I had some personal business I needed to conduct in the next state over. It was a good excuse to get out of the house and see how the world beyond my local area was doing. The trip was 300+ miles, round-trip, mostly all interstates and toll routes. Started out early in the morning and didn't get home until after 10PM. The first thing that struck me? The number of 18-wheelers on the rode.
On the drive to my destination there was a definite lack of passenger vehicles -- nowhere near what you'd normally expect to see. I suspect that's because those who can are still working from home and a lot of people are not travelling on vacation. Most of the traffic I encountered was due to trucks. There are trucks EVERYWHERE. I saw multiple Amazon trucks, Aldi food trucks, a truck loaded with crates of apples, trucks transporting gasoline, even a truck loaded down with a shipment of plywood. There was definitely no lack of trucks on the highways.
I must admit to being surprised, as we're being led to believe that there are shortages of goods, truckers who are losing out because they're not jabbed, not enough truckers available to haul, etc., etc.
As surprising as all of this was, I was even more stunned on the drive home. The highways were teeming with trucks. At night, they're about the only thing on the road -- encountered very few passenger cars. When it got late, the rest stops were packed with truckers laying over for the night. Trucks were parked in every possible parking spot and every available space. Even saw truckers pulled off along the sides of the roads for the night.
I don't know what was in all of these trucks, but there's definitely stuff being transported somewhere. So where is it all going and what are they doing with it? In my area, I'm already having problems finding things in the stores and seeing empty shelves. Things are getting curiouser and curiouser, frens.
You don't mention where you are, but we regularly make the drive between northern VA and western PA (220ish miles one way, through MD and PA), and the last several months both passenger vehicle and truck traffic have been to pre covid levels. I miss the months when it was an easy smooth drive!
How are rates on the PA turnpike nowadays? I haven't been on it in years. Our trip was $5.50 one-way back in the 90s, was shocked that the same trip was over $20 last time I went that way...
Pit to Breezewood is $15. We don't go further east on turnpike. I guess all the way to Philly would probably be close to $30.
I just checked, 161-Breezewood to 28-Cranberry (this used to be Exit 3) is now $33.70 since I refuse to put an EZ-Pass on any of my vehicles. It was $5.50 back in the early 90's - there is your Inflation Index right there.
The road certainly hasn't gotten much better since then... I still choose I-68 to I-79 for free instead...