control by the National Guard, for security reasons. We suggest that you keep your passports handy in your car for the duration of your journey south.
I-77 & I-79 Advisory for snowbirds travelling to Florida on the I-79 &
I-77 route (Erie-Pittsburgh- Beckley-Columbia): Traffic could be heavy and delays may occur when entering Virginia via the East River Mountain Tunnel and Big Walker Mountain Tunnel, due to the possibility of National Guard vehicle security checks.
I-5 & I-95 HOV Lanes: We've all become familiar with the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) car-pooling lanes reserved for those vehicles with two or more people in the car (by interstate/province agreement, a snowbird couple may use these lanes), but watch for the new HOV-3 lanes being introduced in large urban areas such as Washington (I-95) and Los Angeles (I-5). These require three or more people in the vehicle.
I-95 James River Bridge, Richmond, VA: Construction continues to delay traffic at this major project. The southbound lanes are currently being resurfaced; this activity will continue until spring, 2002.
I-75 Resurfacing: Road resurfacing activities in the Toledo, OH area are causing traffic disruption from time to time between I-75 exits 208 (junction of I-280) and 204 (junction of I-475). Should you see traffic start to back up as you approach exit 208, move to the left lane and follow the simple bypass map & instructions posted on Dave Hunter's I-75 Web site (make a printed copy before you leave). - www.i75online.com/Toledo.html.
TEXAN DEALS!
The Texas department of economic development has once again put out their publication "Buckaroo Bucks," which provides Texas-sized savings for Canadian travellers. The discount/coupon books are available by calling 1-800-8888-TEX, or you can visit their Web site at www.traveltex.com.
DID YOU KNOW?
- In the 1940s, the FCC assigned television's Channel 1 to mobile services (two-way radios in taxicabs, for instance), but did not renumber the other channel assignments. That is why your TV set has channels 2 and up, but no channel 1.
- The San Francisco cable cars are the only mobile national monuments.
- A duck's quack doesn't echo, and no one knows why.
- Emus and kangaroos cannot walk backwards, and are on the Australian coat of arms for that reason.
- Cats have more than 100 vocal sounds, while dogs only have about 10.
NEW AREA CODES IN MEXICO
For those of you who travel to, or winter in Mexico, as of November 17, 2001 they have changed all of their telephone area codes.
For information about the new area codes, call the Mexico Tourism Board at 1-800-446-3942. If you prefer, go online to www.telmex.com, then click on "English Section" and you will see a link called "Area Code Directory."
Some of the new codes:
Mexico City 33
Guadalajara 55
Monterrey 81
The rest of the country will have three-digit area codes.