Thursday, March 26, 2009

Favorite Things Thursday: The Roundabout

I apologize, in advance, because this post will be lame. Hubby tells me it will be lame because I'm calling a nearby stretch of road one of my favorite things. I predict it will be lame because I am nursing a horrid headache this evening and can't take anything because I am going for a fasting blood draw tomorrow morning.

I had an annual physical/medication follow-up appointment on Tuesday. It was in a town a half hour's drive away. I love any reason to head to this particular town because shortly after we moved here, they removed a very hectic 4-way stop sign intersection and replaced it with a British style roundabout. It was a wise move indeed and has greatly improved the flow of traffic there. But, I don't really love it because it is practical. I love it because it is British!


I must be fairly vocal in my raving about how much I love driving on this roundabout (even though I never drove a vehicle when I was over in England), because the other day my son mentioned that their wrestling bus went on the roundabout and he almost told all the other guys how stoked his mom gets whenever she gets to go on that road. Perhaps, my love of the roundabout (and all things British) is lame, because, note that ES said he "almost" told the guys about it. I'm guessing it would have been too embarrassing to admit his mother loves a road because it reminds her of Great Britain.

However, I will shout it from the mountaintops (or at least from my blog). I love driving on this roundabout. It gives me a giddy feeling inside every time. (I did feel a bit idiotic, however, when I exited my vehicle and stood on the sidewalk to snap a photo of it!) I just say it provides further appeal for visits from my British friends. After all, not everyone in the States can say "Do come for a visit! If you're feeling homesick, we can drive over to ********* and go around the roundabout."

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If you are unfamiliar with how a roundabout works, or would like to see better pictures and images than I have to offer, you must head to Wikipedia. According to their article, the first roundabout wasn't British, after all. It appeared in Paris. Then, one appeared in New York (no way, I never knew that!) and finally arrived in Britain five years later. If you want to see a really wild roundabout, go here. That one wouldn't make me giddy if I had to drive through it; however, I would still be giddy because I would actually be in jolly old England.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

First, this is not lame! This is one of your favorite things and it should remain a favorite thing. Period.

Secondly, we recently (in the last year or so) had a roundabout added to my path to the hospital. I did experience one at college though I never drove.

I don't like the roundabout. Change is bad in my world and I get nervous when those people waiting kind of merge into that outer lane when I'm on the inside.

I don't like it, but I do like your enthusiasm for it.

Wendy Hill said...

CG - Thanks for affirming my right to determine my own favorites. If you come to visit me, we will walk in my orchard, throw walnuts in my creek and drive over to the roundabout (I'll take the wheel - don't you fret, Ma!).