Driving over Saddle Road - expect delays

No pictures in this one. I should have thought of it then.

So here is me yesterday, interrupting my vacation for an errand of sorts and driving back to Hilo. First stop Waikii. About 5 minutes, I'm glad I realized this rather early on and turned off my truck's engine. Too bad I missed most of Elton John's "Love Lies Bleeding", but I wouldn't drain my battery for music. Some stop on the way down the other side but not to mention really. Ran my errands, got gas (gas is $0.37 less in Hilo than in even Waimea), get back on the road. This time, long stoppage on the Hilo side construction, about 15 miles up. I turn off my engine, most other people it looks like didn't. This was a longish stop, a loader loading from one side of the road into a truck on the other side of the road (both of this should read "former road", really), finally got out of this, and was passed by all but construction equipment in a matter of minutes. (I'm turning into a Hilo oba-chan, or maybe not?). Getting up into the Saddle, most the people who passed were going speed limit (eh, why did they pass me in the first place, I was then), and I realized that there were some that I really didn't want to have ahead of me (one turned into Mauna Kea State Park), and I did pass those on the log straight stretches there are now. I didn't know my 5yo truck still can go as fast as it did. And I have to put out some word of internet advertising for J&J Auto. They fixed my truck up so that it feels almost like new.
Getting back down to Waikii, they had the paving of the long straight stretch done (they got a mile or so done between I went one way and coming back the other way, I find this pretty amazing). I was glad I had passed the tourists before even getting to the newly paved windy bit (which is done great, by the way). )

But, I have to say, automatic pickup trucks are not built for ease of shifting between D and 2. I thought I had slept wrong after driving over, but driving both ways in one day and using engine braking as much as I could, I know why my right shoulder hurt on Monday. Much worse today. It probably doesn't exactly help that I'm left handed.

Anyways, expect delays when going over Saddle Road during the week. Really. Both ends too.