Earlier today the family and I packed up the Expedition and headed to the North Carolina Fort Fisher Aquarium (Part of Surface was filmed there: http://www.imcdb.org/movie.php?id=452718 ) We took the long way around down to South Port to ride the ferry across. My sister’s husband wanted to drive so I gave him the keys, and let her sit up front. I sat in the back with their two kids and my two kids (Oh what fun that was!)

Here are just a few pics:



The weekend trip started out rubbish with steady rainfall. No such luck seeing the Battle Ship while crossing the bridge.

When we got to Leland, the rain let up some and the clouds started to part a little.



The state scewerd up Leland when they put several "Michigan Turing Lanes" in such close proximity (I'm sure ahight will agree … ) also a Honda Odyssey van failed to yield and pulled out in front of us at Waterford. My sister got a photo before it did

At the NC ferry ...









At Fort Fisher Aquarium ...





A North Carolina Lobster (nothing special, just like any other lobster, except its from North Carolina ... )









Reminded me of Steve Irwin ...

All these fish were making me hungry (Some filleted fish, chips and a Pepsi would have been nice)







The creepy fog/mist was playing havoc with my digital camera ...

Is a Michigan Turning lane that wacky setup by which motorists may cross a thoroughfare or make a left turn from it using specially-permitted U-turn facilities?

Some times I like them and some times I don't. How people drive here in NC, I don't think many down here have the driving IQ to be able to understand them. So it's being near those people in these intersections that make me hate them.

Hard to believe that in the time I've been here in Wilmington, I've only been to the Battleship 2 times and 1 time to the Aquarium. It's kinda like when I look back at living near Washington DC for 30 some years and how many times I went to the galleries or monuments.

Found this so the rest of you know what we're talking about:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_left

That's right, though here in Michigan we call them "Detroit Turns" even though there are many of them throughout the whole state, even here in Lansing. They are quite stupid and pointless, I never really understood the point of them.

I guess it's designed for left turning movements only, according to the wiki article posted above. It is theoretically possible to cross a road like that in this manner, but who would want to?

They confuse some out-of-state drivers (as if they’re not confused enough) and they make getting around town more difficult for the locals. They only allow you to turn left. If you want to simply get from one side of the highway to the other then you’re SOL. You have to drive down to the next available turning lane and hope (you picked the correct one, while you are busy trying to keep watch out for other drivers doing the same thing) it turns in front of where you wanted to go.

I can see how they help traffic, but they are just awkward.

I find it quite funny that everyone else thinks of these turns as "rare" or "exotic" becuase around here they are on pretty much every big road.

I have another abnormal setup: The SPUI (Single Point Urban Interchange)
http://www.kurumi.com/roads/interchanges/spui.html
Split-level Diamond Interchange (referred to abritrarily on one site as a "volleyball interchange."
http://www.kurumi.com/roads/interchanges/volleyball.html
Example of "volleyball interchange"
http://homepage.mac.com/jeffmorrison/June05/us77.html

Found some more links:
Here's a picture from one of those "Michigan Lefts"

Lose yourself for HOURS here!
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/04091/10.htm#1023

Confused yet??


More about the Continuous Flow Intersection here:
http://www.tfhrc.gov/safety/pubs/04091/10.htm#1023

That "continuious flow" intersection is way overly complicated, wouldn't a simple "cloverleaf" perform the same function?

How ironic, I drove past that exact sign two days ago. I was on my way to take some pictures at the local taxi garage (which is located on Cedar Street)

Costs for bridges can be very high, and most cloverleafs occupy a lot of land, which can also be prohibitively expensive. I would like to go back to school and learn more about transportation engineering. We have a lot of challenges now and in this coming decade.

.i live in NC too (raleigh area)..of course i hate the roads here, thats my biggest problem of living here..but who all lives in this little state?..we should all meet sometime and talk cars.

OMG! Road rage would set in before I could finish navigating that fiasco.