Stay to the left

This was my job as navigator. In addition to navigating the somewhat confusing streets of the United Kingdom, I was also in charge of yelling "Stay to the left." Because in the UK, they drive in opposite land.

Let me start out by saying that I survived. My travel companion was Alex - a co worker from New Mexico. We emailed back and forth about this trip several times, trying to coordinate hotel, flights, cars etc. Most emails went something like:

B: "We should get GPS and an automatic....that's what all the other people at work say."

A: "We should be ok. I'll print out maps."

So after a few back and forths, I let Alex do what he wanted. I didn't want to drive, so as the driver, he got to make the final call. A manual and NO GPS.

Think about it. They drive on the left, the driver sits on the right......so the shifter is in your left hand. WHAT?! To be fair, Alex was an excellent driver. But we both agreed that an automatic and GPS would be standard for any future trips.

So why is it so tough to drive in the UK? Besides the fact that it's opposite land? Roundabouts! And I'm not talking about roundabout like that one in front of Sunset Elementary in Issaquah. These roundabouts are so big you can't see the other side, sometimes you don't even know you're in one until you start rounding. Directions are given in "# of rondabouts." Go through 3 roundabouts and take the 3rd exit.

By the end of the trip we had figured it out. I'd tell him how many degrees until the exit - "enter the roundabout and exit at the 270 degree mark." Thankfully we are both science-y people....so this lingo worked.

It's also crazy to drive in the UK because 1 wrong turn can cost you 20 minutes. It's impossible to turn yourself around. We missed an exit and the next one wasn't for 8 miles. Oops.

We also went down a number of 1 lane, country, gravel-y rounds. Good times.

And the speed limits are way too fast. 50 down a road barely wider than your car, hair pin turns. I thought I was going to die on multiple occasions.

Thankfully, I'm still alive.