Well, that's what the signs at the border should say. That may not be entirely fair though; rally courses tend to be a tad smoother, actually.

What is it with this state and a complete lack of roadbeds under the pavement? It will never cease to amaze me how little substance there is under the macadam surface; tar on dirt, as far as I can tell. I know it's a cost thing, but I can't help wondering if, given the cost of doing repairs every spring, it might not have been better to spend the money up front to put in good, deep road beds. It costs more up front, but just the savings in bent rims would be worth it.

With some of the frost heaves in my area creating a delta in the road surface of over six inches, the time has definitely come to park the car for the rest of the winter and just use the Jeep. It's a tough decision, since the car gets around 50% better fuel economy, and with a commute just over 54 miles each way, that makes a noticable difference in my weekly fuel budget; I have this particular car for exactly this reason, commuting; it's economical, reasonably (read as; low) powered and intended to get me safely to and from work every day. The Jeep? Not so much. Really it's a toy, but with sidewalls roughly three times taller, it's far better suited to the rally course I drive to work. My comments earlier about building myself a rally car for winter driving were simply fun, but maybe I should think seriously about it. Taller sidewalls with a tougher suspension would be entirely appropriate. Besides, it would give me an excuse to get/build another car; I like that idea. I suspect my wife might not share my enthusiasm though.

So, what are your experiences with the roads here in New Hampshire during frost heave season?

After driving around in our wonderful winter weather, I have one thing to say: If you go too slow go back home. I'm not talking about traveling at reasonable speeds in wintery conditions. I'm talking about you dangerously slow drivers.

I suppose I should re-introduce myself.  Even though I've had this blog here for quite awhile, my posts are so sporadic that I don't think anyone knows I'm here!

I'm a transplanted Canadian (so I spell words with "ou" instead of "o" as you'll see throughout my blog. I also throw the odd French phrase or word out there too) living in the heart of the Monadnock region of NH with my native NH husband and young kids.  This blog will mostly be about our life in the area, us checking out fun activities and destinations and some not-so-fun ones too because I'm a firm believer of balance in one's life.  If you know of any family-friendly local events, email me through this blog or comment on an entry and we can check them out or I can mention them to help get the word out.  My goal is not to sound too much like a travel brochure or sales pitch so I'm going to throw in a lot of vaguely personal stuff in the mix.  So, come join me as we discover the area together!

This is a concept that too many people seem to utterly miss; driving is a privilege, not a right.  Why does this come to mind currently?  The number of fatal accidents around the country is staggering, and when I read the comments after news articles my mind boggles at the number of people who make statements like "we need to lower the speed limit to keep people safer".  Oh, good heavens, not that one again. The speed limits in this country are already irritatingly low.  They have been set, as far as I can tell, to keep the most incompetent driver on the road safe while hurtling along in two tons of steel.  I have a different idea; let's raise expectations regarding driving abilities!