Am I Wrong, Dude?

"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion) 02/24/2020 at 10:58 • Filed to: it really tied the parking lot together

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Yesterday we went to a small local ski area; it opens at 11:00 and we got there at about 11:15. There were no other cars in the middle section of the parking lot, only a couple on each side (literally, 2 on each side) parked perpendicular to the way that you’d pull into the lot, nosed up to the snow banks. I parked parallel to these cars, but made myself a new row in the lot, at about what I thought was the right distance from the row bound by a snowbank, and also based on tracks I could see on the dirt/snow/ice lot from the day before.

A few hours later, it wasn’t exactly busy but there might have been 20 cars in the lot. My wife says, “have you looked at the parking lot lately?” “No, why?”

(We are the Volvo)

Oh dear.

Oh, dear. It seems that no one followed my lead and everyone parked straight in as they drove into the lot. But only in the middle area... WTF?

The Chevy in the foreground and the jeep to the left were NOT there when I pulled in. Only two cars on the far left where the Escalade is, and the right (above) where the Camry is.

Working with the information I had, I picked a direction and started a row. How would I have known that people usually park the other way, but only in the middle rows - not on the outside of the lot? I haven’t been to this ski area since last year, and anyway, it’s a giant empty dirt lot, what difference could it make? Maybe the rows create an awkward space if done the way I had started them? Maybe the next car that pulled in just wanted to be different, and it built from there with everyone else following the second car and not me?

Either way, I looked like a jackass parked 90 degrees to the other cars in my row. But I wasn’t about to give in and go move the car. The guy who pulled in directly adjacent to our car was in a long-bed quad-cab diesel truck and of course, pulled in so his front fender prevented me from opening my rear hatch. Why? Was he trying to make a point?  Y ou can see, it wasn’t that busy anyway, and I have a thing against driving in ski boots. So I left it. And you know what? By the time we left, there were hardly any other cars around anyway. The Tough Guy in the Big Truck had left, and we had plenty of room to load the car. 

Still, ne xt time, I’ll park the other way.

Was I wrong, dude?

TheRealBicycleBuck > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 11:06

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Long ago I learned that my logic may not align with the rest of the world.

Spanfeller is a twat > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 11:08

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I don’t know why it reminded me so much of Heavenly in Lake Tahoe.

TorqueToYield > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 11:22

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Parking at ski resorts is anarchy. Don’t worry about it.

Just don’t be that one A-hole who blocks the only free space that leads to the next row, trapping an entire row of cars.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 11:28

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Welcome to winter where the parking spaces are made up and the lines don’t matter. 

Chariotoflove > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 11:29

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You did your best with the info you had. Intent matters here. Obviously there is a traditional parking pattern. Now you know. If you were to try and change it to your direction  the next time, then you would be wrong.

Ash78, voting early and often > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 11:33

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I saw this and was like OHHHH NOOOO

The I looked a little to the left. I hate doing the right thing, but then being conspired against to be The Asshole. See also: Parking over the line when someone else started it; then they leave.

For Sweden > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 11:37

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I work of f the assumption that I am wrong

Nom De Plume > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 11:59

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HoustonRunner > TheRealBicycleBuck 02/24/2020 at 12:16

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I agree.

Unfortunately this is true with my wife as well.  While we are clearly in sync on a lot of things, there are a few key areas in home life where our logical approach is COMPLETELY different.  After almost 18 years of marriage I still haven’t been trained enough in some of those areas.

facw > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 12:18

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This is why big (and even not so big) ski resorts have tons of people out directing traffic when people are coming in.

I was at Loon on S aturday and the SUV in front of me (in front of me because they ran a stop sign to get there) was trying to turn into every full lot and having to be shooed away by the people directing traffic. You’d think at least after the second one you’d figure out that instead of turning where there’s a big “lot full” sign, you should be following all the other cars that are trying to park, but I guess not . I’d say you did better than that at least.

In any event I’d be scouring Google Earth for evidence that you parked properly based on historical parking photos.

functionoverfashion > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 02/24/2020 at 12:43

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YES, thank you. But apparently THERE ARE RULES in this parking lot; I just didn’t know what they were lol

functionoverfashion > facw 02/24/2020 at 12:47

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Oooh google earth, good idea!

OMG Loon is a nightmare for parking. I used to always go to South Peak when it first opened, there was no one there! B ut I think that loophole has been discovered.

functionoverfashion > TorqueToYield 02/24/2020 at 12:49

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It usually is anarchy. Cannon has a few lots that are total anarchy, people park every which way and it’s different all the time. So fun to watch. This was pretty mellow as it goes, 20 cars at peak lol

functionoverfashion > Spanfeller is a twat 02/24/2020 at 12:50

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I have skied there, but it’s been a while. Maybe the 80's lodge architecture? Beyond brown wood, I don’t think this place has anything else in common with Heavenly. Oh, they did have Sierra Nevada on tap, so there’s that. 

Urambo Tauro > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 18:08

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Just be a good little lemming and do what everybody else does. How bad could it be?

functionoverfashion > Urambo Tauro 02/24/2020 at 20:33

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Wow, that’s... amazing.

I’m often reminded of what we did at a house we rented in college. We did an experiment where we agreed not to park parallel to, or in line with, any other car in our yard / driveway. The only other rule was, no blocking anyone in. People pulled in and were so confused. And almost inevitably, everyone picked some car to pull up next to and did that, rather than add to the chaos. It was fascinating to watch. 

Urambo Tauro > functionoverfashion 02/24/2020 at 21:27

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At one of the places I used to work , I’d often get there before any of the office staff arrived. The lot was plowed infrequently during the winter, giving me an opportunity to do a few snow nuts before parking my car. I focused on doing them in the middle of the lot, revealing enough glimpses of the parking lines for me to park by. I nstead of parking along side a curbed island, I would leave exactly two empty spaces between my car and that island. (blue box in pic below)

The thing is , I wanted to park far enough from the island to serve as a much-needed reference point, but I also wanted to be close enough to it so that there would be no question about how many cars could fit between me and the island. I didn’t want to leave, say, 9 spaces that people might mistake for 8 . But I knew that n obody in their right mind would mistake two spaces as one big space. It worked pretty well, at least for the next few cars, anyway.

functionoverfashion > Urambo Tauro 02/24/2020 at 21:41

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And now I have heard a practical explanation for doing donuts, and it’s quite clever. Also leaving 2 spaces is brilliant.  Well done!