The drive over the mountains to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport is just 2-1/2 hours. Which is just about as long as it takes to fly over when you add together the driving, waiting, and flight time. Money-wise, it's a wash too, as gas and parking come very close to the cost of airfare.

All things considered, I prefer to fly. But, more often than not, I end up driving because my tiny local airport keeps reducing the number of flights into Seatac and has shitty connections to other flights. And by "shitty" I actually mean "horrendously shitty" because the layovers can be 4 or 5 hours long. Which is entirely too much time to be spending at an airport.

Except...

It's getting to the point where the 2-1/2 hour drive is getting to be far, far worse than a long layover. Case in point, what I went through to get here today...

• Somebody ahead of me driving 45mph in a 60mph zone while weaving all over the road. When I finally got to a spot I could pass the dumbass, sure enough... he was talking on his mobile phone.
• Following three trucks and finally getting to a passing zone with a truck lane... only to have one of the trucks go out of the truck lane to pass, thus fucking up my opportunity to pass.
• Having a woman pass me, but not really... as she gets beside me and drive the exact same speed, thus blocking the passing lane for me to use.
• Road construction. Which is not a big shocker because there is always road construction. Most of the time I have to wonder what good it is to keep making improvements when all it ever does is fuck up traffic. For a decade I've been thinking "It'll all be worth it once they finish the construction!"... but since they never ever finish, is it actually worth it?
• Some idiot driving under the speed limit in the passing lane... WITHOUT PASSING ANYBODY. When I finally get a window to pass him on the right, I turn back into the lane only to have the dumbass start flashing his lights at me, as if I were the asshole here. Well, you piece of shit, if you don't like it... STOP DRIVING IN THE PASSING LANE WHEN YOU AREN'T PASSING ANYBODY!
• Taking the exit for my airport hotel only to have somebody who missed that same exit suddenly come screaming across the divider and cut in front of me.
• Having to pass somebody who was texting at a stop light because they were too busy typing and didn't notice the light change.
• Finally getting to my hotel, but not being able to turn in because somebody was driving in the restricted lane that's meant for public transit and turning ONLY.

And that's only the stuff that made me so angry I remembered it.

So... adding an extra 4 or 5 hours to my trip? Not quite the horrendously shitty endeavor it used to be.

At least not when compared to the horrendously shitty driving alternative.