Clear Lake, Iowa
Jun. 22nd, 2005 12:05 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
howeirdI cannot believe how humid it is here. And hot.
The rental company gave me a metallic green PT Cruiser. I hated those things from the first time I saw them. But I'd never been in one, let alone driven one.
There are some good things to be said for it. Excellent sound system. I like the window washer mounted on the wipers. And the rear windshield wiper. The seats are very comfortable. And that's about it.
The shocks are hard. I had to drive in the left lane as much as I could because the right lane, where the trucks have made each slab of concrete separate from the next one, bumped so bad I couldn't stand the feeling or the noise. It has slightly less turning radius than my Corolla. For a narrow car, this is bad. When you use the windshield washer on the freeway, it coats the front windows to the point where you can't see out of them for a couple of minutes. The side mirrors are not wide enough, there's a huge blind spot. And it is mostly gutless above 60 MPH. The controls for the electric windows are on the dashboard above the radio. How stupid is that? None on the door. The door locks are manual.
And the kicker is the PT Cruiser they gave me has no cruise control. Made the drive pretty nasty, 120 of it was straight freeway.
The lady at the hotel desk recommended a place for dinner. I told her I was looking for prime rib. She gave me a map and directions to The Half Moon. It's on Buddy Holly Drive. She said the locals like it.
From the outside it looks like a bad dive bar. Inside it is very nicely appointed, maybe 25 tables and a few booths, and low lighting. The bar seats about a dozen. The menu is only a handful of items. Prime rib is only on Fri-Sat. I had top sirloin. The serving they gave me was about half of what I expected for my $12. And not as good a cut either.
And then people around me lit up cigarettes. Yuk.
There is no no-smoking section. They don't even have that concept here.
The rental company gave me a metallic green PT Cruiser. I hated those things from the first time I saw them. But I'd never been in one, let alone driven one.
There are some good things to be said for it. Excellent sound system. I like the window washer mounted on the wipers. And the rear windshield wiper. The seats are very comfortable. And that's about it.
The shocks are hard. I had to drive in the left lane as much as I could because the right lane, where the trucks have made each slab of concrete separate from the next one, bumped so bad I couldn't stand the feeling or the noise. It has slightly less turning radius than my Corolla. For a narrow car, this is bad. When you use the windshield washer on the freeway, it coats the front windows to the point where you can't see out of them for a couple of minutes. The side mirrors are not wide enough, there's a huge blind spot. And it is mostly gutless above 60 MPH. The controls for the electric windows are on the dashboard above the radio. How stupid is that? None on the door. The door locks are manual.
And the kicker is the PT Cruiser they gave me has no cruise control. Made the drive pretty nasty, 120 of it was straight freeway.
The lady at the hotel desk recommended a place for dinner. I told her I was looking for prime rib. She gave me a map and directions to The Half Moon. It's on Buddy Holly Drive. She said the locals like it.
From the outside it looks like a bad dive bar. Inside it is very nicely appointed, maybe 25 tables and a few booths, and low lighting. The bar seats about a dozen. The menu is only a handful of items. Prime rib is only on Fri-Sat. I had top sirloin. The serving they gave me was about half of what I expected for my $12. And not as good a cut either.
And then people around me lit up cigarettes. Yuk.
There is no no-smoking section. They don't even have that concept here.
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