Earliest road memories

[shadyjay]

My earliest memory was on the Connecticut Turnpike in the Branford area... early 80s.  I got a peanut stuck up my nose on the Lake Saltonstall bridge, freaking my mom out.  I think we stopped at the toll booth so she could get it out. 

Back in the 80s, I remember frequent trips on the turnpike between New Haven and East Lyme, I-95 NB to Groton, and CT 9 from Old Saybrook up to the end (which was I-91) and I-91 from there north towards Mass, plus what is now I-691.  I still remember the first time I saw the sign that read "NOTICE - 66 IS NOW 691" and remember even before then when the expressway ended at Exit 4.  Back then, overhead assemblies were lighted, and there were the extra large route markers, now only seen in CT on I-84 for Exits 60-64.

[1995hoo]

I think my earliest memory stems from the phone books I read as a young boy, probably by age 5. I LOVED the maps. By the time I was a kindergartener I could already tell people my address.

My phone books never had any maps. sadface But I once had an old phone book (probably just a few years under myself) which listed all the ZIP codes of every town and city in the Philippines. I used to know most, if not all of them.

I also know my old phone numbers. (02) 640-0548; (074) 446-6634; (072) 794-1237.

I use my phone number (with area code) from 1975 to 1983 as the lock code on my iPhone.

I knew my address by the time I was in kindergarten and I was able to spell the street name as well (Glastonbury Court).

[bandit957]

For some reason, I developed a strange belief that each house must have somebody living there whose age was as the same as the house number. I don't know why I thought that.

[hotdogPi]

For some reason, I developed a strange belief that each house must have somebody living there whose age was as the same as the house number. I don't know why I thought that.

Was it true with your house at the time?

[bandit957]

For some reason, I developed a strange belief that each house must have somebody living there whose age was as the same as the house number. I don't know why I thought that.

Was it true with your house at the time?

I think so.

[getemngo]

I learned to read not by maps, but by looking at street signs. My mom would hear me reading them out loud during car rides.

Most of my early road memories involve being on the US 131 freeway through downtown Grand Rapids... nothing really sticks out.

But once we moved out into the country, I started making maps. In kindergarten or first grade, I attempted a to-scale map of my township, using a ruler to make gridlines. I moved onto drawing fictional counties on poster sized sheets of paper, almost like a primitive SimCity, and doodling interchanges on whatever notepad was closest to me. And I tried my hand many times at creating maps with the copy of Visio that was on our Windows 3.1 PC. (It was a less buggy program before Microsoft got their hands on it.)

[DaBigE]

The earliest memory that sticks out in my mind was from when I was four or five. It was a railroad crossing we encountered on the way to/from church. I was always afraid that a train would come, we would have to wait, and would run out of gas in the process. Around the same time frame, I remember looking for and counting the ID placards on the wooden high voltage poles that paralleled US 41 north of Fond du Lac, WI on the way to visit my grandparents up in Appleton.

I also still remember one of my first most cherished toys from about the same age was a four-way traffic signal from a Fisher-Price Little People set. I think I still have it somewhere...

[DeaconG]

Lots of first memories:

My parents driving across the Walt Whitman and Ben Franklin bridges on trips into and out of New Jersey (I still look for the Old Hickory neon sign next to the Walt Whitman going across).

Wanting very badly to get on the Chester-Bridgeport Ferry and pestering my dad until he decided to do that...unfortunately, the traffic backup was so bad that after an hour he'd had enough and we went home.

The long hard slog drive to my grandparents' farm in the Florida panhandle, starting with slogging down US 13 through Chester and Marcus Hook, driving past the refineries by the river (one was Sinclair, one was Sunoco and one I think was Gulf); I was never so glad to get on I-95 and head south.  Then the detours on US 301, starting at Petersburg, getting back on I-95 at Emporia, getting off at Roanoke Rapids, getting on at Kenly, getting off at Fayetteville, getting on at Hope Mills, getting off at Lumberton (and seeing South of the Border in it's infancy), getting on at Dillon, getting off at Orangeburg and then the "crawl of death" stretch through SC and GA on US 301-82-84 (I hated US 84 with a white-hot passion).

Being absolutely amazed that the South Street drawbridge actually worked (one of the last openings in the mid-60s).

Being absolutely pissed that the Betsy Ross bridge was sitting there with no traffic on it whatsoever (because the approaches to I-95 weren't built yet). Several of my family members worked at the refractory plant in Port Richmond just north of the bridge and driving past it with the ramps from Richmond Street blocked just boggled my mind. BRIDGE...DRIVE...WANT...

And yes, I did manage to get my dad to make a crossing I wanted; on the way back home from Florida he detoured to Norfolk and crossed the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel...which I found out later on terrified my mom.

[ericnear]

I was about 10, and we were en route to our hotel outside Bellefontaine, OH after a family reunion. I knew we had to get to US 33, and convinced my dad I could navigate without a map based on my knowledge of the area. I didn't do too well, but did eventually get us back to the highway...

[Jardine]

I loved the noise the tires made going over railroad crossings.  My parents said I could be asleep in the car and if they went over railroad tracks I would wake up immediately and look out the window to see if it was a multiple crossing.  They said I would really react every time, and funny, I do remember it, we took a vacation to Texas in '60 or '61 (I would have been 3 or 4) and I remember going over several railroad crossing in Kansas. 

[bandit957]

I remember pestering my parents to drive me down certain roads that we never used.

The reply was always, "Tim, someday you'll be old enough to drive, and then you'll get to drive down this road."

Inevitably, roads like this ended up being torn down before I became old enough to drive.

[GaryV]

When I was 5, we took a trip from Grand Rapids to Florida.  I don't remember much about the travel parts of the trip at all.  Since we visited a family friend near Huntsville AL (and went to the space center) we likely would have followed US 31 through Louisville and Nashville, but I don't remember the "big cities".  I do remember the Sunshine Skyway (only one span then) and US 1 through the Keys.  I don't know if it was that trip or another time, but my mom said in some areas the freeway was open but the bridges weren't all done yet, so you had to get off at every exit and then re-enter.

We only had one car, so when my mom needed it we would take my dad to work.  We'd cross the river (on the old Ann Street truss bridge) and drive down Turner.  Then get on the portion of US 131 that was open at Pearl Street, and get off the next exit at Market.

One time when I was a bit older, just for the heck of it we went west on I-96 to have a picnic at one of those new-fangled "Rest Areas".

[brianreynolds]

... I do remember the Sunshine Skyway (only one span then) and US 1 through the Keys.  I don't know if it was that trip or another time, but my mom said in some areas the freeway was open but the bridges weren't all done yet, so you had to get off at every exit and then re-enter.

In the summer of 1964, I was 13 years old.  My wanderlust was well known in my family by then.  I was allowed to take a Greyhound bus (yes, by myself) from Detroit to suburban Los Angeles (and back) to visit my oldest brother.  It was the heyday of Interstate Highway construction.

One lasting memory from that trip was I-40 from Oklahoma City to Barstow.  It seemed that every city that was big enough to justify two or more exits had successfully lobbied the state DOT to delay completion of the freeway bypassing town, thus forcing through traffic (and tourist dollars) to pass through. 

[brianreynolds]

I have noticed that several of those who have responded to this thread have mentioned early memories of maps.

Consequently, I am going to initiate a separate thread regarding early memories of maps.  Please join in.

[gpjedge]

My parents live about 6 hours away from my grandparents, but like to visit fairly often.  Consequently, since I was a few months old, we (my parents and I) would take a long road trip across Ontario, including going through Toronto, usually at night.  Bear in mind we would have needed to travel on Highway 401, which is quite an impressive road in Toronto.  From when I was about 4, I would always look out going through Toronto, fascinated by the infrastructure, the thousands of lights surrounding the many lanes of cars completely surrounding us, and, particularly, the signage.  This was my only exposure to an express-collector lane setup for years, so I loved looking at the different sign colours and the many odd street names.  It's also where I learned the words "express" and "collector" in the first place.  I would always try and stay awake to just look at the spectacle.
Here's an example: http://goo.gl/maps/qBX9Y
This fascination never really died, and in fact spread to all roads in general.  To this day, though, I still especially enjoy going through Toronto on the 401-everything's just so large and complex.

[SquonkHunter]

My earliest real memory is probably going shopping in Fort Worth with my aunt.  I didn't care for shopping, but I wanted to go along for the ride.  I've always liked rural drives, but at that time seeing the city freeways was really neat.

On a slight tangent, it was a shopping trip to downtown Ft. Worth on the old Leonard's/Tandy Center subway that probably ignited my interest in mass transit & rail.

Earliest freeway memory: First road trip in our new 1960 Impala. Fort Worth, Summer of 1960 (3 yrs old) going up the top overpass in the old Downtown Mixmaster. Traveling from westbound DFW Turnpike (now I30) to southbound US81/I35W. That was a very dangerous overpass with that sharp turn it had.    I couldn't count the times a semi truck wiped out making that turn over the years. Thank God all that mess is long gone.

[Duke87]

I vividly remember sitting in my booster seat in the front of my parents' '87 Subaru GL. Which did not have airbags, so there were no qualms about a car seat in the front seat. Ah, the things that used to be acceptable, eh?

I was in that seat in that car many a time on trips between Connecticut and The Bronx. I can still picture in my head all the old button copy signs on the Hutch which were removed in the late 90s. I remember the toll plaza on the Hutch, which was removed at the end of October 1994 (2 months before my 7th birthday). I remember the drawbridge on the New England Thruway, which was demolished in 1995 (so figure a few years before, since I remember before construction on the new bridge began). I remember noticing that heading south, the style of lights on the New England Thruway changed as you passed the toll plaza (still true today), and that the road around there started making this weird noise (because the pavement was concrete).

Most amusingly, though, I remember asking my mother once as we were driving through Westchester county on I-95 whether we were in The Bronx yet or whether we were still in Connecticut. When she told me that we were in neither, that we were in a part of New York between Connecticut and The Bronx, my mind was blown. At 3 years old (which I must have been at the time - this was definitely before I started preschool), I had no idea there were other places in the world besides Connecticut and The Bronx.

When I was a bit older (preschool-elementary school) there were also a bunch of trips taken to Delaware, where I at the time had family. I remember that the toll for the whole length of the NJ Turnpike at the time was $4.60. I remember noticing that New Jersey had strange looking roads compared to what I was used to, and that Delaware had some pretty odd stuff as well - most notably Delaware's use of "mickey mouse" signal heads stood out as unique in my mind - I had never seen that configuration anywhere else.

The earliest road trip (as opposed to routine driving) that I remember was when my family went to Sesame Place and then to Strasburg, PA in 1993. I remember noticing that near Sesame Place there was an overhead sign that said "signal ahead" which flashed. It was unlike anything I had seen before, I thought it was really cool that there was such a big sign for that. I also remember that when we were on our way from Sesame Place to Strasburg that we missed the Downingtown exit off the PA Turnpike and ended up getting off at Morgantown instead.

[US81]

My earliest real memory is probably going shopping in Fort Worth with my aunt.  I didn't care for shopping, but I wanted to go along for the ride.  I've always liked rural drives, but at that time seeing the city freeways was really neat.

On a slight tangent, it was a shopping trip to downtown Ft. Worth on the old Leonard's/Tandy Center subway that probably ignited my interest in mass transit & rail.

Earliest freeway memory: First road trip in our new 1960 Impala. Fort Worth, Summer of 1960 (3 yrs old) going up the top overpass in the old Downtown Mixmaster. Traveling from westbound DFW Turnpike (now I30) to southbound US81/I35W. That was a very dangerous overpass with that sharp turn it had.    I couldn't count the times a semi truck wiped out making that turn over the years. Thank God all that mess is long gone.

I know, I'm glad it's gone because of the danger. There was that overhead from I-30 that you mentioned and there were those tunnel-ish sharp left turns from NB - I-35 to WB I-30 and from EB I-30 to NB I-35.

...and yet -- the little kid in me loved it and misses it.

[sbeaver44]

Earliest memory is probably age 4ish, we had one car and dad worked at Sprint (then United Telephone) in Carlisle.  We lived on US 11 (now bypassed) in New Kingstown.  Every day involved taking Locust Point Road over to PA 641, dropping him off, and then mom would get on North 81 at Exit 49, and off again at US 11/Exit 52.  Exit 52 is an almost-cloverleaf, and soon I picked up on the fact that there were only 7 ramps instead of 8 like the interchange at Exit 65. 

We also took yearly trips up to Watkins Glen, NY and I vaguely remember having to take NY 17 through Corning, as the bypass wasn't yet built.  We would stay at a motel near the NY 14/NY 14A "interchange" and the idea of an interchange on a state route was fascinating to me.

Some time later, I recall Dad taking me up to Skyport Road to see the section of PA 581 between Exit 1 and Exit 3 being built.  Also recall how the road ended at US 11/Carlisle Pike.  I can't imagine life without that section of PA 581 now.

[roadman65]

I know this thread is old and going on seven years dormant, but rather than create a new one to have the same idea as this one, I would post in this.


I was the other day reminiscing my youth and how roads changed over the years, especially in New Jersey.  I always remember the old River Road/ JFK Parkway (CR 649) and NJ 24 intersection pre freeway of Route 24 on the Chatham/ Summit/ Millburn tripoint.   Of course now that particular intersection is a RIRO on EB Route 124 with CR 639 shifted westward to its current alignment.   I remember looking across NJ 24 from River Road onto JFK Parkway and seeing an office building after the road curves to disappear behind the original Mall at Short Hills. In fact I used to think the road did a full 180 around the mall at the time, but later learned it did not.

However remembering this made me look to see if that office building across the street today. It appears not as both Historic Aerials and GSV confirm it is not there anymore. 

Furthermore i also remember the original mall with only two anchors then and it being an outdoor promenade as well instead of the current indoor two level mall with now four anchors.   In addition, I remember only one signalized intersection on JFK (later two after the freeway intersection opened) unlike now with four signals.  Plus on Sundays the signal was in flash mode due to the shopping center being closed due to the now defunct blue laws that only Bergen County still has in NJ.  The original entrance was also a NB only signal on JFK as the mall exit had a merge lane from the center similar to nearby Livingston Mall onto EB CR 510 to allow free movement on one side of the roadway. Also left turning traffic from JFK to the mall drove on the left of the exit traffic to keep the signal at two phases instead of three with SB JFK being a continuous green always.

Then the mall rebuild and office complex additions changed that intersection for what it is today.  Now Canoe Brook Road is even signalized and part of the mall entrances from outside.

Anyway, this post is about road memories that spark other non road related things.  I was wondering if anyone else remembers something else as well from remembering the roads.

[Roadgeekteen]

Sitting in the car on MA 135.