Keep on Truckin'

Over the last two weeks I have been to Youngstown, Nordonia, Coply, Toledo, Harveysburg and Findlay, I travled about 1,5oo miles in those two weeks. In just over a year I have traveled nearly 35,000 miles and about 90,000 miles in the three years I have been at the network. With that many miles under my belt I can pretty much tell you how long it will take you to go anywhere in the state from Columbus. So here are the Top 5 Worst Drives and the Top 5 Worst Areas/Towns we don't go to often too list. All drives are based from Columbus.

Top 5 Worst Drives (Cities)

1. Youngstown travel time 3 hours. I can not tell you how much I hate the drive to Youngstown. You keep driving and then you drive a little more. Then you realize you are in Akron and STILL HAVE 50 MINUTES TO GO. There is no reason anyone needs to go to Youngstown and the drive makes it worse. You feel drained after the drive. There is no real easy way to get there and the drive is always under construction. Maybe this will tell you how bad this drive is. From Columbus to Pittsburgh it is 3 hours. As is mentioned above it takes 3 hours to Youngstown. YOU STILL HAVE AN HOUR TO GO TO PITTSBURGH. I hate you Youngstown.
2. Toledo travel time 2 and a half hours. Toledo is just a boring drive from Columbus. Flat and straight for most of the trip without a large amount of cities to stop in. I use to live in Toledo and I have this drive memories and I can tell you every stop and rest stop along the way. Corn and flat straight roads make this a bad drive
3. Akron travel time 2 and a half hours. It's an okay drive, but you drive I-71 for ever then turn onto I-76 and you are there. It's just that I-71 sucks to be on, always under construction and not a lot too see. Most of Ohio north of I-70 is flat and nothing but corn and soybeans. It's not like I'm wishing for mountains and windy roads I just want a few curves to make it interesting. Also will this road ever be completely finished?
   
4. Marietta travel time just over 2 hours. There is no easy way to get to Marietta from Columbus. It's either two long and straight interstates or a lot of smaller state routes that you can only go 55 MPH tops and not a lot of areas to pass slower cars. I've average about three trips to Marietta year and it mostly has to deal with flooding so sometimes the roads you have to take are flooded and now you have to find some back way in. I wish they would just build a road from Columbus to Marietta to shave 30 minutes of our time.
5. Cleveland 2 and a half hours. "Wait a second J-Dog you it looks like Cleveland is a long drive than Marietta?" You are correct, but at least there is a direct route to Cleveland. Cleveland's problem is that it's on I-71 or as I like to call it construction hell. Also with Cleveland you think you are close and you notice you still have 30 more miles! You then get to the XI center and you feel you are close. Still you have 15 more miles holy crap does that make this drive long.

Top 5 Worst Areas/Smaller towns we don't go to very often.

1. Ashtabula County over travel time 3 hours. If you want to find the longest drive from Columbus without actually leaving the state, well here it is Ashtabula County. We every go because it's an hour away from our Cleveland office. OK did you get that AN HOUR FROM CLEVELAND. I have never made the drive but everyone who has does not want to do it again.
2. Williams County travel time over 3 hours. If you want that Ashtabula drive without all those messy interstates but miss seeing corn and soy beans then this is your drive. The only reason we would go here is if the Dum Dum Sucker factory burns down. If this means anything the closest TV market is Toledo and Ft. Wayne and neither wants to go to Williams County because of the drive.
   
3. Van Wert travel time of 2 and a half hours. Corn Corn and more corn. This is just a long drive with nothing to see. When you hear, "You're going to Van Wert." You know that you will have a very long day. I need to get a picture of it but there is a sign on Rt 30 about 20 miles for Van Wert that says 7 miles till McDonalds then beneath that NEXT McDONALDS 70 MILES. That is not a typo 70 miles from McDonalds. It's a little decieving, you can drive into Van Wert and then go 5 miles and find a McDonalds, but damn the McDonalds is so far off the highway it's better to go another 50 miles!
   
4. Oxford travel time of 2 hours and 10 minutes. It's like you have to go to Indiana without all that crossing of a stateline. I have never experienced this drive but the other photographers have and they say it is a long day.
5. Steubenville travel time 2 and a half hours. Why can't Ohio sell off Steubenville? You drive to West Virginia and then go north for an half hour. Not only is it a long flat and straight drive it gets more and more depressing as you go. A huge steel area that is slowly dying. Nothign says welcome like dying steel mills.