Green Flamingobecause I said so

Yesterday I was reading up a little on the green auto industry, I came across what they call a Solar Roadway,  which now has been funded by the Department of Transport to create their first 12′ by 12′ slab or panel of road. When I first saw the title, I had a completely different idea in mind than what they are proposing, but either way this is a great project.

In the three different layers used to make this new road they have included power and datalines on the bottom, plus in the middle they would keep the actual solar cells, plus LED’s to light up the road as if it were painted. The top layer would be glass that would protect the electronics below and also provide traction for the cars as asplhalt does. All this is estimated to provide 3 times the power that was used in the US in 2003.

You can read up about it more in detail on Autoblog Green, or Solar Roadways.com. And here is a video with Scott Brusaw talking about his idea and how it was formed.

My idea was a bit different, I thought that they might collect the solar energy, then use it power cars, somehow make it so vehicles could absorb the power through their tires and use to run or at least partially power their cars. It might be easier if the cars also had solar panels on the roof, because if there was a lot of traffic blocking the sun from getting to the road, or  it might seem that the power is not distributed evenly along the road, then there would have to be some kind of back up plan.

Of course there is a catch to all of this: for the real idea, then rain and snow could take an effect, plus it was mentioned about hackers, and then they would access to the whole roadway across the country, but it still seems like a good idea. For my idea, going off road would not be an option, and I am not sure how the supercar owners would like it if power to their cars was maybe restricted and those V-12 engines could only do so much at that point. So both ideas have to be worked on.

But what I am most happy about here is that people are actual trying to do something, trying to find alternate ways of power and transportation, even if some things are a little far fetched. But again, just a few minutes ago I saw this sleek BMW hybrid that could do something too. I am just glad that people are keeping an open mind and coming up with different plans everyday.

Baseball today! I am not a huge fan of baseball but it is fun to watch once in a while in person. We were able to get free tickets to a Mets vs. Phillies game due to the APA union, plus for 4 people $40 worth food vouchers. The game was in Citi Field, the new Mets Stadium after Shea Stadium was closed.

From near Philadelphia PA it is not a bad drive to New York. It was a little sticky with parking getting there late  but still manageable. The main action was in the first inning, 3 home runs total were scored there. Phillies won the game, yeah!

Getting out of New York through Manhattan was a little more difficult because there was traffic backing up before entering Holland Tunnel. But overall it was a great experience to go to the New Stadium there, and see the World Series winners play.

I have to say, usually from a vacation, I am glad to be back home again, to a normal life, and not worrying about much. But not this time sadly. I still wish I was in Washington, and not in Pennsylvania. I came back to a messy house and a lot of work.

The flight yesterday was ok, watched a movie and did have something to eat. We got in late local time, about 11:30. Though it was only 8:30 Washington time, I was still very tired.

It took me a while to get used to the humidity here in Pennsylvania and live it, but now is it horrible. My bike is too small and there aren’t that many great places to ride, so it will be a little different outdoors.

Anyway, if I look on the bright side, I can STILL blog about cars, and also places I would like to be and travel too. Though my time is cut down a little I will still be able to manage.

So I will start with the cars here in PA compared to Washington.

Pennsylvania - Not many people here have what I would call a good car. In autoblogging terms you might almost call them clunkers. Since there are no supercars here or anything, you may wonder if there are a lot of hybrids, and everyone here is very environmental. The answer to that is NO. There are a lot of  Toyotas, but not prius.There are a few decent cars here, an occasional Audi A8 maybe, BMW, and next door they have two Mustang GTs, but overall not that great.

Washington - In Washington I would say there is a variety of cars. There are a lot of hybrids, people are environmental there, and there are many good cars there too. I had a few listed in previous posts but to sum it up I saw a lot of good Audi’s, BMW’s, Mercedes Benz, Porsche’s, etc.

Well that about does it for me tonight, I am a bit tired still from my flight, But I’ll be back again soon, and this post also sums up my vacation pretty much.

This is my last full day in Bellingham. I will miss it here, the outdoors, the beach, water, trails, the town, but I know I can come back.

Tonight I watched the sunset on the Taylor street dock and boardwalk, sat on the bench and listened to the light water. I heard the splash of the people jumping off the entrance of the boardwalk to swim to the floating dock, watched the ripples and waves in the water as a yacht went by, and felt the train shaking the ground behind me. And I thought about this place, and I decided, I really like it here. Maybe I want to live here. Because in this area you can really enjoy life, and not feel all the complications of other places. As far as I’d say, Bellingham is a very nice place to visit to calm down, and step into the flow of your life.

Well I bring you days 6 and 7 of my vacation in Washington. Also it turns out the trip will be extended until Wednesday, for our flight is overbooked for tomorrow and the chances of getting on standby  are smaller than we hoped.

Day 6 of Washington State:

Yesterday we had a bit of a mellow day, staying at home nice and warm and not going out in the cold. We were a bit tired out after the the steep Fragrance Lake trail climb.

I took a few bike rides though, once along the Interurban trail until I got up into the Chuckanut ridge, and in the evening just casually down to the Taylor Street Dock and Boulevard park again, for it is always nice there in the evening I think.

Day 7 of Washington State:

This morning we drove to Anacortes and boarded the ferry to Orcas island. AT the lookout point we saw some of the other San Juan islands and looked into Bellingham and the bay. After that we rested for a while along the beach until we boarded the next ferry back to the mainland.

The past few days I have really slacked off on the car blogging part, and also getting my blog in shape. I do still have a list of a few cars in mind, so here we go.

Mazda Miata - a few of those

Audi S8 - I like this car

Corvette z06 - At least two, and I saw a red one twice but I think it might have been the same one

Toyota Prius - not a supercar, but it was a third generation, and so far those are rare so I figured I should mention it

Can Am Spyder - cool little motorcycle/ATV type thing we saw by the ferry

Day 4 of Washington State:

Blueberry picking! 18 pounds for 2 hours, it seems like a good deal to me. We have a lot of blueberries now!

We went for another walk along the Interurban trail, and came out by Marine park and the railroad tracks. The beach there is great, especially in the evening near sunset.

Day 5 of Washington State:

Today we went for along hike in the Chuckanut Ridge, up to fragrance lake. And the the hiking guide informed us there were some slight slopes, we found it to be quite steep all the way up. We walked around the mountain lake and also walked a little father to see the viewpoint out over the ocean and the San Juan Islands.

Day 3 of Bellingham, Washington:

Hiking in the Stimson Family Nature Reserve is a wonderful experience. It is a magical forest - many ferns, tall trees, deep ravines, the quiet and peace of nature, and the refreshing smell of pine and cedar. After an easy first quarter mile you start the main loop trail, and the real adventure begins. I took the left path today to curve into the valley first, and eventually we rose to at least 2 summits on the loop, and back at the trail head path we saw the swamp again. The forest is so deep and quiet you can concentrate on yourself, and the outdoors around you.

It has been a long time since I have gone on a good bike ride. This evening I once again had the fulfilling experience. I rode from Fair haven on the boardwalk over the bay into Bellingham, a good five miles. The trail was very nice, and I got to see some of downtown Bellingham as well.

Bellingham Boardwalk

Image credit: www.pbase.com

Day 2 of Washington:

I am now getting a hold of the normal time here, and I am adjusting better to the day. We have been outside a lot from the evening yesterday and today which helped me from the lighting and the feel it has.

The Wii is quite a fun video game! And you can actually get some exercise from it too, especially in tennis. I guess since in some the the games that you are performing real life activities you are inspired to carry out the full motion of your body, even though the wii remote probably would activate with a flick of the wrist.

There is a fair amount of diversity in Bellingham, and in this part of the country, and the close parts of Canada too like in Vancouver. At the oriental food store we got a lot of Chinese “junk food” though I guess to me because it is different I don’t notice and it tastes very good.

We took another walk today along the Unuburban trail and did some running and jogging too.

Good Car sightings:

Many Audi’s - A8, A4, TT, R8

Mustang GT

No supercars , R8 is the closest

Day 1 of Washington today:

Woke at 4:30 am eastern time, and boarded a 7:45 flight out of Newark on Alaskan Airlines. I arrived at 11:45 local pacific time - a six hour flight, long for cross country.

After a quick stop for food at North Gate mall, we drove into Fairhaven, part of Bellingham. The view was great there, along the bike trails and by the beach, and the little boardwalk.

Now I am taking time to rest and recuperate from my flight, we’ll see what goes on tomorrow!

Well I am heading to Seattle on Sunday, hopefully the weather will be nice there for the week ahead, but I have heard currently it is not looking so good. I am still working together the kinks of this site, fixing the ads and rss of course. With no internet it can be hard too, my internet keeps disappearing except in the morning and at night. But hopefully everything will be in order on Green Flamingo for Sunday and I can start the line of posts on the traveling.