Exit Numbers in New England Not Logical

It has been raining all day, plus I woke up with a sore throat and cough.  We went to the Visitors’ Center to check out what we should see and do while here but came right back to the motorhome because I’m not feeling too good.  I tried to sleep this afternoon but the cough wouldn’t allow it.  I finally gave up and wrote this. 

Most, if not all, Interstate Highways that I have travelled throughout the US, with the exception of the New England states, have numbered the highway exits based upon the nearest mile marker.  In other words, an exit located at or within a half mile of mile marker 113 would be EXIT 113.  Knowing the exit number at which you plan to leave the Interstate allows you to quickly calculate how far that exit is based upon your current mile marker.  If you planned to stop for fuel at EXIT 113 and you had just passed mile marker 76 (on the same Interstate as EXIT 113), you have 37 more miles before you exit.

Of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire (the only New England states in which we have traveled) the Interstate exits are in numerical order, beginning with EXIT 1 as the first exit.  This may actually be at mile marker 1, or it could be at mile marker 8, or 13, or 33, etc.  Using the same exit numbers from the above paragraph, you would have no idea how far you were from EXIT 113 when you had just passed mile marker 76.  It could be almost any distance.  There is no way to know.

Yesterday we were looking for EXIT 34 C, which is where our campground is located.  As we approached EXIT 34 A, I began looking for EXITS 34 B and 34 C, which logically would be following EXIT 34 A in short order.  But there is no logic applied.  There were miles between the 3 exits.  As Mr. Spock would say, “This is highly illogical.”

In Pennsylvania, not in New England of course, there was a somewhat lesser problem with the exit numbers.  The signs would read, for example, “EXIT 48 (formerly EXIT 23).”  The questions this raised were 1) when were the numbers changed and 2) do we have a current map an old one with the former exit numbers?

Still, these minor irritations are not as bad as some we found in Europe (on another trip).  Contrary to the US, where we navigate primarily by the highway number and cardinal point on the compass (i.e., US 27 N, TX 133 E, etc.), many of the roads we have traveled in Europe were simply marked with the name of the next town on that route accompanied by an arrow pointing in the direction of travel. If you are going to Rome and the signs at a cross-roads are Italian Townì, Italian Village è, or ë Italian City, you could be in trouble if you don't know the names of the towns along the route.

The weather is supposed to clear up by tomorrow so we will have to cram 2 days of sightseeing into 1 day.