{"id":700,"date":"2010-09-03T23:36:16","date_gmt":"2010-09-04T04:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/?p=700"},"modified":"2022-09-05T20:07:58","modified_gmt":"2022-09-06T00:07:58","slug":"top-10-things-i-learned-on-my-summer-vacation-road-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/2010\/09\/top-10-things-i-learned-on-my-summer-vacation-road-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 things I learned on my summer vacation road trip"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>10) Do not start a new diet before your vacation<\/strong><br \/>\nThis one is actually pretty obvious.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t know what I was even thinking.\u00a0 It&#8217;s pretty much impossible to eat healthy while on vacation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-726\" title=\"junkfood\" src=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/junkfood-400x291.jpg\" alt=\"junkfood\" width=\"400\" height=\"291\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/junkfood-400x291.jpg 400w, http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/junkfood.jpg 840w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>(http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/reslib\/200812\/r320235_1425804.jpg)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>9) It&#8217;s possible to discharge an iPhone 3GS faster than it can charge if you play podcasts while also using the GPS receiver<\/strong><br \/>\nThis actually surprised me.\u00a0 I specifically bought a car charger for my iPhone so I could try out some GPS navigation software on our trip.\u00a0 I figured as long as I had the iPhone plugged into the power cord, I wouldn&#8217;t have to worry about draining it on the long trip.\u00a0 I was wrong.\u00a0 With the GPS program running and the iPod app playing podcasts that I had downloaded earlier from my PC, the iPhone drained faster than it charged.\u00a0 I did not appreciate this situation.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-729\" title=\"iphonegps\" src=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/iphonegps-400x307.jpg\" alt=\"iphonegps\" width=\"400\" height=\"307\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/iphonegps-400x307.jpg 400w, http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/iphonegps-1024x787.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/iphonegps.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><em>(http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/gadgetlab\/2009\/08\/tomtom_83913_tt-for-iphone-incar-landscape-uk.jpg)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>8 ) A pop-up summertime thunderstorm can ruin a nice sunny beach day<\/strong><br \/>\nWe had only been on the beach for a total of about 15 minutes.\u00a0 Just enough time to get sunblock on all the kids and let them go out and play in the surf for a few minutes.\u00a0 Then we heard the thunder.\u00a0 There was a pretty bad storm that suddenly had formed and was heading right for us.\u00a0 It was a beautiful sunny day one minute and we were running from a lightning storm the next.\u00a0 We tried to find other things to do.\u00a0 We hung out in a souvenir shop for a while.\u00a0 Then we sat in our cars at a park for a while and ate our picnic lunch.\u00a0 The storms kept building right over the beach.\u00a0 We eventually gave up and went home.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter\" title=\"Popup Summer Thunderstorm\" src=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/images\/PopUpSummerThunderstorm-Radar.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"521\" height=\"377\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>(http:\/\/www.ncdc.noaa.gov\/oa\/radar\/radardata.html)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>7) It&#8217;s completely possible, although possibly quite expensive, to wash a pickup by driving it completely into a lake<\/strong><br \/>\nIf you back your pickup truck down the boat ramp just to wash out the bed &#8230; then you might be a redneck! I just hope this poor guy is able to laugh at this later!\u00a0 (This is no joke.\u00a0 We witnessed this with our own eyes, by the way.)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Redneck Car Wash\" width=\"474\" height=\"356\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/i_h3eSm8qSU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>6) Always check the trail online from town before driving up into the mountains where there is no chance of any cell phone signals<em> (or grab a trail map from the welcome center)<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\nWe drove to a small waterfall in the Smokey Mountains of southwest North Carolina first thing one morning and were planning on visiting larger waterfalls later in the day.\u00a0 This first small waterfall was only maybe 50 yards from the road pull off.\u00a0 But while walking to the waterfall, we went past a forest service sign that had details about climbing and rappelling.\u00a0 The trail split and one trail went directly to the waterfall and the other went on up the mountainside.\u00a0 After experiencing the waterfall, I thought it would be fun for me to check out the other trail and see if I could get to the climbing and rappelling rock and take some photos while the rest of the family had a snack back at the car.\u00a0 After walking uphill for about 2\/3rds of a mile, I finally gave up with no climbing wall in sight.\u00a0 Had to turn around and go back.\u00a0 My little hike up the mountain was recorded on my GPS, but there was no cell connectivity so I had no Google map overlay to look at.\u00a0 After we got back into town, I brought up the Google map overlay onto my GPS hike.\u00a0 See the screen shot below.\u00a0 It turns out I was only about half way to the climbing face when I gave up and turned around.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-733\" title=\"img_0390\" src=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/img_0390.png\" alt=\"img_0390\" width=\"320\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/img_0390.png 320w, http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/img_0390-266x400.png 266w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 320px) 100vw, 320px\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>(http:\/\/mobile.accuterra.com\/)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>5) North Carolina experiences the same temperatures as Florida, only with slightly less humidity<\/strong><br \/>\nIt was pretty hot and pretty humid in central North Carolina while we were there.\u00a0 We&#8217;re talking the middle of July.\u00a0 But every time I brought up the current conditions for North Carolina and compared them to the current conditions in Central Florida, the temperature was always the same within a couple of degrees and the humidity was always worse in Florida.\u00a0 I probably checked about 4 times during the week that we were there and the results were always the same.\u00a0 So I guess it actually did feel just a little bit nicer up in North Carolina compared to back home.\u00a0 After all, it&#8217;s a slightly drier heat up there!\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-739\" title=\"heat-wave\" src=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/heat-wave.jpg\" alt=\"heat-wave\" width=\"400\" height=\"225\" \/><em>(http:\/\/media.trb.com\/media\/alternatethumbnails\/story\/2010-08\/55334161-03051444.jpg)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>4) It is utterly impossible to lock your keys in the ignition of a Nissan Xterra SUV<\/strong><br \/>\nWe bought a 2004 Nissan Xterra recently and drove it on our vacation.\u00a0 One time at a gas station I was trying to write down the mileage and the car was turned off and the keys were in my pocket, which is where they belong when they are not in the ignition.\u00a0 Well, the odometer doesn&#8217;t work unless the key is on, so I had to turn the key on to write down the odometer reading.\u00a0 When I was done I needed to go in to use the restroom, so without thinking I locked the door with the power lock button and shut the door.\u00a0 Just as I was shutting the door, I realized the key was in the ignition still.\u00a0 Turns out that the car doesn&#8217;t let you lock the doors when the key is in the ignition, or maybe when the key is turned on.\u00a0 So even though I tried, I was not able to lock my keys in the car.\u00a0 Now, if it wasn&#8217;t in the ignition that would have been a different story, but my keys are usually in my pocket or in the ignition.\u00a0 I tend not to leave them laying anywhere else, knock on wood.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-741\" title=\"nissanxterra\" src=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/nissanxterra-400x205.jpg\" alt=\"nissanxterra\" width=\"400\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/nissanxterra-400x205.jpg 400w, http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/nissanxterra.jpg 665w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><em>(http:\/\/saloncars.com\/catalog\/images\/08NissanXterra.jpg)<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>3) After a long hike through a narrow trail in the woods, if you stare at a large flat sign you will experience this really freaky peripheral vision motion after effect illusion of the sign melting away from you<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter walking back down the mountain trail about 2\/3rds of a mile from looking for the climbing and rappelling wall, I stopped at the bottom to read the forest service signs again, because there were details about the climbing wall there.\u00a0 According to my GPS records, I had walked downhill on this woodsy trail at about 2.5 miles per hour for approximately 14 minutes without stopping.\u00a0 Well, when I stopped and looked at this big billboard of a sign, I experienced something very weird and interesting.\u00a0 My eyes and brain were totally still in &#8220;moving through the woodsy trail&#8221; mode and so when I stopped to look at this big stationary wall of a sign, it looked like the sign was melting away from me.\u00a0 At least in my peripheral vision, the sign seemed to be moving away from me.\u00a0 It was pretty freaky and it took about a minute before I could see normally without getting a bit dizzy.\u00a0 Scientists call this illusion the motion after effect or waterfall illusion.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">Here is a nice example:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.michaelbach.de\/ot\/mot_adapt\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">http:\/\/www.michaelbach.de\/ot\/mot_adapt\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>2) Waterfalls are really cool &#8230; but not real fun if you forget your water shoes<\/strong><br \/>\nWe saw some pretty cool waterfalls on our vacation.\u00a0 One of them, Looking Glass Falls, is 60 feet tall and at the bottom there was a big pool where tourists can swim and play.\u00a0 It&#8217;s common sense that you would bring water shoes or at least flip flops or sandals if you&#8217;re gonna visit a place like this.\u00a0 After all, everyone knows that the floor of these creeks and waterfalls is covered with sharp jagged rocks, right?\u00a0 Well, this Florida boy found out the hard way.\u00a0 I was wearing my good tennis shoes and did not have anything else in the car to wear.\u00a0 I wasn&#8217;t gonna ruin my good tennis shoes, so I chose to walk around barefoot in the water.\u00a0 Not a great idea.\u00a0 The rocks are slippery in addition to being sharp.\u00a0 Pretty uncomfortable to walk on.\u00a0 I actually slipped once and messed up my big toe, but I won&#8217;t go into the details.\u00a0 A week later my big toe is still recovering from my poor planning, though.\u00a0 And the bottoms of my feet are probably all cut up too.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-746\" title=\"waterfall-family-for-blog\" src=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/waterfall-family-for-blog-329x400.jpg\" alt=\"waterfall-family-for-blog\" width=\"329\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/waterfall-family-for-blog-329x400.jpg 329w, http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/waterfall-family-for-blog-843x1024.jpg 843w, http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/waterfall-family-for-blog.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 329px) 100vw, 329px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>1) Dry cereal is completely okay with everyone in the family for dinner after arriving home after a long drive<\/strong><br \/>\nAfter a very long drive home and returning to a house that is pretty much devoid of real food.\u00a0 The boys were perfectly content and happy to sit and eat dry cereal for their dinner.\u00a0 They were just happy to be home again.\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-744\" title=\"cheerios\" src=\"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/cheerios.jpg\" alt=\"cheerios\" width=\"400\" height=\"330\" \/><em>(http:\/\/www.comesatradehub.com\/images\/products\/8912164569.jpg)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>10) Do not start a new diet before your vacation This one is actually pretty obvious.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t know what I was even thinking.\u00a0 It&#8217;s pretty much impossible to eat healthy while on vacation. (http:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/reslib\/200812\/r320235_1425804.jpg) 9) It&#8217;s possible to discharge an iPhone 3GS faster than it can charge if you play podcasts while also using [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[110],"tags":[178,125,384,380,40],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=700"}],"version-history":[{"count":49,"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4100,"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700\/revisions\/4100"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.leucht.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}