When Commutes Get Fun (Fight the Power)
Although I spend 2+ hours commuting from Ontario to Orange County every day, I actually like it. I can relax (to a point), listen to the radio or to a CD, yell my fool head off, or whatever.
One of my usual commute routes takes me through Carbon Canyon. I've found that State Route 57 is often jammed, and State Route 91 is often jammed, so I frequently cut through the middle and take Carbon Canyon to work. It's only a two lane road, and frankly it's often crowded itself, but at least the drive is fairly scenic.
So this morning I'm driving through Chino Hills, getting ready to cut through Carbon Canyon, when I ran across huge signs saying that SR-142 is closed. Unfortunately, by the time you reach the signs, you've pretty much committed yourself to the Carbon Canyon route, and you have one of three choices to recover:
- Turn around and head back to southbound State Route 71 and take it to State Route 91.
- Keep on going and hop on State Route 60 and take it to State Route 57.
- Go a little bit, then head westbound on Grand Avenue into Diamond Bar, then proceed from there via the 57 or via surface streets.
I chose the third option, as did several hundred of my closest friends.
It took me almost an hour to get to the southern tip of Diamond Bar. Not a good commute day.
So, after all of that, I figured I'd go to the Vons at Placentia and Bastanchury and grab a bagel. This late in the morning, they may even be fresh.
Well, they weren't fresh at all - this particular Vons closed nearly three months ago. While driving through the empty lot, I thought of all the picketers who hung out at that Vons during the 2003 strike; wonder how they feel now?
When I finally got to work, I was curious regarding why my morning commute had been altered. So I checked:
SR 142
[ORANGE CO.]
IS CLOSED AT THE ORANGE/RIVERSIDE CO LINE - DUE TO DOWNED POWER LINES -
A DETOUR IS AVAILABLE
[SAN BERNARDINO & RIVERSIDE CO.'S]
NO TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS ARE REPORTED FOR THIS AREA.
Well, I'm glad I didn't go that way...
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